St. John's Jesuit Head Basketball Coach Ed Heintschel is set to begin his 40th season at the helm for the Titans. Born and raised in East Toledo, he graduated from The University of Toledo with a Bachelor's degree in Education and a Master's degree in Guidance. He began working at SJJ 44 years ago as an English teacher, freshman football coach and junior varsity basketball coach. After five years, he was elevated to Athletic Director, a position he held for 25 years, and varsity basketball coach.
Coach Heintschel has coached hundreds of young men who have built SJJ into a basketball powerhouse. From the eight All-Ohio first team honorees, to the players who have been role players who defended and rebounded, to the players who have barely gotten off the bench, all these young men have helped build and sustain the success of the Titan basketball program over the past four decades.
Coach Heintschel has accumulated a career record of 714-213 (.770 winning percentage). During the 2017-18 season, he became only the fourth coach in Ohio high school basketball history to accumulate 700 wins, and he currently sits fourth in all-time wins. He is the only coach in Ohio to accomplish this feat at one institution at the Division I level.
In 2017-18, Coach Heintschel led the Titans to their 17th league championship under his guidance. He was also honored in 2012-13 as the Ohio Division I Coach of the Year.
He has led the Titans to 13 district championships in the past 19 years, most recently in 2017-18, and six of his teams have advanced to the state Final Four. Three of those teams reached the state championship game.
The Titans have averaged 20 wins per season since 2000, and 24 of Coach Heintschel's players have played at the Division I level in college with numerous others playing at the D-II, D-III or NAIA level.
Coach Heintschel is the father of three: Damion '94, Kim, and Ted '05. Coach Heintschel's wife, Cheryl, passed away in 2002.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I envision staying as head coach for all these years, having the success with which we have been blessed, coaching the tremendously talented young men that have been here, and working with the wonderful people on the periphery that made this possible," Coach Heintschel said. "It is a tribute to the Jesuit vision of excellence- that vision which pulls all this together."
