Wright State transfer Holden commits to Ohio State
Ohio State has landed its first commitment from the transfer portal.
Tanner Holden, a high-scoring guard from Wright State, has announced he will play for the Buckeyes. He entered the transfer portal March 29, and his addition helps Ohio State address a position of need.
A 6-6, 185-pound native of Wheelersburg, Ohio, Holden burst onto the national scene by pouring in 37 points to help the Raiders defeat Bryant in a First Four NCAA Tournament game at Dayton's UD Arena on March 16. It marked the first tournament win in program history and capped a season that saw Holden average 20.1 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists while shooting 49.7% from the floor and 34.1% from 3-point range.
As a junior, Holden was named to the Lou Henson All-america team, which recognizes the top mid-major players in the country. Holden increased his scoring average during each of his three seasons with the Raiders, from 11.8 as a freshman in 2019-20 to 15.8 as a sophomore and now 20.1 last season.
According to Kenpom.com, Holden also finished the season 19th nationally in fouls drawn per 40 minutes at 6.5, the same number as E.J. Liddell, who led Ohio State.
He is expected to slot into an important role in an Ohio State backcourt that lost starter Jamari Wheeler (out of eligibility) and is likely to lose Malaki Branham, who has declared for the NBA draft and is projected to be a first-round pick.
Holden is rated as the No. 4 transfer in the nation according to Barttorvik.com and is considered a four-star prospect and the No. 45 overall transfer nationally by Evanmiya.com.
He was an unranked recruit out of high school in the 247Sports.com composite database. Ohio University was also known to have offered.
A dual-sport athlete at Wheelersburg High School, Holden told the Dayton Daily News in 2020 that he had been courted by Ohio State, Michigan and other schools to play football after he was named Ohio's co-offensive player of the year for Division V as a junior. His father, Rodney, played basketball at Marshall University and was named to the school's hall of fame. His sister, Sydney, scored 1,272 points in four seasons at Division II Rio Grande.
The Buckeyes are likely to add one or two more transfers to their roster.
Buckeyes hiring an assistant coach
Ohio State is also adding former Miami coach Jack Owens, who was a nineyear assistant at Purdue before spending the last five seasons with the Redhawks, to its coaching staff.
A native of Indianapolis, Owens compiled a 68-83 record with the Redhawks and helped the program reach the 2018 College Basketball Invitational. It marked the most wins for Miami and the team's first postseason appearance in seven years.
Owens will fill one of two of Ohio State's open positions. The Buckeyes lost assistant Ryan Pedon, when he accepted the head coaching job at Illinois State, and lost Tony Skinn to Maryland, where he took a job with his former coach, Kevin Willard, and moved back to the area he calls home. ajardy@dispatch.com @Adamjardy