Ohio State Hires Butler’s Chris Holtmann

According to a report from the Columbus Dispatch on Friday morning, the Ohio State Buckeyes have found the program’s next head coach in Chris Holtmann. He comes to Columbus after three seasons at Butler.

During his time at Butler, Holtmann piloted one of the more successful programs in the nation. The Bulldogs put together a 70-31 (.693) overall record and went to three straight NCAA Tournaments. The highlight of his tenure was last season, when Butler went 25-9 overall and made the Sweet 16.

Prior to his time at Butler, Holtmann spent three seasons in the Big South with the Gardner Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs. While he only went 44-54 (.449) with the program, he went 21-13 in his final season and made the CIT. Gardner Webb has yet to match that 21 win total since Holtmann left for Butler.

By any stretch, this is a significant hire for the Buckeyes. Not only has Holtmann proven himself in a major conference, but he comes with a midwestern background. He’s also only 45 years old, meaning that he could very well coach Ohio State for more than a decade if he can get the ground rolling.

Holtmann has also shown he can recruit in Ohio. Notably, he was most recently able to steal away Kyle Young from the Buckeyes in the 2017 recruiting cycle, which is a pretty big achievement for Butler. It’s not every day that someone can steal an in-state four-star away from Ohio State.

Most are expected that Holtmann will be introduced by Ohio State sometime on Monday. Either way, BTPowerhouse will have far more analysis on Holtmann in the days and weeks to come.