Ohio State will hire Butler's Chris Holtmann as its next head basketball coach, a source told Eleven Warriors. Holtmann will replace Thad Matta, who was let go Monday after 13 seasons leading the Buckeyes.
Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch was the first to report Holtmann's hiring. No press conference is expected until Monday, though an official announcement could come Friday morning.
Multiple reports suggest Holtmann has agreed to an eight-year deal worth an estimated $3.1 million per year. At Butler, Holtmann made an estimated salary just north of $1 million per year.
Late Thursday night, Holtmann emerged as the frontrunner for the job just one day after it looked like Creighton's Greg McDermott would be the man to replace Matta. Multiple other candidates were considered including Xavier's Chris Mack, Virginia Tech's Buzz Williams and others.
Ohio State assistant coach Chris Jent also interviewed for the position.
Holtmann spent the last three seasons at Butler where he posted a 70–31 record overall. He helped guide the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament in all three seasons. Butler was 25–9 overall last season, finished second in the Big East and made it to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament.
Holtmann was named the 2017 Big East coach of the season.
Prior to his stint at Bulter, Holtmann spent three seasons as the head coach at Gardner-Webb. In an attempted rebuild, Holtmann was 44–54 in his three years at Gardner-Webb.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Postseason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | Gardner-Webb | 11–21 | 6–12 (9th) | |
| 2011–12 | Gardner-Webb | 12–20 | 6–12 (10th) | |
| 2012–13 | Gardner-Webb | 21–13 | 11–5 (2nd) | CIT First Round |
| GARDNER-WEBB | 44–54 (.449) | 23–29 (.442) | ||
| 2014–15 | Butler | 23–11 | 12–6 (t-2nd) | NCAA Second Round |
| 2015–16 | Butler | 22–11 | 10–8 (t-4th) | NCAA Second Round |
| 2016–17 | Butler | 25–9 | 12–6 (2nd) | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| BUTLER | 70–31 (.693) | 34–20 (.630) | ||
| TOTAL | 114–85 (.573) | |||
