Family time is calling.
For St. Henry girls basketball coach Todd Smart, it’s time to focus on his family. The Crusaders coach the last five seasons and assistant for more than 10 years prior to that announced on Monday that he’s stepping down from the head coaching position.
“For the past 15 years I have devoted myself to coaching St. Henry District High School Girls Basketball. Well, the time has come to start a new chapter in my life and step away from coaching and start spending more time with my beautiful wife (Melanie Lameier Smart), my family and my friends,” Smart said in a Facebook post. “I just wanted to say Thank You to all the players, coaches, administrators, volunteers and parents that have supported me along the way.”
Smart won 69 games the last five seasons as the head coach, guiding St. Henry to back-to-back 9th Region tournament appearances. They’ve finished 34th District runner-up to Dixie Heights the past two seasons and posted a 15-15 record in the 2023-24 season. In Smart’s first season as head coach, they reached the 9th Region All “A” Classic championship game before losing to Newport Central Catholic.
“We want to express our deepest gratitude for his unwavering dedication, leadership, and passion for the game of basketball,” St. Henry Athletics posted via their X account on Monday. “Thank You for everything you’ve done for our team and the countless lives you’ve touched along the way.”
The Crusaders will not only look new on the sidelines next season with Smart’s departure, but also on the court as six seniors are set to graduate. The six graduating include leading scorer Kayla Unkraut and leading rebounder Taylor Hill. Sydney Bollman, Josie Knollman, Liz Mason and Aubrey Logan also played their last game in a Crusaders uniform in Sunday’s 9th Region tournament quarterfinal loss to Holy Cross. Five of the six played in at least 29 of the 30 games this season while Unkraut missed 10 games due to injury.
They’ll return key rotational players Josephine Powers and Jayne Knollman and an influx of junior varsity players that went 22-3 this season.
St. Henry last won a district title in 2014 and a regional All “A” title in 1996. Their last region tournament victory came in 2012.