Jake Diebler describes the process of being offered full-time head coaching job

Jake Diebler took the reins of the Ohio State program on February 14 after the Buckeyes fired head coach Chris Holtmann in the midst of the 2023-2024 season. And after leading the Buckeyes to a strong 5-1 finish to the regular season and a win in the Big Ten Tournament, Diebler was promoted to full-time head coach on Sunday.

The promotion represents the first head coaching job of Diebler’s career after spending many years as an assistant. Coming at an interesting time as the Buckeyes have transitioned to playing in the NIT.

“We didn’t know our postseason, what that was going to look like,” Diebler said on Monday after being introduced as head coach. “So my mind was kind of still wrapped around that a lot and wrapped around just how we could serve our players when I got a chance to meet with Ross [Bjork] and just how that you know, kind of unfolded.”

Diebler impressed immediately when named interim head coach, defeating No. 2 ranked Purdue in his very first game in the role. Which he followed with a five-game winning streak after losing to Minnesota that included a dominant win over Iowa in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament before eventually falling to the eventual conference champions quarterfinals versus Illinois.

His work was quickly rewarded following the conference tournament, providing a whirlwind of emotions in a weekend that he’ll likely never forget.

“Yeah, I was I was a little anxious,” Diebler admitted. “There were just a lot of different emotions going on and when he came over to our house, and this really became real, that was almost exhausting in itself because there was just an abundance of joy and happiness and we’re calling our parents and it was special. But it was emotionally a wild, wild day.”

Diebler joined Ohio State’s staff in 2019 as an assistant after making stops at Valparaiso and Vanderbilt. He was promoted to assistant head coach in 2022 and has now worked his way up to the very top, becoming the 15th head coach of the program and the first Ohioan to be named as the Buckeyes’ head man in 35 years.

Diebler keeps on maintaining his winning ways into the postseason, securing his first win as a full-time head coach on Tuesday with an 88-83 win over Cornell. As Ohio State takes on Virginia Tech in their second-round matchup of the NIT.