As the daughter of a high school basketball coach, Ryan Oldaker would regularly attend her mom’s games as a child.

Only she wouldn’t watch them from the bleachers with everyone else.

“I would be on the bench with the team,” Oldaker said, laughing. “I would always be at her practices, at all of her games. I was always around.”

Now a junior in high school, Oldaker has her own games to focus on. And after spending her sophomore season on the bench due to a knee injury, Oldaker has bounced back to become the leading scorer and one of the top overall players for a talented South Fayette team that is 14-1 and seeking a fourth consecutive WPIAL Class 5A title.

This has obviously made for one proud mother. Ryan’s mom, Dori Oldaker, is considered one of the greatest coaches in WPIAL history. Two years ago, Dori hit the stop button on a legendary career that saw her collect 495 wins, six WPIAL titles and five PIAA titles in 23 seasons during stops at Blackhawk and Mt. Lebanon. The reason for the move, Oldaker said at the time, was to watch her two daughters play out their careers. Dori and Mark Oldaker’s oldest daughter, Taylor, graduated from South Fayette last year. She is now a freshman at IUP but does not play basketball.

“I’m really pleased that she’s been such a great team player,” Dori said of Ryan. “I think she learned a lot from being on the bench last year, like being a great teammate and a great facilitator. Not forcing shots. That year off helped her basketball IQ. My husband and I, we’re really proud of how she’s handled the whole situation.”

Of course, a certain young lady who has always looked up to Dori as an inspiration is especially proud of her mom these days. That’s because it was announced last week that Dori will be part of the WPIAL Hall of Fame class of 2025. The 15-member class, which also includes the likes of Aliquippa’s Ty Law, Franklin Regional’s Spencer Lee and Southmoreland’s Russ Grimm, will be inducted on June 6 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Green Tree.

“I think it’s so cool, and I’m so proud of her,” Ryan Oldaker said. “She’s such an inspiration. She deserves it so much with how much hard work she put in.”

Ryan Oldaker and mom Dori Oldaker take in a Penn State football game last fall. (Submitted)

Ryan Oldaker continues to put lots of hard work in, too. A 5-foot-10 guard, Oldaker is averaging 15 points a game for South Fayette, which is 7-0 in Class 5A Section 3. The team’s only loss was to St. Mary’s, N.Y., in a tournament in Florida last month. That game was one of seven the Lions played without standout junior Juju Leroux, who returned to the lineup last week.

“She’s been exceptional this year for us,” South Fayette coach Bryan Bennett said. “She has the ability to score in a variety of ways. She’s an outstanding 3-point shooter. She has a really nice pull-up jumper from 15 feet. We’ve even posted her up this year. It’s not something she’s been accustomed to, but with her size, it creates mismatches. Defensively, she’s been outstanding. And I think her leadership has been unbelievable. She played a lot as a freshman, so getting to be around Maddie [Webber] and Ava [Leroux] and Rachel [Black}, I think she learned a lot from them on how to lead.”

The injury that forced Ryan Oldaker to miss her sophomore season originated late in the regular season of what had been a promising freshman season. Oldaker suffered a dislocated left knee during a practice. It did not require surgery, so Oldaker rehabbed and eventually returned for the team’s playoff run, which saw South Fayette win a second consecutive WPIAL title and reach the PIAA final for the first time.

“She did fine until August of that summer,” Dori Oldaker remembered. “They were at a camp at Kent State. She was going through warm-up layups and she dislocated it again. The doctor said that with it happening twice in less than six months, she had to have surgery.”

Ryan returned to action last March with her AAU team. Mom admitted that she was “on pins and needles” every time her daughter touched the ball, but Ryan made it through the season without any further troubles and carried that momentum into this season.

“The first few games back I had to wear a knee brace, but once I got out of that, I felt like I was better than I ever was,” said Ryan, who will play AAU for SLAAM this spring.

Oldaker said that one of the highlights of her season was the non-section game at Mt. Lebanon on Dec. 9. Playing in the same gym in which she watched her mom win so many games over the years, Ryan knocked down three 3-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points while leading South Fayette to a 51-28 win.

Ryan Oldaker (24) played key minutes as a freshman when she helped South Fayette defeat Oakland Catholic for its second consecutive WPIAL Class 5A title. (Emily Matthews/Pittsburgh Union Progress)

Colleges have taken notice of Oldaker’s breakout season. She owns an offer from West Liberty, while Columbia, Robert Morris and Gannon have been showing interest. Oldaker is a terrific student who holds a 3.97 GPA.

It might not be a surprise if Ryan Oldaker eventually becomes a coach herself one day. She may not officially be one now, but Bennett said she basically is one of his assistants, only she’s on the court and not on the bench.

“She’ll be thinking of the same things as me when she’s on the floor,” Bennett said. “She’s a very knowledgeable kid. She’s a true student of the game.”

Dori hasn’t closed the door on returning to become a high school coach again — “Never say never, but I don’t know,” she said — but, as it turns out, she’s been getting in her coaching “fix” this season as an assistant with a Mt. Lebanon fifth grade travel boys team. She will coach AAU again this spring, as well.

As far as that upcoming WPIAL Hall of Fame induction goes, Oldaker said, “I’m just extremely humbled and honored. I know it’s cliche, but it’s more about the players and coaches and families that I had the opportunity to work with and coach with.”

These days, you can find Dori at South Fayette girls basketball games cheering on her daughter and her teammates, who, if they play their cards right, could become the first team to four-peat as WPIAL champions since North Catholic claimed four consecutive Class 4A titles from 2017-20.

“We’re just so strong, so close,” Ryan Oldaker said. “I feel like our mentality is so different. I know we’ve won so many games, but nothing is good enough for us. We’re going to keep working hard and hopefully win another championship.”

Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.

Brad Everett

Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.