Chris Holtmann Named Finalist for National Coach of the Year

Ohio State basketball coach Chris Holtmann is among 10 coaches across the country that are being considered for the national recognition.

Ohio State basketball coach Chris Holtmann has guided the Buckeyes through incredibly choppy waters the last 12 months. His successful leadership has been recognized by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, as he was named among the 10 finalists for National Coach of the Year on Friday afternoon.

The ten finalists include:

• Darian DeVries (Drake)
• Scott Drew (Baylor)
• Mark Few (Gonzaga)
• Leonard Hamilton (Florida State)
• Chris Holtmann (Ohio State)
• Juwan Howard (Michigan)
• Bob Huggins (West Virginia)
• Porter Moser (Loyola Chicago)
• Eric Musselman (Arkansas)
• Nate Oats (Alabama)

After opening the Big Ten with a 2-3 record and falling out of the national top-25 for the first time all year, Ohio State found an incredible rhythm when the calendar flipped to January. The Buckeyes won 10 of 11 games in the toughest league in the nation, including a school-record four consecutive road wins against top-15 ranked teams.

Holtmann won the John McLendon National Coach of the Year award in 2017. After Ohio State dropped three straight games last week to Michigan, Michigan State and Iowa, Holtmann was asked during Friday's press conference if he had any thoughts on his inclusion in this year's nominees.

"It looks like they did their voting before last week," Holtmann quipped, rather matter of factly.

Holtmann won the Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2018 during his first season as the OSU leader. He was the Big East Coach of the Year in 2017 at Butler and the Big South Coach of the Year in 2013 at Gardner-Webb.

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Ohio State closes the regular season on Saturday afternoon against Illinois. Tip off is scheduled for 4 p.m. from the Schottenstein Center.

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