Opportunity To Go To Ohio State Has Thiel Ecstatic

Landon Thiel LHP / Massillon Jackson, OH / 2026

MASSILLON - So how special is a commitment to Ohio State for Landon Thiel?

“My dad went to Ohio State, my brother goes there and I have a lot of friends there,” Thiel explained. “It’s surreal. As an Ohio kid you grow up an Ohio State fan. In meeting (head) coach (Justin) Haire and the staff, I really enjoyed talking to them. You can tell they’re going to take it to a whole different level. They’re going to take it to Omaha and win a lot of Big 10 championships.”

That thought has the 24th-ranked 2026 left-handed pitcher in the nation excited about being part of the Buckeye program.

“Ohio State has seen me for a while with the old staff,” the Massillon Jackson junior reflected. “When the rules were not in place they were recruiting me freshman year. When the new coaches came in, they saw me at the Future Games. That’s where I got all my offers. A shout out to all the guys at Prep Baseball. It’s pretty special to say the least.”

Conversations with OSU began once the first day of contact was permitted on Aug. 1.

“I started talking on the phone with the new coaches, trying to learn what they’re about,” related Thiel, who took visits with Ohio State as well as Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Xavier and Cincinnati, while respectively canceling scheduled trips to Indiana and Vanderbilt after “knowing I was going to Ohio State.”

The visit to Columbus helped the second-ranked junior LHP in Ohio realize where his future home would be.

“I learned about their culture,” Thiel explained. “The winning culture and the want-to-take-it-to-Omaha was exciting. When I walked out of the visit I knew where I wanted to go. I knew when we shook hands walking out I wanted to play for those coaches to see me progress.”

The 6-7 198-pound southpaw had a “hectic” Aug. 1 with the first call coming at midnight.

“I had 35 to 40 calls,” Thiel related. “I learned a lot about a lot of colleges. It feels nice when work gets rewarded and to finally see the travel and work pay off.”

Ohio State saw a lot to like about the 257th-rated 2026 in the country.

“Everybody sees projection in me,” Thiel noted. “They want to see me put on some good weight. There’s a lot of untapped potential they see in me. I went to their slideshow on what I can do with nutrition and what I can do with my offspeed. Their pitching coach is awesome. They know what they’re talking about. They have a track record.”

Past improvement has made future improvement at OSU possible.

“I always knew this is what I wanted to do but didn’t really think about college baseball until my freshman year when I made some jumps,” the 16-year-old explained. “Playing with the Legends and coaches John Sullivan and Brion Treadway was awesome. My head coach at Jackson, Bill Gamble, is second to none. The pitching coach at Jackson, Dan Rodriguez, helped me get on the field early as a freshman to help propel my game.

“Sophomore year I started hitting the numbers I wanted and knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to go to the Future Games and after that everything would fall into place. I kept working and getting stronger in the weight room, that was big for me. There’s still a lot of work to do, but I couldn’t be more excited about going to Ohio State.”

The seventh-ranked junior in Ohio is confident about what he can bring to the Big 10 program.

“I’m a leader,” Thiel said. “I’m a competitor and I want to win. Freshman year at Ohio State I’ll bring leadership and the desire to get to Omaha. I want to bring a fiery competitor that leads by example.”

There is more that Thiel looks forward to when it comes to college.

“I met with the academic guy and he filled me in on what they do with athletes, helping them out and giving them the resources they need,” explained Thiel, a 3.76 student at Jackson planning on a major in business at OSU. “Ohio State is a good place to get a degree, so you have something to fall back on if baseball doesn’t work out. I’m excited about that.”

Making a commitment was “fulfilling” according to Thiel.

“You go on a couple visits and then go to Ohio State and you put the period at the end of it,” Thiel concluded. “Everybody’s support was cool to see. I’ll be close to home, my brother is there and the baseball program is going to be elite. To have the opportunity to commit there, I was speechless.”