OSAA To Honor Legendary St. Mary’s AD Anna Maria Lopez With Inaugural Award (Photo) - 01/30/26
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) will present St. Mary’s Academy Executive Athletic Director Anna Maria Lopez with the inaugural Anna Maria Lopez Outstanding Athlete of the Year Award on Wednesday, February 4th on National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
The award presentation will take place during a school-wide assembly at 12:15 p.m. in the Richard and Virginia Mathews Gymnasium at St. Mary Academy’s downtown Portland campus, during which five students signing National Letters of Intent on National Signing Day.
Beginning this year, the OSAA National Women and Girls in Sports Committee, along with the Student Activities Advisory Committee, will choose an outstanding Oregon female athlete — past or present — for the Anna Maria Lopez Outstanding Athlete of the Year Award.
Media Availability
Following the presentation, the following individuals will be available for interviews:
- Anna Maria Lopez, Executive Athletic Director, St. Mary’s Academy
- Liane Rae, Principal, St. Mary’s Academy
- Missy Smith, Assistant Director, OSAA (award presenter)
Why This Matters
A 1978 St. Mary’s Academy graduate, Lopez has announced her retirement at the conclusion of the 2025–26 school year, closing a remarkable 40-year career as a coach, teacher, and athletic director. A trailblazer in girls’ athletics, she has shaped generations of student-athletes and helped define excellence in Oregon high school sports.
Visuals
Photos and b-roll will be available for media outlets unable to attend.
About Anna Maria Lopez
A living legend at SMA and a pioneer in girls sports, Lopez in June became the fourteenth inductee from Oregon to enter the NFHS National High School Hall of Fame, joining a prestigious list of Oregonians that includes Steve Prefontaine, Danny Ainge, former NFL star Mel Renfro, and Heisman Trophy winner Terry Baker.
As a four-sport standout at SMA, Lopez was an athletic trailblazer in the immediate years after Title IX was passed, which opened the door for increased interscholastic sports opportunities in the ensuing decades.
Lopez led the Blues to two state volleyball championships, was a Parade All-American selection in basketball, won two individual OSAA state track and field titles in the discus, and was an All-American softball player before the OSAA offered the sport.
She went on to star in basketball and volleyball at USC and helped the Trojans win two national volleyball titles. After playing professional volleyball, she returned to SMA in 1985 as a teacher and coach and has been the school’s athletic director for nearly 35 years.
The mark she leaves on St. Mary’s and on high school girls athletics is both remarkable and entirely singular.
Kathy Kinyon, who coached Lopez in track and basketball at SMA, called her the “Caitlin Clark” of her era. In March, Sports Illustrated recognized her as the greatest high school athlete in Oregon history.
The induction into the National High School Hall of Fame in June is perhaps a culmination of a long list of awards Lopez has earned. She was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. As an administrator, she’s twice been chosen as Oregon Athletic Directors Association Athletic Director of the Year.
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At St. Mary's Academy, We Believe.
St. Mary's Academy, located in the University District of Portland, OR, is the state's oldest continuously operating school and the only all-girls school in Oregon. Founded in 1859 by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, St. Mary's Academy serves more than 550 young women in grades 9-12. The school's college acceptance rate is 100%, and SMA students achieve, excel, and are recognized locally, regionally, and nationally in academic fields, leadership, STEM, the arts, athletics, community service, and extra- and co-curricular activities. To learn more, please visit www.stmaryspdx.org
