Holtmann met with athletic director Gene Smith last week, a team source said. Though Smith made it clear that making the NCAA Tournament was critical, the plan was to see the season through with Holtmann in charge.

The source described Holtmann as “blindsided” by the change and said that he didn’t have an opportunity to meet with his players before the news broke.

In a statement, Smith thanked Holtmann for his time at Ohio State.

“I want to express my appreciation toward Chris for the first-class program, and the well-respected program, he has run here at Ohio State,” Smith said. “He and his wife, Lori, are wonderful people. I thank each of them for their seven years here in Columbus and I wish them well.”

Associate head coach Jake Diebler will serve as interim head coach for the rest of the season.

In Holtmann’s six full seasons, the Buckeyes made the NCAA Tournament four times, most recently in 2022 (a likely fifth bid was wiped out by the cancellation of the 2020 tournament due to COVID-19). He was 137-86 overall and 67-64 in the Big Ten at OSU.

In the portal era, Holtmann made a conscious decision to go young with his roster and build internally. The Buckeyes retained only 38 percent of their scoring from last year. They welcomed seven new players, including four freshmen and three transfers, earning the No. 8 spot in the 247Sports Composite rankings.

Of the eight players who have played in 22 games or more this season, only three are upperclassmen.

The growth, however, didn’t materialize. Instead, the young roster hasn’t won a road game this season and has struggled to find any real identity.

With Smith set to retire as athletic director on June 30, Ross Bjork, the incoming athletic director, will lead the coaching search. Bjork, who will become AD on July 1, will start as interim senior adviser to the athletic director on March 1.