As Ohio State coach Chris Holtzman nears his seventh year in Columbus, the Buckeyes are the first major schools to enter the pool for a new coach for the 2024 season and begin their search, according to a statement. The school, as OSU’s 2023-24 campaign ends.
Among the unknowns is what value incoming athletic director Ross Bjork will place in the candidate. Not only will this be his first big step at Ohio State, but it will also be among his first moves. Before taking the job this summer, he will begin March 1 in the athletic director role in a senior advisory capacity, reporting to the president.
Here is a list of possible candidates in alphabetical order.
Jeff Boals, Ohio
Boals, a former Ohio State associate head coach during the Thad Matta era, was with the Buckeyes from 2009-16 before his coaching career at Stony Brook. In the year He went 55-41 in three seasons before starting his career at his alma mater in 2019. He led the Bobcats to the NCAA tournament in 2021, winning the Mid-American Conference tournament and defeating defending national champion Virginia in the first round. .
Dennis Gates, Missouri
Gates, 44, spent eight years as an assistant to Leonard Hamilton at Florida State before becoming head coach at Cleveland State for the 2019-20 season. In three years, Gates won 50 games and was 39-19 in the last two seasons. He was named conference coach of the year in each of his first two seasons, and in
Gates is being named the SEC Coach of the Year after taking over a 12-win Missouri team in 2021-22 and going 25-10 in his first season. This year, however, the Tigers are 8-16 overall and 0-11 in the league.
Pat Kelsey, College of Charleston
A Cincinnati native who played at Wyoming and Xavier, Kelsey was an assistant at Wake Forest, associate head coach at Xavier and head coach at both Winthrop and Charleston. In the year He was named the Big South Coach of the Year in 2021 and won four conference championships in 2021. Before heading to Charleston in 2021, he led the Cougars to a 31-4 record, including a 28-game winning streak in his second season.
He is one of four active Division 1 men’s basketball coaches with at least 203 wins in 10 seasons or less, joining a list that includes Chris Beard, Archie Miller and Bryce Drew.
Dusty May, Florida Atlantic
One of the hottest names in his career, May led Florida Atlantic to a historic Final Four appearance last season and is making a run with the same roster this year. The Owls went 35-4 last year and are 19-5 as of Wednesday.
He signed a 10-year extension with FAU last April. May was a student administrator in Indiana.
Greg McDermott, Creighton
Before the Buckeyes hired Holtmann, they went after McDermott, Smith flew back to Columbus on a private jet to meet with him and officially signed Holtmann within 24 hours. He is now in his 14th season with the Bluejays. In the first 13 years, he was 300-150.
Before taking the Creighton job, McDermott spent four years as the head coach at Iowa State and won 59 games.
Sean Miller, Xavier
Now in his second stint with the Musketeers, Miller spent 12 years in Arizona. He made eight trips to the Sweet 16 and four to the Elite Eight. In his first season back at Xavier, he helped the Musketeers go 27-10.
He has indirect ties to Ohio State: Miller was Thad Mata’s associate head coach at Xavier from 2001-04 and took over the job full-time when Mata left for the Buckeyes.
Wes Miller, Cincinnati
Miller is in his third season with the Bearcats. Prior to that, he spent 10 years as the head coach at UNC Greensboro. His 217 wins under the age of 40 are 15th all-time and seventh among coaches since 1970. In May 2020, ESPN named him the No. 1 coach under 40.
Miller won 185 games at UNC Greensboro and made two NCAA Tournament appearances while in the Southern Conference. He played collegiately for Roy Williams at North Carolina, where he was the team captain for the 2006-07 season.
Nate Oats, Alabama
In five years with the Crimson Tide, where he made Alabama one of the top teams in the SEC, Oats established himself as a coach who used a high-tempo, fast-paced style.
Before joining Alabama in 2019, he was the head coach at Buffalo for four years, where he reached two NCAA Tournament finishes. The teams have finished in the top and top-40 in adjusted offensive efficiency in 2019 for seven straight years. KenPom.com
He received a contract extension through 2021 and is signed to Alabama through March 14, 2027.
Lamont Paris, South Carolina
An Ohio native, Parris hails from Findlay and played four seasons at Wooster before moving up the coaching ladder. After five years as an assistant at Akron, Paris moved to Wisconsin, where he spent eight years as an assistant.
Parise took over at Chattanooga for the 2017-18 season and reached the 2022 NCAA Tournament before committing to South Carolina for the 2022-23 season. The Gamecocks are 21-3 this season and 9-2 in the SEC, which puts him in the running for national coach of the year honors.
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Buzz Williams, Texas A&M
Ohio State showed some interest in Williams before Holtzman was hired. He was at Virginia Tech at the time, before taking the job at Texas A&M, where Bjork’s arrival already made the 2019 Sweet 16. With the Aggies, Williams posted a winning record in three of his first four seasons while making the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Williams spent one year in New Orleans, six years at Marquette (with two Sweet 16 finishes and one Elite Eight) and five years at Virginia Tech.
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