Ryan Pedon

Ryan Thomas Pedon (born May 3, 1978) is an American basketball coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Illinois State. He is known for his Ohio roots and strong recruiting. He has been a coach under notable names like John Groce and Chris Holtmann.

Ryan Pedon

Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	Illinois State
Conference	Missouri Valley
Record	26–38 (.406)
Biographical details
Born	(1978-05-03) May 3, 1978 (age 45)
Playing career
1996–2000	Wooster
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2000–2002	Miami (OH) (GA)
2005–2010	Miami (OH) (assistant)
2010–2013	Toledo (assistant)
2013–2015	Illinois (assistant)
2015–2017	Butler (assistant)
2017–2022	Ohio State (assistant)
2022–present	Illinois State
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2002–2005	Kent State (DBO)
Head coaching record
Overall	26–38 (.406)

Playing career

Pedon played college basketball for Wooster under head coach Steve Moore. He won the Bear Award in 2000 for a player who exhibits leadership, courage and character to the team.^[1]

He graduated in 2000 from Wooster with a degree in communications. In 2002, he earned his master's degree from Miami (OH) in sports organization.^[2]

Coaching career

Known for his strong Ohio roots, Pedon started his coaching career at Miami (OH) as a graduate assistant. He became the director of basketball operations for Kent State before returning to Miami (OH) in 2005. While at Miami the second time. He left in 2010 to be an assistant coach under former Marquette assistant coach Tod Kowalczyk.^[3]

In 2013, he was hired as the assistant to the head coach by Illinois. He worked under John Groce during this time, a friend of future boss Chris Holtmann. He became known as a good recruiter in the state of Ohio and an offensive-minded coach. In 2015, he joined Chris Holtmann at Butler.^[4] He left with Holtmann to join his hometown team, Ohio State, in 2017. On March 4, 2022 he was announced as the Illinois State men's basketball coach.^[5][6][7]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Illinois State Redbirds (Missouri Valley Conference) (2022–present)
2022–23	Illinois State	11–21	6–14	9th
2023–24	Illinois State	15–17	9–11	T–7th
Illinois State:		26–38 (.406)	15–25 (.375)
Total:		26–38 (.406)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

References

1. Sutelan, Edward (July 20, 2017). "Ryan Pedon living the dream as coach of hometown Buckeyes". The Lantern.
2. "Ryan Pedon-Ohio State Buckeyes". Ohio State Athletics. August 16, 2018.
3. "Rockets Coaching Staff Completed with Hiring of Assistant Coach Ryan Pedon". Toledo Athletics. May 17, 2023.
4. Pointer, Michael. "Butler hires Ryan Pedon as assistant coach". IndyStar.
5. Benson, Jim (March 4, 2022). "Illinois State names Ohio State assistant coach Ryan Pedon as next head coach". Pantagraph.
6. Leonard, Jake (March 4, 2022). "Pedon newest Illinois State men's basketball head coach". Heartland Newsfeed.
7. Strom, Griffin (March 4, 2022). "Ohio State assistant coach Ryan Pedon hired as new Illinois State head coach". Eleven Warriors.