Chris Holtmann's win total as Ohio State’s head coach has reached triple digits.
Ohio State's win against Minnesota Thursday marked the 100th in Holtmann's tenure in Columbus, which spans back to the start of the 2017-18 season. Holtmann's five-year record with the Buckeyes now stands at 100-48 after Thursday's win.
"I think any coach will tell you that their success is directly tied to their ability to recruit good players, and players who also embrace what that coach and coaching staff preaches," Holtmann said Wednesday. "I think that's so important. It's not just good players, but it's players that embrace and communicate that to the other players, what's important to the coaching staff, our program's culture."
In previous stops at Butler and Gardner-Webb, Holtmann never reached the 100-win landmark, going 70-31 in three years with the Bulldogs and 40-54 in three seasons at the helm of the Runnin' Bulldogs program.
Holtmann is the seventh Ohio State head coach to reach 100 wins, joining Randy Ayers (124), Jim O'Brien (133), Eldon Miller (174), Harold Olsen (255), Fred Taylor (297) and his predecessor, Thad Matta, whose 337 wins with the Buckeyes are the most in program history.
| HEAD COACH | WINS | LOSSES | WIN% | TENURE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| THAD MATTA | 337 | 123 | .733 | 2005-17 |
| Fred Taylor | 297 | 158 | .653 | 1959-76 |
| Harold Olsen | 255 | 192 | .570 | 1923-46 |
| Eldon Miller | 174 | 120 | .592 | 1977-86 |
| Jim O'Brien | 133 | 88 | .602 | 1998-2004 |
| Randy Ayers | 124 | 108 | .534 | 1990-97 |
| Chris Holtmann | 100 | 48 | .675 | 2017-22 |
In Holtmann's first season with the Buckeyes, Ohio State went 25-9 overall, 15-3 in conference play and secured a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which was the program's highest in five seasons. Ohio State wasn't quite as successful in 2018-19, going 20-15 as a No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament, but Holtmann's Buckeyes won their first-round matchup for a second straight season.
Ohio State went 21-10 in 2019-20 before seeing any postseason hopes dashed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Buckeyes had perhaps their best year under Holtmann the following the season. Ohio State went 21-10 overall once again, but got to the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament, secured a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and finished No. 7 in the final AP poll. It was the first time Ohio State had equaled any of those achievements in eight years.
But Holtmann believes the best is still yet to come, as the fifth-year coach signed his top-rated recruiting class to date in Columbus for the 2022-23 season. Ohio State's 2022 class ranks fifth-best in the country, per the 247Sports composite, with four four-star signees.
"It's also very exciting about what's on the cusp here for us here, both with our young guys growing into new roles as well as the incoming talent," Holtmann said. "It really is."
