Illinois State hires Ohio State assistant Ryan Pedon as next head coach

Illinois State was eliminated from the Missouri Valley Tournament Friday afternoon, then shortly after announced the hiring of Ryan Pedon to be the Redbirds’ next head coach. Pedon is an Ohio-native who has been an assistant under Chris Holtmann at Ohio State for the last five seasons.

“We could not be more excited to have Ryan Pedon as the leader of our men’s basketball program at Illinois State,” AD Kyle Brennan said in the release. “We believe he is the right person to lead the men in our program and help them RISE back to the top of the Missouri Valley Conference and into the NCAA Tournament. Ryan has worked at respected programs and has been mentored by some tremendous coaches. His recruiting ties to Illinois and the Midwest will be a great asset to him moving forward, and we are excited for his vision of the future of this program.”

Prior to Ohio State, Pedon had stints at Butler, Illinois, Toledo, Kent State and Miami (OH). He played college basketball at D-III College of Wooster in Ohio.

“I am extremely excited to be joining the Redbird family,” Coach Pedon said. “My family and I have been committed to finding the right fit all along. Simply stated, Illinois State checks every one of our boxes. Great people, strong academics, a highly competitive environment, a proud alumni base, and a campus/community that will allow us to recruit at a high level. The tradition of Illinois State Men’s Basketball is well-documented, and we will embrace this at every level. My family and I are so grateful for this opportunity and look forward to building something very special at Illinois State.”

ISU fired their former head coach Dan Muller in February after ten seasons without any NCAA Tournament appearances. The Redbirds were led for the remainder of the season by Brian Jones, who went 2-5 in the interim role.

credit to Illinois State Athletics for the image