Ohio State head coach Chris Holtmann announced staff promotions, chief among them are the promotion of Jake Diebler to associate head coach and the elevation of Mike Netti to assistant coach.
“Jake has a very bright future in this profession and I’m excited about his well-earned promotion,” said Holtmann. “He has done excellent work for us since coming here from Vanderbilt three years ago. He has a strong work ethic, great player relationships, reinforces our culture and he has recruited exceptionally well.”
Diebler has been an assistant coach the last three seasons on Holtmann’s staff and also spent three seasons as video coordinator at Ohio State from 2014-16.
“I’m blessed to be able to continue to serve coach Holtmann and the Ohio State basketball program,” said Diebler. “This is a great opportunity for me to continue to learn from and grow alongside one of the very best in college basketball. My family and I love Ohio State, the city of Columbus, and are looking forward to working with this year’s team. Exciting things are ahead for the Buckeyes, and I can’t wait to get started with Team 124 this summer!”
This upcoming season will be Diebler’s 14th on a collegiate sideline after his playing career at Valparaiso in 2009. He also served as a student assistant and director of operations at Valpo in addition to two years as an assistant. In between his time at Ohio State, the Upper Sandusky, Ohio native spent three seasons on Bryce Drew’s staff as an assistant coach at Vanderbilt.
Diebler has assisted in guiding the Buckeyes to the NCAA Tournament in five of his six seasons on staff. He helped mentor Aaron Craft, the 2014 National Defensive Player of the Year, and D’Angelo Russell, the No. 2 overall pick in 2015 NBA Draft and 2015 First-Team All-American in his first stint. Most recently, he was influential in the development of both consensus All-American E.J. Liddell and 2022 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Malaki Branham.
This past season, Diebler stepped into the acting head coach role and helped lead the Buckeyes to a 95-87 victory over Northwestern on Jan. 9.
Mike Netti has been on staff with Holtmann for a total of 12 years, including the last five at Ohio State as special assistant to the head coach. The two were first together at Gardner Webb when they were assistant coaches for Rick Scruggs from 2003-06. Netti returned to Gardner Webb as an assistant for Holtmann from 2011-13.
“Mike has earned this promotion with his outstanding work here for the past five seasons as the assistant to the head coach,” said Holtmann. “Mike is a coaching veteran who has been a junior college head coach, a high major assistant as well as working in nearly every aspect of a college basketball staff. Mike has great contacts across the country and is terrific at skill and player development. We are excited about this new role for him.”
Netti also spent time at St. Francis College as an assistant coach, Lackawanna College as a head coach and East Carolina as an assistant coach. He guided Lackawanna to 43 wins in his two seasons, including a 25-7 mark in 2008-09. Two of his Falcon players earned NJCAA Division II All-America honors, and one signed with a Big East Conference program.
“I’m so grateful to Coach Holtmann for his trust in me and honored to have the opportunity in this role on our staff,” said Netti. “He and I have worked closely for almost 20 years, building programs, building relationships, and investing in our players. He has made me a better coach and I’ve benefited from his leadership. I was fortunate to have worked with outstanding coaches and staff in my time here and they have been so instrumental in this process as well. I’m excited and motivated to continue building on this rich tradition and I’m thrilled for the future we have in Columbus”
In Netti’s four seasons at East Carolina, the Pirates won 58 games as Netti saw a pair of student-athletes garner American Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team honors. During his first season in Greenville in 2013-14, Netti also helped guide Akeem Richmond to an NCAA-best 155 three-pointers made. As an assistant under Holtmann at Gardner-Webb, Netti helped the Runnin’ Bulldogs to a school Division I record 21 victories in 2012-13. In addition, Netti helped guide guard Tashan Newsome to second team All-Big South Conference honors.
“These promotions, along with the addition of a director of recruiting and branding in which Kyle Davis will fill, gives us a strong, dynamic and complete staff,” said Holtmann.
Two other current staff members have been elevated into new roles. Kyle Davis will serve as the director of recruiting and branding while Robbie Rucki will take over the video coordinator role.
Davis has been with the Ohio State program since 2010. He was an undergraduate manager for four years and a graduate manager for two more. He received his bachelor’s degree in sport industry in 2013 and a master’s in sports management in 2015. Davis has spent the past six seasons as the program’s video coordinator and coordinator of recruiting.
Like Davis, Rucki has been a valuable member of the program for the last 10 seasons. He was an undergraduate manager from 2012-16 while earning a degree in marketing. He then spent the last six seasons as a program assistant, coordinating all tasks related to camps, clinics, banquets and gameday events.
Both Davis and Rucki have been instrumental in the development of video software that has aided the program in all aspects of recruiting over the course of the last two years. With the pandemic limiting in-person access, video analysis has been critical, and Davis and Rucki have helped position Ohio State on the leading edge in that space. CLICK HERE to read more about Davis and Rucki and the analytic game.
Ohio State Men’s Basketball Staff
Chris Holtmann — Head Coach
Jake Diebler — Associate Head Coach
Jack Owens — Assistant Coach
Mike Netti — Assistant Coach
David Egelhoff — Director of Basketball Operations
Quadrian Banks — Strength and Conditioning Coach
Terence Dials — Director of Professional Development
Kyle Davis — Director of Recruiting and Branding
Robbie Rucki — Video Coordinator
Joe Gemma — Graphic Designer
Ben Majors — Creative Video Producer
John McCausland — Program Assistant
