Suzy Willemssen’s highly-successful tenure as the head girls softball coach at Bishop O’Connell High School has ended after six seasons.
Willemssen recently stepped down from that position so she could be available to watch her daughter, Christina, play college softball in person at the University of Notre Dame. The outfielder will be a sophomore for Notre Dame this coming spring season.
“With wanting to watch my daughter play, I realized I could not meet the standard the program deserves with the head coach position. I knew I needed to step down,” Willemssen said. “I tried to finagle the O’Connell schedule some last season, and didn’t want to do that again. If she played closer, maybe it could work out and I could still coach at O’Connell.”
In her six seasons, Willemssen’s O’Connell teams had a 95-6-1 record, won five Division I private school state championships and won the last three Washington Catholic Athletic Conference tournament crowns. Neither tournament was played in 2020 because of the pandemic.
O’Connell finished undefeated the last two seasons (23-0 last spring), giving the Knights a 54-game winning streak spanning three seasons.
"What an honor it was to be O'Connell's coach," Willemssen said. "The parents, administration and my staff were remarkable cornerstones for our success. But it was the players that did the work, embraced every challenge. They were warrior spirits with a team-first attitude. I'm forever grateful that I had the opportunity to be their coach."
Willemssen leaves the team good shape for her eventual successor. Many top players are expected to return next season, including starting pitching ace Bri Lencz and shortstop and top hitter M.J. Melvin, along with Abby Bond, Emma Prykanowski and Ari Clark.
“The cupboard is stocked, and we had a good jayvee program last season,” Willemssen said.
Willemssen’s replacement has not been chosen. O’Connell athletic director Joe Wootten said a new coach could be named in a couple of weeks.
“We thank her for all she did for us,” Wootten said of Willemssen. “She was fantastic, continued a great tradition of softball at O’Connell, and she made her own name because of what the team did.”
Willemssen took over at O’Connell in 2019 after longtime head coach Tommy Orndorff retired after 33 years and winning 733 games, 23 state championships and 24 WCAC titles.
