New North Allegheny girls basketball coach returns to big-school roots

By: John Grupp
Saturday, May 31, 2025 | 11:01 AM

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Jill Capozzi was unsure if she would ever coach again after stepping away from Sewickley Academy in February.

Then one phone call stopped her in her tracks.

“I walked away from it without really thinking I was getting back into it at all,” she said. “But that didn’t last long.”

She received an offer she couldn’t refuse — the girls basketball coaching job at North Allegheny.

Capozzi, 59, was approved at the May 7 school board meeting to take over the Tigers, who are coming off their first losing season (9-14) since 1987-88.

“We are very, very happy to have Jill here,” NA athletic director Bob Bozzuto said. “I think it’s an outstanding fit.”

Bozzuto had contacted Capozzi after Gabby Baldasare resigned following her first season. Bozzuto has known Capozzi (née Halapin) for four decades and hired her at Franklin Regional, her alma mater, in the late 1980s for her first coaching job.

“I reached out to her,” Bozzuto said. “We spoke very early to see if (coming to North Allegheny) was a possibility. She asked me, ‘Are you hiring me because you know me, or are you hiring me because I’m the best person for the position?’ I said, ‘You’re the best person for the position, and I know you.’ ”

Capozzi went 19-43 at Class A Sewickley Academy, including 5-15 last season. A former Division II All-American at Pitt-Johnstown, she also has a decade of head coaching experience at Norwin, Franklin Regional and Shaler Area in the 1990s. She was away from coaching for two decades when raising a family took priority. After leaving Sewickley Academy, she said Bozzuto was the only AD who could have lured her back to the sideline.

“He said, ‘These girls are willing to work,’ ” she said. “That’s all I needed to hear. … I am thrilled. I couldn’t be more excited for this opportunity.”

Bozzuto said Baldasare, who had replaced seven-time WPIAL champion coach Spencer Stefko, departed for personal reasons.

“It takes a great deal of time to coach,” Bozzuto said. “It’s 11 months out of the year. I like Gabby. She chose not to return this year, and I wish her the very best. When she wants to get back into coaching, she will do an outstanding job.”

Capozzi, meanwhile, switches programs that couldn’t be more different. North Allegheny has 1,008 girls in grades 9-11, most in the WPIAL. Sewickley Academy has 75.

“We had 14 players this past year, grades nine through 12,” Capozzi said. “In all due respect, it’s just a different monster. Getting back into 6A, that’s my roots. This is where I belong. I am built for this, and my coaches are built for this.”

Her assistants are former Leechburg girls coach Chuck Langston and Mark Winiecki. Another assistant, Lexi Griggs, who has coached at IUP and Seton Hill, is expected to be approved at the June school board meeting.

Capozzi met with the players and parents in mid-May and already is conducting offseason workouts as the Tigers look to rebound from a rare losing season.

“There’s some talent here,” she said. “And the energy shows me their will to compete at a very high level. I sincerely believe it’s not going to take much. … I’m looking forward to this upcoming season, as I know they are. I think they have a lot to prove coming off a season like last year.”

Tags: North Allegheny