After one season at Ohio State, guard Tanner Holden is returning to Wright State, where he played the first three seasons of his college career, he announced on Tuesday.
Holden entered the transfer portal on April 26 after a disappointing season in Columbus, which saw his role dwindle as the season wore on. Across the Buckeyes’ first 19 games, Holden averaged 16.3 minutes per game while factoring into Ohio State’s guard and forward rotations, but his minutes plummeted to an average of 3.5 per contest in OSU’s final 16 games. He finished the season by averaging 3.6 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from three.
Prior to joining Ohio State, Holden emerged as one of the nation’s most elite scorers while at Wright State. Across his first three seasons as a Raider, Holden produced averages of 16.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game while shooting 53.0 percent from the field. He garnered a pair of All-Horizon League First Team honors while aiding Wright State to a pair of Horizon League regular season titles and a conference tournament title in 2021-22.
Holden didn’t truly break out until his junior season at Wright State, in which he averaged 20.1 points per game — ranking second in the Horizon League behind only Detroit Mercy guard Antoine Davis, who finished his college career just three points shy of Pete Maravich’s NCAA record 3,667 career points. Holden connected on 49.7 percent of his 13.6 field goal attempts per game, and saved his best for the NCAA Tournament, where he produced 37 points and 11 rebounds to lead Wright State to a 93-82 win over Bryant in the First Four.
Wright State saw a considerable drop-off in 2022-23 without Holden, dropping from a 22-14 record in 2021-22 to an 18-15 mark. The Raiders went 10-10 in conference play before being bounced in the Horizon League Tournament in the second round by Milwaukee 87-70.
With Holden’s commitment to return to Wright State, both of Ohio State’s transfer departures have found their landing spots, as guard Eugene Brown III also committed to Georgia Southern on April 25.
