OXFORD, Ohio — Ohio High School Basketball Hall of Fame coach Mary Jo Huismann stepped down Tuesday afternoon after earning 769 wins as a head coach since the 1972-73 season.
Huismann, who is second in girls basketball career coaching wins in state history, coached the Talawanda High School girls basketball program since May 2018. Huismann plans to continue helping the program for the 2024-25 season in another role.
"Mary Jo has been an amazing leader for high school sports in Southwest Ohio for a long time and has given back so much to her communities," the Ohio High School Athletic Association told WCPO 9 in a statement. "Her many awards aren’t enough to tell the story of her career and the impact she has had. The OHSAA thanks Mary Jo for a lifetime of service to student-athletes."
Talawanda's athletic director, Jake Richardson, said he met with the varsity players and the team expressed how much Huismann represents to the program. Richardson said he's looking forward to working with Huismann in girls basketball and athletics overall.
"She's a coach; she loves it," Richardson said. "She's brought discipline, responsibility, accountability and just competitiveness. She's a competitor. She's tough as all get out."
Huismann guided Talawanda to consecutive Southwest Ohio Conference (SWOC) championships in 2022 and 2023. Over six seasons, Huismann led Talawanda with 72 victories.
Huismann, a former longtime Mother of Mercy coach and athletic director, earned the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association's John Wooden Legacy Award in February. Huismann is grateful to have made an impact on student-athletes throughout the years.
"You make a difference with what you say to them," Huismann said.
Huismann, a 1999 Buddy LaRosa High School Sports Hall of Fame inductee, has received numerous honors over the years.
"Mary Jo Huismann had such tremendous impact on women’s high school sports in our area. Her storied career as a coach and then athletic director positioned her to be a difference maker in so many young women’s lives," LaRosa's chief executive officer Michael LaRosa told WCPO 9. "Her influence will forever remain in the lives of the women she touched."
Huismann was also inducted into the Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame and Mother of Mercy Hall of Fame. She also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women's Sports Foundation among her numerous honors.
“She is what we refer to as the guru of basketball here in Cincinnati,” former Wyoming coach Deb Gentile told WCPO 9 in 2018. Gentile played for Huismann at the University of Cincinnati in the 1970s.
Huismann had a 696-337 record at Mother of Mercy from 1972-73 to the 2017-18 season. Mercy and McAuley high schools closed their doors and merged to form Mercy McAuley in August 2018.
"Mary Jo was the model in girls basketball program building and skill development when I broke into coaching," former Lakota West coach Andy Fishman said. "She is a pioneer in girls basketball advocacy, history and always made time for young coaches looking to grow their programs."
A 1965 Mercy graduate, Huismann was Mercy's athletic director for 39 years before she stepped down from that position in 2011. She also coached volleyball and track at Mercy along with her teaching duties.
The Girls Greater Catholic League (GGCL) also has an annual honor — the Huismann Award — given each year to a student who is an excellent example of service to the school.
In addition to coaching more than 1,000 high school games over the course of her career, Huismann helped establish the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) girls basketball program in Cincinnati with Gentile in the 1980s and 1990s.
"Mary Jo Huismann is simply put, a pioneer in women's basketball," said Bryce McKey, She Hoops Ohio co-founder and director of operations. "While Coach Huismann has to be proud of her 700-plus wins, we know she's more interested in the impact she's made on the lives of hundreds of girls basketball players within her programs. Very few people have given so much of their lives to coaching and we are extremely thankful for everything she's done to grow the game here in Ohio."
In 1996, Huismann was in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" to commemorate her 400th win. She was selected to coach in the second annual McDonald’s All American Girls’ Game in 2003 in Cleveland.
Mercy was state runner-up three times (1980, 1989 and 1990). Huismann has been named a national and state coach of the year along with several league and city honors.
"All girls sports in Cincinnati and in Ohio are bigger and better today because of the foundation she helped build for decades," Lakota West athletic director Scott Kaufman said.
She coached the University of Cincinnati for two seasons starting in 1969 before she became the Capital University head coach in 1971-72. She returned to UC for two additional seasons through 1974.
