Chris Holtmann's Time at Ohio State Has Come to an End

Ohio State Fires Chris Holtmann in Seventh Season As Head Coach | Eleven Warriors
Photo courtesy of Adam Cairns, Columbus Dispatch/USA Today


News broke just as the morning wrapped up that Ohio State has “parted ways” with Chris Holtmann, according to Jeff Goodman.


In these past seven years, Holtmann went 137-86 with four NCAA Tournament appearances, including in 2020-21 when Holtmann’s Buckeye’s were a two seed. However, over the past two years, the program has taken a bit of a dip. With a record of 9-25 in Big Ten Conference action, Ohio State Athletic Director Gene Smith decided to start the coaching search now. 


Initial reports suggest Xavier’s Sean Miller and South Carolina’s Lamont Paris will be heavily considered.


I would expect Alabama’s Nate Oats, Creighton’s Greg McDermott, and possibly even Bobby Hurley from Arizona State could also be in the running. 


In the seven years leading up to Thad Matta’s exit from Columbus in 2017, Ohio State had a record of 181-67 with a Final Four appearance. With the hope of improvement, Holtmann has not done nearly enough with the amount of talent he has recruited.


In 2023, Ohio State had the number two class in the Big Ten, and in 2022, the Buckeyes brought in the Big Ten’s best recruiting class. Ironically enough, Holtmann had his worst years record-wise at Ohio State.


It will be interesting to see how fast Ohio State decides to move on the hiring process. 


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