Ohio State is on a list of three finalists for Bronny James, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.

James, son of all-time NBA great LeBron James, was long thought to be a long shot to ever play college basketball and instead was likely to professionalize right out of college. Instead, within the past year, James has started to become a more serious college prospect while playing his way up the recruiting rankings.

According to the Times, James has a top three of Ohio State, USC and UCLA with the potential for a dark horse candidate to still emerge.

Bronny James: Where does Ohio State fit into Bronny James' recruitment?

James is known to have taken just one unofficial visit this year. He was on hand for Ohio State’s season-opening football game against Notre Dame and watched the basketball team practice, participated in a photo shoot, watched the game from a luxury suite with his family and spent time pregame on the sidelines with his dad.

Ohio State projects to have a full roster for the 2023-24 season assuming no early attrition. However, freshman Brice Sensabaugh currently leads the team in scoring, has played his way onto NBA mock draft projections and could follow Malaki Branham as the second one-and-done player in as many years.

His departure would open a spot. So would a transfer, which is a likely development in the era of the transfer portal and immediate eligibility.

The Buckeyes have signed a four-man class that is ranked No. 6 nationally and features three top-50 players according to the 247Sports.com composite database. James, at No. 36 nationally, is one spot behind Ohio State’s highest-rated player, Minneapolis Totino-Grace guard Taison Chatman.

A senior at Chatsworth (California) Sierra Canyon, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound James is ranked as the No. 8 prospect in his state and the No. 11 combo guard in the nation.

ajardy@dispatch.com

@AdamJardy

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Bronny James considering Ohio State, two others per report