Girls basketball: James Madison stepping down as Highland coach

One of the most successful girls basketball coaches in Medina County history is leaving the bench sooner than he anticipated.After stabilizing the extremely chaotic Highland program and quickly taking it to unprecedented levels of success, James Madison has resigned after compiling a 156-41 record (.792) over eight seasons that included 25-1 and 21-4 marks over the last two winters.Madison coached during the summer season before reaching his decision and added he was not pressured by school officials to resign."I'm stepping down from my position as the girls varsity basketball coach at Highland," he said. "Some parents believe a new coach will make the program more successful."I want to thank the Highland administration for their support and giving me the opportunity to coach the last eight years. I wish the players continued success moving forward."The former Cleveland State standout took over what was one of the county's most unstable programs, regardless of sport, in 2018. Highland had gone through eight coaches over the previous 12 seasons and was without a league championship since 1980.Known for attacking offenses, switch-heavy man defenses and coaching most of his future varsity players at the youth level, Madison instantly turned the Hornets into a winner, going 13-9, 19-5 and 18-6 before breaking through with a 24-2 record in 2021-22 that included Suburban League American Conference and district championships.Highland never slowed down, became the first county girls basketball team to start a season 25-0 in 2024-25 and surprised many by repeating as SL American champion while also breaking the school record for defensive scoring average (35.0) last winter. Those two teams also advanced to the Division III regionals before falling to private schools Archbishop Hoban and St. Vincent-St. Mary. Among county coaches with at least 100 victories, Madison's .792 percentage ranks behind only Wadsworth's Scott Callaghan (.870, 2000-05) and Todd Osborn (.839, 1993-2000)."I'm proud of the stability and consistency I was able to provide the last eight years after taking over a program that had so much coach turnover previously," said Madison, the Gazette Winter Coach of the Year in 2022 and 2025.Highland will join the loaded SL National Conference next season and lost third-team All-Ohio point guard Grace Shondel to graduation. The Hornets are slated to return athletic All-Gazette forward Madi Morgan, honorable mention choices Rowan Kildoo (SF) and Emeri Gausman (C), starting shooting guard Jordyn Caples, Scarlet Gordon (F/G), Sophia Madison (G), Alaina Weingart (G) and Bridget Cope (PF/C).They'll also have a regarded freshman joining the starting lineup, as point guard Charlotte Madison led her middle school teams to a combined 32-3 record over the last two seasons. "I'm going to miss coaching these girls because they had a strong ethic and a strong passion to want to get better," James Madison said.Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.