Even though it is football season, college basketball season is just around the corner, with the Buckeyes tipping off on Nov. 2 against BYU in Salt Lake City.
There were a lot of roster changes for the Buckeyes heading into the 2026-27 season, and over the next couple of months, we will be dropping one player preview a week to get you caught up on the current roster.
The Andrija Jelavic File
Name: Andrija Jelavic
Position: Forward
Class: Junior
High School/Former School: Mega Superbet
Hometown: Zagreb, Croatia
Weight: 240 pounds
Height: 6-foot-11
Breakdown
Jelavic comes to Ohio State from Kentucky, where he played in 32 games, including starting the final 20 for the Wildcats and in the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 5.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, scoring in double figures four times.
Jelavic played in both NCAA Tournament games for the Wildcats, totaling seven rebounds and three assists vs. Santa Clara.
Before Kentucky, Jelavic played for Mega Superbet in the Adriatic League in Croatia, averaging 11.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 steals. He played at the 2022 U18 Euro Championships, averaging 11.3 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game in seven games.
Expected Role
A main part of Jelavic’s expected role will be how exactly he is viewed by the Ohio State staff. Whether he is mainly a forward or a center this season will be part of how they utilize Jelavic.
Jelavic is more of a forward and can spread the floor out, but Amare Bynum and Anthony Thompson will play most of the minutes at the four. Jelavic was brought in for a reason, and he will be a part of the rotation, but early on in the season he will play 7-12 minutes a game.
His play will determine how much time he sees in conference play and later in the season when the rotation starts to shrink.