Chris Holtmann, head coach of the Buckeyes, announced Monday the hiring of Jake Diebler, who most recently was an assistant coach at Vanderbilt, to the Ohio State staff as an assistant coach.

Diebler replaces Mike Schrage, who recently was named head coach at Elon University.

“We are excited about the addition of Jake Diebler to our staff,” Holtmann said. “Jake was highly recommended by those he has worked for as well as by many of our former players who are now playing professionally. I appreciated several of them reaching out to recommend him during this process. Jake has shown the ability to recruit at a high level, teach and develop players and his work ethic is highly regarded. His Ohio roots and ties also were important in this process. The Diebler name certainly brings back great memories and I know Jake will work extremely hard to create more in the future.”

Diebler joined the Vanderbilt coaching staff as an assistant coach in April of 2016 after spending three years as the video coordinator at Ohio State and the previous two seasons as an assistant coach on Bryce Drew’s staff at Valparaiso, where he helped Drew and the Crusaders to Horizon League regular-season titles in 2012 and 2013.

“I couldn’t be more excited to join Coach Holtmann and his staff at THE Ohio State University,” Diebler said. “I have admired this staff’s work over the last few years and have grown to know them to be one of the best in the country.”

Diebler said having a personal family relationship with the Ohio State program is meaningful as well.

“Our family has roots that run deep in Ohio and at Ohio State, which makes this mean that much more to us,” Diebler said. “It’s truly a blessing to be a part of such a prestigious university and athletics community, and I can’t wait to get started.”

While at Ohio State, Diebler helped the Buckeyes advance to two NCAA Tournaments and also helped mentor Aaron Craft, the 2014 National Defensive Player of the Year, and the No. 2 overall pick in 2015 NBA Draft and 2015 First-Team All-American, D’Angelo Russell.

Prior to his stint with the Buckeyes, Diebler coached at Valparaiso with Bryce Drew, where he was part of a staff which helped lead Valparaiso to 22 wins and the regular-season championship in 2012, the first by Valpo since joining the Horizon League. Diebler also helped the Crusaders to a berth in the 2012 Postseason National Invitation Tournament.  In the 2012-13 season, the Crusaders posted a 26-8 overall record, won the Horizon League regular season championship for consecutive years, and a berth in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

Diebler served as director of basketball operations during the 2010-11 season, helping the Crusaders to a 23-win season. Known as one of the Crusaders’ hardest-working players on both ends of the court during his time as a player, Diebler set a Valpo Division I record by starting each and every one of the Crusaders’ 98 games over the final three seasons of his career. He also had a string of 278-consecutive minutes played over seven games in the final half of his senior season, believed to be a Valpo record as well.

Diebler ranked among the Horizon League Top 10 in a trio of categories as a senior, finishing fourth in minutes played (33.8/game), sixth in 3-pointers made (1.8/game) and eighth in steals (1.3/game). He finished his Crusader career 10th in Valpo history with 130 career steals and 16th all-time at Valpo with 229 career assists.  He also holds the all-time Ohio high school career record in assists and steals.

Also a standout in the classroom, Diebler earned Academic All-League honors and Horizon League Academic Honor Roll mention during his career, as well as being named to the NABC Honors Court. Diebler graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Valparaiso in May 2009 and with an MBA in 2011. His brother Jon, played for the Buckeyes from 2008-11, and is the Big Ten All-time leader in made 3-pointers and is the all-time leading scorer in Ohio High School basketball history (3,208).

Coaching runs in the family for Diebler. His father Keith, coached high school basketball in the state of Ohio for almost 40 years, while his older brother Jeremiah coached high school basketball as well.