Ohio State fired men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann in the middle of his seventh season on Wednesday, the school announced.
The Buckeyes lost to Wisconsin on Tuesday to fall to 14-11 overall and 4-10 in the Big Ten.
Over the past two years, the Buckeyes are 30-30 with a 9-25 conference record. They have lost 16 consecutive road games, tied for the longest streak in program history.
Advertisement
Holtmann had four years remaining on his contract that ran through the 2027-28 season and will be owed the $12.8 million remaining on his deal.
Holtmann met with athletic director Gene Smith last week, a team source said. Though Smith made it clear that making the NCAA Tournament was critical, the plan was to see the season through with Holtmann in charge.
The source described Holtmann as “blindsided” by the change and said that he didn’t have an opportunity to meet with his players before the news broke.
In a statement, Smith thanked Holtmann for his time at Ohio State.
“I want to express my appreciation toward Chris for the first-class program, and the well-respected program, he has run here at Ohio State,” Smith said. “He and his wife, Lori, are wonderful people. I thank each of them for their seven years here in Columbus and I wish them well.”
Associate head coach Jake Diebler will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season.
In Holtmann’s six full seasons, the Buckeyes made the NCAA Tournament four times, most recently in 2022 (a likely fifth bid was wiped out by the cancellation of the 2020 tournament due to COVID-19). He was 137-86 overall and 67-64 in the Big Ten at OSU.
In the portal era, Holtmann made a conscious decision to go young with his roster and build internally. The Buckeyes retained only 38 percent of their scoring from last year. They welcomed seven new players, including four freshmen and three transfers, earning the No. 8 spot in the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Of the eight players who have played in 22 games or more this season, only three are upperclassmen.
The growth, however, didn’t materialize. Instead, the young roster hasn’t won a road game this season and has struggled to find any real identity.
With Smith set to retire as athletic director on June 30, Ross Bjork, the incoming athletic director, will lead the coaching search. Bjork, who will become AD on July 1, will start as interim senior adviser to the athletic director on March 1.
Advertisement
It is Ohio State and by default, a very good job. Despite the football shadow, the Buckeyes have won at basketball before and have every resource to do so again. Whether it’s Smith or Bjork making the call, they should have a choice of candidates. Expect Dusty May to be at the top of the wish list. Then again, the Florida Atlantic coach will be at the top of every wish list this carousel season. Creighton’s Greg McDermott might be a popular name to consider, too.
Required reading
- This men’s college basketball season feels wide open. What’s really going on?
- Men’s college basketball rankings: Purdue and UConn, then everybody else
(Photo: Joseph Maiorana / USA Today)