Illinois State hires Ohio State assistant Ryan Pedon as new men’s basketball coach

NORMAL — Illinois State University has named Ohio State assistant Ryan Pedon its new men’s basketball coach. He replaces Dan Muller, who was fired Feb. 13 in his 10th season at ISU.

“Ryan has worked at respected programs and has been mentored by some tremendous coaches,” Redbirds Athletic Director Kyle Brennan said. “His recruiting ties to Illinois and the Midwest will be a great asset to him moving forward.”

ISU will be Pedon’s first head coaching job. He followed Chris Holtmann from Butler and is in his fifth season with the Buckeyes.

Pedon previously was assistant coach at Illinois under John Groce. He also spent three years at Toledo as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator and was director of basketball operations at Kent State from 2002-2005 and was a graduate assistant at Miami (Ohio).

Pedon said his family and he were seeking the “right fit” and “Illinois State checks every one of our boxes: Great people, strong academics, a highly competitive environment, a proud alumni base, and a campus (and) community that will allow us to recruit at a high level.”

Pedon played college basketball at Division III Wooster and helped the Fighting Scots to three NCAA Tournaments and three championships of the North Coast Athletic Conference.