CANTON, Illinois – Author and longtime high school basketball follower Mark Bixler will release Legends on the Sidelines: Ohio’s Greatest High School Boys and Girls Basketball Coaches on October 9, 2026.
The thoroughly researched, 313-page book examines the coaches whose leadership helped establish Ohio as one of the nation’s great high school basketball states.
Bixler selected ten boys basketball coaches and ten girls basketball coaches to receive individual chapters. The book also recognizes ten Honorable Mention selections in each category, along with numerous Special Mention coaches representing communities and programs throughout Ohio.
The selections were based upon more than career victory totals. Bixler considered state championships, tournament appearances, longevity, player development, program building and the influence each coach had upon a school and community.
“Selecting only ten boys coaches and ten girls coaches was one of the most difficult parts of writing this book,” Bixler said. “Ohio has produced far more than twenty legendary coaches. That is why I also included Honorable Mentions and Special Mentions. This book is not intended to end the debate over who belongs on a particular list. It is intended to celebrate the coaches and preserve their stories.”
The book reaches across generations of Ohio basketball, examining early program builders, championship coaches, small-school legends and leaders who maintained excellence for decades. It also considers how the sport changed as tournament structures, playing styles, training methods and opportunities for girls continued to develop.
Bixler has followed high school basketball since the late 1960s, when he began attending games at four or five years old. His connection to Ohio basketball grew during his years at Ohio University and through his broadcasting career, including his time at WDRK in Greenville, Ohio. Those experiences gave him an appreciation for the place high school basketball holds in communities across the state.
“A great coach does more than win games,” Bixler said. “Coaches teach preparation, teamwork, discipline, sacrifice and perseverance. Their influence often remains with players long after the final game has been played. That lasting influence is what Legends on the Sidelines is really about.”
The book is intended for longtime Ohio basketball followers, former players and coaches, sports historians, school communities and readers who remember the packed gymnasiums and unforgettable tournament runs that helped shape the state’s basketball tradition.
Legends on the Sidelines: Ohio’s Greatest High School Boys and Girls Basketball Coaches will be published October 9, 2026, and will be available through Amazon. The paperback edition will be priced at $19.99, and the hardcover edition will be priced at $29.99.
The Ohio book will be part of a continuing Legends on the Sidelines series. Similar books celebrating the greatest high school boys and girls basketball coaches in Alabama, Illinois and Indiana are also planned for publication. Each volume will examine the coaches, programs and traditions that helped shape high school basketball in that state. Readers can also look forward to a similar series recognizing legendary high school football coaches and the programs they helped build.
