On Wednesday, Ohio State confirmed that men’s basketball coach Chris Holtmann had been sacked in the midst of his seventh season.
After losing to Wisconsin on Tuesday, the Buckeyes’ record dropped to 14-11 overall and 4-10 in the Big Ten.
The Buckeyes have a 9-25 conference record and a 30-30 overall record over the last two years. They are tied for the longest losing skid in program history with 16 games in a row.
Holtmann will be paid the $12.8 million that remained on his contract, which spanned four years and ended with the 2027–2028 season.
According to a team source, Holtmann spoke with Gene Smith, the athletic director, last week. The goal was to finish the season with Holtmann in command, even though Smith made it plain that qualifying for the NCAA Tournament was essential.
The insider claimed that Holtmann was taken “by surprise” by the announcement and that he was unable to consult with his players prior to it being public.
Smith expressed gratitude to Holtmann for his time at Ohio State in a statement.
Smith added, “I would like to thank Chris for the excellent program and well-respected program that he has run here at Ohio State.” He’s a great guy, as is his wife Lori. I wish them well and thank each of them for their seven years here in Columbus.
For the remainder of the season, associate head coach Jake Diebler will lead the team in an acting capacity.
The Buckeyes qualified for the NCAA Tournament four times in Holtmann’s six full seasons, with the most recent appearance coming in 2022 (a probable fifth bid was eliminated when the 2020 tournament was canceled due to COVID-19). At OSU, he finished 137-86 overall and 67-64 in the Big Ten.
Holtmann purposefully chose to build internally and start his roster young during the portal era. Just 38% of the Buckeyes’ points from the previous campaign was carried over. With the addition of seven players—four freshmen and three transfers—they moved up to the eighth rank in the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Just three of the eight players this season who have participated in 22 games or more are seniors.
But the growth never materialized. Rather, the inexperienced team has failed to establish a cohesive identity and has yet to win a road game this season.
The coaching search will be headed by Ross Bjork, the next athletic director, as Smith is scheduled to retire on June 30. Beginning on March 1, Bjork, who will take over as AD on July 1, will serve as the athletic director’s temporary senior adviser.
