Illinois State has made the news official. The Redbirds have hired Ohio State assistant coach Ryan Pedon to be the next leader of the program.

Friday afternoon, Illinois State released a statement, making the hire official. Matt Norlander of CBS Sports first reported the news earlier in the day before an official announcement was made.

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Pedon has been an assistant at Ohio State for the last 5 seasons. He’s also had stops with Butler, Illinois, Miami (OH) and Toledo.

“I am extremely excited to be joining the Redbird family. I would like to thank President Kinzy, Kyle Brennan, and Mark Muhlhauser for this opportunity,” 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.”

Pedon has been involved with coaching at the college level for two decades. This will be his first opportunity to be a head coach, however.

“We could not be more excited to have Ryan Pedon as the leader of our men’s basketball program at Illinois State,” Illinois State athletic director Kyle Brennan said. “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.”

Pedon will remain with Ohio State through the remainder of the 2021-22 season before taking over at Illinois State. The Buckeyes have one regular season game remaining before the B1G and NCAA tournaments.