Penn State's Talor Battle Joins Ohio State Basketball Staff

Battle, The Nittany Lions' leading scorer, spent three seasons on Northwestern's coaching staff.

Penn State Nittany Lions guard Talor Battle drives against Ohio State Buckeyes guard P.J. Hill at Value City Arena in a 2009 Big Ten game. / Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Former Penn State point guard Talor Battle is taking the next step of his coaching career. After spending three seasons on the staff at Northwestern, Battle is joining Ohio State's program as an assistant coach. Ohio State announced the hiring Monday.

"Talor has great experience in the Big Ten both as a player and as a coach and I’m excited to welcome him to the Buckeye family,” Ohio State coach Jake Diebler said in a statement. "He is elite at player development which is evident by the success Northwestern has had the past couple of seasons. He has the ability to recruit at a high level and knows what it takes to be successful in this conference. I’ve known Talor for quite a while and I’m looking forward to working alongside him as we take the next
step as a program.”

Battle, Penn State's all-time leading scorer, began his coaching career at Penn State in 2020, first under Pat Chambers and then with interim head coac Jim Ferry. Micah Shrewsberry retained Battle, in a non-coaching position, to his first Penn State staff in 2021, calling the decision a "no-brainer for me." Battle spent about a month with Shrewsberry's program before accepting an assistant-coaching position at Northwestern, where his brother Boo Buie played.

Battle spent three seasons at Northwestern, helping to guide one of the Big Ten's top players in Buie. Northwestern tied for third in the Big Ten last season, and Buie was first-team all-conference.

Battle, an honorable mention All-American at Penn State, holds the program's career-scoring record (2,213 points). He played on Penn State's 2011 NCAA tournament team and helped the Nittany Lions win the 2009 NIT title.

Battle was Penn State's first two-time All-Big Ten player. He finished his career having set the school record for career starts (131) and the Big Ten record for minutes played (4,799). He played professionally in Europe for seven seasons and then transitioned to a career in finance. Battle began his coaching career when former Chambers hired him in September 2020.

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich.