Marietta College Director of Athletics Larry Hiser has announced that Andy Bucheit has become the 16th head men’s basketball coach in the 121-year history of the program.
 
“I am very excited to welcome Andy back to Marietta College and the mid-Ohio Valley,” Hiser said.  “He quickly rose to the top of a very strong candidate pool.”
 
“Andy’s success at Heidelberg and here as an assistant are really strong indicators of how good he can be,” Hiser added. “He will put his own spin on the blueprint that he helped to create from 2009-13.”
 
Bucheit, the 2021 Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, returns to Marietta after spending the last 12 seasons as the head coach at Heidelberg University. He led the Student Princes to 153 wins and Top 3 finishes in the OAC in each of the last five seasons. Bucheit’s Heidelberg teams have qualified for the OAC Tournament in each of the last 11 seasons.
 
“I’d like to thank Dr. Kathleen Poorman Dougherty and Larry Hiser for giving our family the opportunity to rejoin Marietta College. Marietta is a special place with a lot of special people who care deeply about the college and the basketball program,” Bucheit said. “The chance to be a part of that type of environment was too much to pass on for myself and our family. Melissa, the children, and I are excited to be a part of PioNation!”
 
“Championship standards will be expected out of everyone in our program in all facets of their lives. Our coaching staff will set the tone for the program with our blue collar approach in our everyday interactions with the players and campus community,” Bucheit added. “Through developing a culture with purpose, intention, and value we will create strong bonds of connection on our way to continuing Marietta basketball as a household name on the national stage.”
 
Bucheit’s 2021-22 team earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament marking just the fourth time in program history the Student Princes made the NCAA postseason. It was Heidelberg’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2008.
 
The Student Princes followed that historic season with a 19-8 record in 2022-23; just the fourth time Heidelberg won 19 or more games in a season and the first time in program history the Student Princes posted back-to-back 18-plus win seasons.
 
In his time at Heidelberg, Bucheit developed five 1,200-point scorers. He had two All-Region selections, 25 All-OAC honorees including five first team selections, and two OAC Freshman of the Year Award winners.
 
Off the court, the Student Princes achieved a team grade point average of 3.0 or better in 11 of Bucheit’s 12 seasons. In addition, Heidelberg has 32 Academic All-OAC honorees during Bucheit’s time in Tiffin.
 
“We have called Heidelberg University home for the last 12 years. Our family loved our time in Tiffin building the basketball program into a respected competitor in the OAC,” Bucheit said. “We are so thankful to all the players, staff, and alumni who made our program better.”
 
Prior to Heidelberg, Bucheit was instrumental in building Marietta College into a nationally prominent men’s basketball program. Bucheit takes over for Jon VanderWal who departed Marietta after 18 seasons to take the head coaching position at Trine University in Angola, Indiana. As VanderWal’s top assistant and recruiting coordinator for five seasons Bucheit recruited some of the greatest players to ever wear the Navy Blue and White including Pioneer Hall of Famers Trevor Halter and Kevin Knab.
 
“I’d also like to thank Jon (VanderWal). Coach was the only one who would hire me after my time as a GA at Ashland University. We took over a program that just came off their fourth consecutive 10th place finish in the OAC,” Bucheit continued. “That didn’t matter to me because I believed in him, and I was excited to learn from him. I will forever be indebted to Coach for the career I’ve had, and I’m honored to take over this storied program.”
 
“Andy was on the bench for some of the most exciting moments of Marietta basketball history,” Hiser said.
 
With Bucheit on staff, the Pioneers made two NCAA Tournament appearances, won one OAC Regular Season Championship, and two OAC Tournament titles. The 2010-11 team was the first to make the NCAA Tournament since 1975.
 
“It won’t happen again just because he is back; it will happen because of Andy’s humble yet determined approach to coaching and guiding his student athletes,” Hiser said, referring to Bucheit as a true educator. “Most importantly, we have seen multiple success stories in life after basketball for his players both here and at Heidelberg.”
 
Before coming to Marietta in 2008, Bucheit spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at Ashland University. The Eagles qualified for the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic League (GLIAC) Tournament in both 2006-07 and 2007-08. In addition to assisting in the recruiting and scouting efforts at Ashland, Bucheit specialized in developing the Eagles’ perimeter skills. He also oversaw the team’s academic program.
 
Bucheit, a Cincinnati native, was a four-year letterman and two-year starter on Wittenberg University’s basketball team. The Tigers compiled a 95-19 record and participated in the NCAA Division III national tournament in three of Bucheit’s four seasons with the team. The guard, who served as a captain and earned All-North Coast Athletic Conference second team honors during his senior season, finished with 951 points and made 191 three-point field goals in his career.
 
Bucheit spent the 2005-06 season as an assistant coach at his alma mater, which went 30-4 and advanced to the NCAA Division III championship game. In that role, he worked with the perimeter players. Bucheit was also involved in video analysis and active in recruiting.
 
Bucheit graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Wittenberg in 2005 and earned a master’s degree in Sports Education from Ashland in 2008.