It had been relatively quiet on the Ohio State coaching search front for most of Thursday evening.
Perhaps there was a reason for that because it doesn't appear to be that way anymore.
According to multiple reports, a frontrunner has emerged to be the Buckeyes' next head coach: Butler's Chris Holtmann.
Butlers Chris Holtmann has emerged as the frontrunner for the Ohio State job, sources told ESPN.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) June 9, 2017
Ohio State has zeroed in on Butler's Chris Holtmann, per a source. Deal could be done as early as Friday.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 9, 2017
Eleven Warriors learned Holtmann and Ohio State were scheduled to meet at some point Thursday. It remains unclear at this point if that happened, but seems likely with the ESPN and CBS reports.
According to the Indianapolis Star, Holtmann is "in talks" with Ohio State, but a deal has not yet been reached.
Holtmann, 45, is 70–31 in three years leading the Bulldogs and went to the NCAA tournament all three times. Last season, Butler finished 25–9 overall, was second in the Big East and advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament.
Prior to his stint at Butler, Holtmann spent three seasons as the head coach at Gardner-Webb, where he amassed a 44–54 record. He left his job at Gardner-Webb to join the Butler staff as an assistant. Holtmann then took over as Butler's interim head coach on Oct. 2, 2014, when Brandon Miller took a medical leave of absence. The interim tag was removed Jan. 2., 2015.
