T.J. Otzelberger
T.J. Otzelberger (born September 17, 1977)
Current position: Head men’s basketball coach
Current team: Iowa State Cyclones
Current conference: Big 12 Conference
South Dakota State record: 70-33 (.680)
UNLV record: 29-30 (.492)
Iowa State record: 70-35 (.667)
Overall record: 169-98 (.633)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 5 (2017, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 2 (2022, 2024)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 1 (2019)
- Big 12 Regular Season Champion: 0
- Summit League Regular Season Champion: 2 (2018, 2019)
- Big 12 Tournament Champion: 1 (2024)
- Summit League Tournament Champion: 2 (2017, 2018)
Awards:
- Summit League Coach of the Year: 1 (2018)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2021-present | Iowa State |
| 2019-2021 | UNLV |
| 2016-2019 | South Dakota State |
| 2015-2016 | Iowa State (asst) |
| 2013-2015 | Washington (assoc. HC) |
| 2010-2013 | Iowa State (assoc. HC) |
| 2006-2010 | Iowa State (asst) |
| 2004-2005 | Chipola College (asst) |
T.J. Otzelberger Facts
- Thomas John Otzelberger
- Born September 17, 1977
- Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Alma Mater: University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (BA, 2001)
- Was a three-year starter and two-time team captain for head coach Dave Vander Meulen at D-III UW-Whitewater
- Started his career after undergrad, spending two years as an assistant at Burlington Catholic Central HS in Burlington, WI
- Was the varsity head coach and athletic director at BCCHS for the 2003-04 school year
- Spent one year as an assistant at Chipola College (FL); the team finished third in the NJCAA national tournament
- Worked for two stints as an assistant at Iowa State, first for a combined seven years under head coaches Greg McDermott and Fred Hoiberg; promoted by Hoiberg to associate head coach in 2013
- Left Ames to spend two seasons as Lorenzo Romar‘s associate head coach at Washington
- Returned to Iowa State to spend one year as an assistant under new Cyclones head coach Steve Prohm
- Hired in April 2016 to be the new head coach at South Dakota State
- Led team to the NCAA Tournament in each of his two seasons with back-to-back Summit League Tournament titles
- Also won the Summit League regular season championship twice in his three seasons there
- Left in March 2019 to become the new head coach at UNLV; went 29-30 in two seasons with the Rebels
- Returned to Ames in March 2021, becoming the new head coach at Iowa State
- Went 22-13 overall and reached the NCAA Sweet Sixteen in his first season at the helm
- Won the Big 12 Tournament in 2024 to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, again reaching the Sweet Sixteen
T.J. Otzelberger Coaching Tree
- Eric Henderson (South Dakota State)
- Kevin Kruger (UNLV)
- Daniyal Robinson (Cleveland State)