Ohio State announced on Sunday that they have promoted interim basketball coach Jake Diebler to the full-time role of head coach. It is the first head coaching job for Diebler, 37, who previously served as the team’s associate head coach, and took over the interim head coaching role on Feb. 14 after Ohio State fired Chris Holtmann in the middle of Holtmann’s seventh season. Holtmann has since been hired by DePaul. Diebler has signed a five-year contract, and is the first Ohioan to be named the men’s basketball head coach since Randy Ayers was promoted from assistant to head coach in 1989.

Athletic director Ross Bjork said: “Jake Diebler possesses all of the characteristics we were seeking as we conducted a very comprehensive and thorough search for a new head coach. Those include coaching ability, passion, energy, program knowledge, character, integrity and ties to Ohio. As an Ohio native, the son of a longtime Ohio high school coach and with deep connections to Ohio State, Jake knows what it takes to lead this program on a championship course.”

Diebler is in his second stint with Ohio State; his first job at OSU was as the team’s video coordinator from 2013-16 and he was later hired as an assistant for the 2018-19 season after three years as an assistant at Vanderbilt. Said Diebler: “It’s a blessing and a privilege to serve this program and I’m excited for this opportunity. I’d like to thank Ross Bjork and President (Ted) Carter for believing in me and the vision that I have moving forward. Ohio State basketball is special and means so much to me and my family. I look forward to serving the entire Ohio State basketball family as best as I possibly can.”

Editorial credit: Kiran Jyothi VP / Shutterstock.com