Chris Holtmann addresses departure of Ohio State assistant coach

While Chris Holtmann is the primary leader of the Ohio State men’s basketball program, the head coach recently made it clear that his assistant coaches – especially Ryan Pedon – played a significant role in the Buckeyes’ success. As Holtmann noted that Pedon would be a head coach one day, it ended up happening pretty quick, as Pedon was named the head coach at Illinois State on Friday.

Pedon, 43, spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Ohio State, having joined the Buckeyes’ program back in June of 2017. He made the move to Ohio State after spending the 2015-17 seasons as an assistant at Butler, where he also worked under Holtmann. Prior to his time at OSU and Butler, Pedon worked at Illinois (2013-15), Toledo (2010-2013) and Miami (Ohio) (2005-2010).

With Pedon now officially at Illinois State, Holtmann commented on his former assistant coach while meeting with reporters on Monday – saying that it’s all a credit to the team’s success.

“I think any time your assistant gets a head coaching job – if we’re successful, you are going to lose assistants,” Holtmann said. “You are going to lose players, too.”

With Pedon’s departure, Holtmann said that Ohio State assistant coach Jake Diebler will take over Pedon’s responsibilities for the remainder of the 2021-22 season, but isn’t sure what his long-term plan is.

Ohio State assistant coach leaving to become a head coach

Once the move was made official, Ryan Pedon released a statement about accepting the head coaching role at Illinois State. He discussed why he chose Illinois State and said he is looking forward to the opportunity to coach for the Redbirds.

“I am extremely excited to be joining the Redbird family. I would like to thank President Kinzy, Kyle Brennan, and Mark Muhlhauser for this opportunity,” Pedon said. “My family and I have been committed to finding the right fit all along. Simply stated, Illinois State checks every one of our boxes. Great people, strong academics, a highly competitive environment, a proud alumni base, and a campus/community that will allow us to recruit at a high level.

“The tradition of Illinois State Men’s Basketball is well-documented, and we will embrace this at every level. My family and I are so grateful for this opportunity and look forward to building something very special at Illinois State.”

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.