Horizon League Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)
By Joey Loose
13. Tanner Holden
A 6’6 wing from Wheelersburg, Ohio, Holden has spent his collegiate career in his home state, beginning at Wright State back in 2019. Holden played a major role for the Raiders across the next three seasons before transferring to Ohio State, spending this past season as a bench piece for the Buckeyes in the Big Ten.
As a freshman, he averaged 11.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in the pandemic-altered season, including a 27-point, 17-rebound game at Toledo. His numbers grew even more impressive, averaging 15.8 points a game as a sophomore and better than 20 each game as a junior. During that junior season, he led the Raiders to the Horizon League Tournament and put up 37 points against Bryant in a First Four win to kick off the NCAA Tournament.
He earned First Team All-Horizon honors as both a sophomore and junior, becoming one of the top offensive players in the league. He actually finished 6th in the nation with his 723 points as a junior, though his contributions were far less impressive this past year in Columbus. However, Holden surprised many when he announced he would transfer back to Wright State for this upcoming season, hoping to make another trip to the Big Dance with the Raiders.