| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Ohio State |
| Conference | Big Ten |
| Record | 38–26 (.594)[1] |
| Annual salary | $2.5 million |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1986-10-28)October 28, 1986 (age 39) Gibsonburg, Ohio, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 2005–2009 | Valparaiso |
| Position | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 2009–2010 | Valparaiso (SA) |
| 2011–2013 | Valparaiso (assistant) |
| 2016–2019 | Vanderbilt (assistant) |
| 2019–2022 | Ohio State (assistant) |
| 2022–2024 | Ohio State (AHC) |
| 2024 | Ohio State (interim HC) |
| 2024–present | Ohio State |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2010–2011 | Valparaiso (DBO) |
| 2013–2016 | Ohio State (VC) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 38–26 (.594) |
| Tournaments | 2–1 (.667) (NIT) |
Jacob Michael Diebler (born October 28, 1986) is an Americanbasketball coach and former player who currently serves as the head coach for theOhio State Buckeyes men's basketball team. Since 2019, he had served as anassistant coach at Ohio State. On February 14, 2024, he was named the interim head coach at Ohio State after the firing of head coachChris Holtmann.
He has previously served as an assistant at bothValparaiso andVanderbilt under his college head coach and currentGrand Canyon head coachBryce Drew.[2] He has also worked under former Ohio State head coachThad Matta as a video coordinator in between his assistant coaching jobs at Valparaiso and Vanderbilt. He is known for being a good recruiter,[3] being the primary recruiter for 5-star recruit and futureCleveland Cavaliers guardDarius Garland.[4]
Diebler was born in and grew up in the town ofGibsonburg, Ohio. He went toFostoria High School for his first three years of high school and played basketball under his father, Keith Diebler. He started playing with his younger brotherJon Diebler starting during his junior year. Before Jake's senior year of high school, Keith Diebler accepted the head coaching position atUpper Sandusky High School, so Jake and Jon went with Keith to play basketball at Upper Sandusky.[5] During his high school career, he accumulated many accolades, including District player of the year in 2003, 2004, and 2005, second team All-State in 2003 and 2004, and the Ohio Division II co-player of the year in 2005, his senior season. He also led Upper Sandusky to win the State Championship and averaged 18.8 points in 2005.[6]
After his senior year, he committed toValparaiso to play basketball under coachHomer Drew. He played sparingly during his freshman season, only playing 18 games off the bench and averaging only 4.3 minutes per game and 1.1 points per game.[7]His role increased dramatically during his sophomore year, when he started all 31 games for Valparaiso and averaged 32 minutes per game and 5.4 points per game.[7] During his junior season, the team finished 22–14 and went to the2008 College Basketball Invitational and advanced to the second round with the help of Diebler. Diebler started all 36 games, averaging 30.9 minutes per game and 7.5 points per game.[7]During the offseason, he traveled to West Africa withAthletes in Action.[8] He had his most productive season as a senior, starting every game for the third season in a row and averaging 33.8 minutes per game and 7.5 points per game.[7]
During his childhood, Diebler did not want to become a coach like his father, saying that he “tried to deny being a coach probably because I saw my dad as a coach.”[9] He decided to become a coach after his junior season, citing the impact that other coaches around him have had throughout his life: "I knew then, it just kind of hit me and I was encouraged there by the staff when I played," he said. "I had these huge aspirations to own my own business. That was where I felt like I wanted to be, but I had a heart change and here I am.”[9]“At the end of the day, the most influential people in my life has always been coaches. That goes back to my dad,Homer Drew,Bryce Drew,Thad Matta. These people have had a profound impact on my life. I want to have that same impact on players. That's why I coach. That's my motivation for coaching. My life has been changed by coaches; I want to have the same impact on guys. I've been fortunate to have had access to that so far in my life."[9]
Diebler was first hired by his former college coachHomer Drew to be a student assistant with the team for the2009–10 season. He was promoted to director of basketball operations for the2010–11 season. The 2010–11 team won 23 games and was invited to the2011 CIT tournament, where they lost toIona in the first round.[10]
He was promoted yet again to assistant coach forValparaiso to fill the spot ofBryce Drew, who was promoted to head coach due to Homer Drew's retirement. The 2011–12 team finished 22–12, won theHorizon League regular season championship, and made it to the2012 NIT tournament, marking the second time thatValparaiso had made theNational Invitational Tournament.[11] They lost in the first round toMiami (FL). In his second year as assistant coach during the2012–13 season, Valparaiso went 26–8, won the Horizon League regular season championship for the second year in a row, and also were the2013 Horizon League tournament champions. They made theNCAA tournament for the first time in 9 years, where they lost in the second round to 3-seedMichigan State.[12]Diebler left Valparaiso before the 2013–14 season to accept a position as the video coordinator forOhio State under head coachThad Matta. In his three years at Ohio State, they made 2 NCAA Tournaments while he was there and three winning seasons.[13] He also trained professional basketball players likeAaron Craft,D'Angelo Russell,Evan Turner,Mike Conley,Jared Sullinger,Greg Oden, his brotherJon Diebler,Deshaun Thomas, Byron Mullins, and others.[14]
Diebler was hired away fromOhio State byVanderbilt to serve as an assistant coach, reuniting with formerValparaiso head coachBryce Drew.[15] With the help of Diebler,the Commodores made theNCAA tournament, losing toNorthwestern and finished with a 19–16 record.[16] The next two seasons were losing seasons without postseason appearances, with records of 12–20 and 9–23. This decline of the program led to the coaching staff's firing at the end of the2018–19 season.[17] The one bright spot for Diebler during his time atVanderbilt, however, was in his recruiting efforts. He was the primary recruiter for 5–starpoint guardDarius Garland,[4] who committed to Vanderbilt on November 13, 2017.[18]
Diebler was hired back atOhio State on April 17, 2019, to serve as an assistant coach under head coachChris Holtmann,Thad Matta's replacement.[19] With the addition of Diebler before2019–20 season, Ohio State went 21–10 during the regular season before their first conference tournament game againstPurdue was canceled along with the2020 NCAA tournament was canceled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the 2022-23 season, Diebler was promoted to Associate Head Coach.[20]
Holtmann was fired on February 14, 2024, and Diebler was named the interim head coach for the Buckeyes.[21] The Buckeyes went 5-1 under Diebler to finish the regular season, including a win over #2 Purdue in Diebler's first game as interim head coach. As the 10 seed in the2024 Big Ten men's basketball tournament, Ohio State beat 7 seed Iowa in the second round, before falling to 2 seed Illinois in the quarterfinals.
On March 17, Diebler was officially named Ohio State's head men's basketball coach.[22][23]
Selected as a 2 seed in the2024 National Invitation Tournament, the Buckeyes beatCornell in the first round and 3 seedVirginia Tech in the second round, before losing toGeorgia in the quarterfinals.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State Buckeyes(Big Ten Conference)(2024–present) | |||||||||
| 2023–24 | Ohio State | 8–3 | 5–1 | T–9th | NIT Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2024–25 | Ohio State | 17–15 | 9–11 | 10th | |||||
| 2025–26 | Ohio State | 16–9 | 8–7 | ||||||
| Ohio State: | 38–26 (.594) | 22–19 (.537) | |||||||
| Total: | 38–26 (.594) | ||||||||
Diebler's father, Keith, and his younger brother, Jon, are both basketball coaches.[24] Diebler and his wife Jordyn have two daughters and a son.[24][25]