Ohio State assistant coach leaving to become a head coach

Illinois State’s 2021-2022 season came to an end on Friday afternoon with a loss in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament to Northern Iowa. Just a few hours later, they have named their next head coach with longtime Ohio State Buckeyes assistant coach Ryan Pedon taking over the program.

Pedon was officially announced by Illinois State on Friday. This will be his first opportunity to be a head coach after being an assistant coach for seven different programs, spanning from Miami (OH) to Ohio State.

Once the move was made official, Pedon released a statement about accepting the head coaching role. 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.”

Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Chris Holtmann predicted Pedon would leave

Chris Holtmann sang high praise for both his Buckeyes roster and coaching staff this week. Dishing out compliments to Pedon, specifically.

Pedon, an assistant coach under Holtmann, is currently in his fifth year with Ohio State, having joined the Buckeyes back in June of 2017. A Columbus native, Pedon returned home with Holtmann after Holtmann accepted the Ohio State job; previously the head coach at Butler, Pedon served under Holtmann there, too.

“No,” Holtmann said, when asked if Pedon gets enough recognition. “But assistants rarely do. Ryan is fantastic. I think he’s one of those terrific, young, up-and-coming assistant coaches that’s going to be a head coach real soon. He’s turned down a couple of head coaching jobs that were really pretty good jobs, and I’m forever grateful to Ryan for what he’s done. But unfortunately, I don’t think we’re going to be able to hang onto him for too much longer. He’s that good. I can’t wait for him to be a head coach.”