Oak Hill Academy basketball coach Steve Smith to retire following season
MOUTH OF WILSON, Va. (BVM) – One of the winningest coaches in prep basketball history has announced his retirement.
On Feb. 8, Oak Hill Academy head coach Steve Smith publicly announced his retirement from his position effective July 1, 2022, after the team’s season. Smith’s decision comes after 38 seasons at the helm of the Oak Hill program where he recorded the third-most wins in high school basketball history with 1,225, trailing only Robert Hughes of Dunbar in Fort Worth, Texas with 1,333 wins and Morgan Wootten of DeMatha in Hyattsville, Maryland with 1,274 wins.
“We congratulate Steve Smith for his unparalleled career and are deeply appreciative that he chose as his profession to invest in the lives of students at our school,” Oak Hill President Dr. Michael Groves said in a school press release. “In the coming months, we look forward to celebrating his many accomplishments with his family and friends, and with his current team—the nationally ranked 2021-2022 Oak Hill Academy Warriors.”
It's been my honor to be the head basketball coach at Oak Hill Academy for the past 37 years. I will always be a Warrior for life!
— Steve Smith (@OHACoachSmith) February 8, 2022
Smith currently sits with a record of 1,225-98, a .942 winning percentage, which is the highest all-time at the prep level. He has nine national championships, four USA Today High School Coach of the Year awards and three Naismith High School Coach of the Year awards. In addition to his impressive number of wins and awards, Smith has coached 225 Division I players, 35 NBA draft picks, 34 McDonald’s All-Americans and two Naismith Award winners in Brandon Jennings and Ron Mercer.
The players that Smith has coached during his tenure include a who’s who of NBA talent. Players such as Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant (briefly), Rajon Rondo, Brandon Jennings, Josh Smith, Jerry Stackhouse, Rod Strickland, Ty Lawson and Cole Anthony, among many others, once called Oak Hill Academy home under Smith’s tutelage.
Some players, such as 2017 first round pick Harry Giles III, congratulated the coach on his well-earned retirement.
Congrats coach! Had the honor to get coached by you even though it didn’t go as dreamed. I still enjoyed our time. I still think about it. But today is about you. Salute to a REAL legend! Go live life coach. Still young anyway lol @OHACoachSmith https://t.co/a2HCPW8LLV
— Harry Giles III (@HGiiizzle) February 8, 2022
With his impact on the collegiate level as well, Smith earned a number of congratulations from the college ranks including national recruiting director at ESPN, Paul Biancardi.
Steve Smith has coached some of the best players in the game. He also has given his best to all his players. He won a lot of games and changed a lot of lives along the way. A class person who cares. @OHACoachSmith https://t.co/pRF7NQKnVJ
— Paul Biancardi (@PaulBiancardi) February 8, 2022
Oak Hill is also a founding member of the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference which debuted during the 2021-22 season. The NIBC is comprised of eight of the top basketball programs in the country: Bishop Walsh School of Cumberland, Maryland, IMG Academy of Bradenton, Florida, La Lumiere School of La Porte, Indiana, Legacy Early College of Greenville, South Carolina, Montverde Academy of Montverde, Florida, Sunrise Christian Academy of Bel Aire, Kansas and Wasatch Academy of Mt. Pleasant, Utah along with Oak Hill.
On Feb. 7, Oak Hill was ranked as the No. 10 team in the country by USA Today. The Warriors had a 23-7 record as of Smith’s announcement.
According to President Groves, the search for a new head coach will fall under his department and the team will look to maintain its national recognition and level of play in the NIBC.
“Oak Hill Academy is dedicated to maintaining the national level of our basketball program, including our partnership with Nike,” Groves said in his press release. “The search for Oak Hill’s next head coach will be managed through the President’s Office.”
Groves and the rest of the Oak Hill Academy community will have big shoes to fill with Smith’s departure. While finding a head coach who will maintain the program’s national level of competition and success could happen for the Warriors, it will be difficult to find someone as impactful as Smith was to Oak Hill and the game of high school basketball as a whole.
