Early coaching career From 2001 to 2004 Otzelberger served as a basketball coach at
Burlington Catholic Central High School in
Burlington, Wisconsin. He was promoted to varsity head coach and athletic director in 2003. For the 2004–2005 season, he moved to
Marianna, Florida, to join the
Chipola College staff as an assistant coach. at the 2005
NJCAA national tournament in
Hutchinson, Kansas.
Iowa State (assistant) Otzelberger served on the
Cyclones' coaching staff for eight seasons. He initially joined the
Iowa State coaching staff under former
Iowa State head coach
Greg McDermott in 2006, and served under him as an assistant through the 2009–2010 season. When
McDermott was succeeded by
Fred Hoiberg in May 2010, Otzelberger was promoted to the position of associate head coach. In 2011–2012, Hoiberg led
Iowa State to a 23–11 overall record and a third-place finish in the
Big 12 Conference, advancing to the
NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005. The
Cyclones defeated reigning national champion
Connecticut in third round tourney action, before falling to eventual national champion
Kentucky. In 2012–2013, the
Cyclones finished 4th in the Big 12 Conference while advancing to the third round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Ohio State on a buzzer beater. During this stretch, the
Cyclones were among the nation's leading teams in scoring, returning the team to national prominence. Otzelberger has been widely regarded as one of the top recruiters in the nation. His efforts have helped secure the services of Cyclone greats
Mike Taylor,
Craig Brackins,
Diante Garrett,
Scott Christopherson,
Chris Babb, Chris Allen,
Will Clyburn,
Korie Lucious,
Melvin Ejim,
Georges Niang,
Naz Long, and
Matt Thomas, among others. In addition to recruiting, Otzelberger was in charge of opponent scouting and game planning for the
Cyclones tournament run in
2012 and
2013. In April 2015, Otzelberger returned as an assistant coach for
Iowa State after leaving
Washington.
Washington On May 7, 2013, Washington Huskies head coach
Lorenzo Romar announced that Otzelberger had joined his staff as an assistant coach. NBC Sports called Coach Otzelberger's hiring at Washington as one of the top 10 key assistant coaching hires for the 2013–14 season. Following the 2014 season, Jay Bilas and Jeff Goodman ranked TJ as one of the top college head coaching candidates. On April 1, 2015, it was announced that Otzelberger was returning to Iowa State to replace Matt Abdelmassih.
South Dakota State On April 14, 2016, Otzelberger was named head coach of South Dakota State, replacing
Scott Nagy, who left after 21 years to become the head coach at
Wright State. In his first season as head coach, Otzelberger led the Jackrabbits to the
Summit League tournament championship and an automatic berth into the
NCAA tournament, losing in the first round to eventual tournament runner-up
Gonzaga. On March 6, 2018, Otzelberger led the Jackrabbits back to the NCAA Tournament, their third straight trip to the Big Dance, with a 97–87 win over the University of South Dakota.
UNLV On March 27, 2019, the
UNLV Runnin' Rebels announced Otzelberger would become their 13th head coach. On February 22, 2020, Otzelberger and the Runnin' Rebels defeated #4 San Diego State University, handing SDSU their first loss of the season.
Iowa State (head coach) On March 18, 2021, Otzelberger was hired at
Iowa State, replacing
Steve Prohm who was fired after winning just two games in a COVID shortened
season. Otzelberger won his 100th career game on November 9, 2021, in an 84–73 victory over Kennesaw State. Otzelberger accomplished the nation's largest turnaround in his
first year at the helm at Iowa State, winning 22 games and making the Sweet Sixteen of the
NCAA tournament. ==Head coaching record==