Ohio State and head coach Jake Diebler have lost the top assistant on their staff, with the Columbus Dispatch first reporting that associate head coach Joel Justus will be leaving Columbus to become an assistant coach at Vanderbilt.
Justus was originally hired to Diebler’s staff on April 8, 2024, and helped Ohio State to a 17-15 record in the 2024-25 season. The following year, Ohio State achieved a 21-13 mark, when the Buckeyes capped the 2025-26 season with their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2022.
Justus began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Elon from 2004 to 2008 before he spent six seasons at the high school level. He was then on staff for seven years at Kentucky from 2014 to 21, including the last five seasons as an assistant coach under now-Arkansas head coach John Calipari.
The North Carolina native later spent a year as an assistant coach for Arizona State for the 2021-22 season and two seasons at NC State from 2022 to 2024, helping guide the Wolfpack to back-to-back tournament appearances and a run to the Final Four as a No. 11 seed in his second year with the program.
Justus now heads to Nashville to join a surging Vanderbilt team under head coach Mark Byington, who is coming off a 27-9 season and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2026.
