CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland State University Director of Athletics John Parry has announced the hiring of Rebecca Norris as the Vikings new head softball coach. Norris will begin coaching duties at CSU immediately.
“Rebecca emerged from a very strong applicant pool as the best choice to lead the Cleveland State softball program next season and throughout the future,” Parry said. “She is both a student of the game and an educator with a wealth of experience and knowledge. You can tell that she is very passionate about the game and her teams will be fun to watch in the coming seasons.”
Norris, who comes to CSU with 17 years of collegiate coaching experience, was most recently the head coach at Indiana Tech, an NAIA school in Fort Wane, Ind. During her nine-year tenure with the Warriors (2005-2013), Norris guided the softball team to multiple program firsts, continually raising the level of expectations and standards for the program.
In her first year with the program, Norris guided the Warriors to the highest winning percentage in program history and followed that up with the team’s first-ever postseason appearance following the 2007 season. In 2010 Indiana Tech posted a 30-win season for the first time, and bettered the mark the following year, achieving a 38-16 record (.704).
Norris, the 2013 Indiana Tech Coach of the Year, recorded her 200th win as a head coach during her eighth season with the team, finishing her stint with 229 total wins. Throughout her nine seasons, Norris coached 25 All-Conference players, seven All-Region players and one All-American.
Norris’ teams have also been successful off the field, as she had 13 Academic All-Conference players – the most in program history – during the 2011 season and her teams have consistently maintained a GPA of 3.0 since her first year with the Indiana Tech program.
Prior to Indiana Tech, Norris spent one year as an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee State (2004), where the team achieved a 31-win season finishing third in the Sun Belt Conference and second in the conference tournament. She also spent four years at Eastern Illinois (2000-2003) assisting in all aspects of the program, including recruiting, running camps and clinics and coaching the bases.
Norris also had coaching stints at Rollins College (1999) and Maryville University (1997-1998). While at Maryville, she helped guide the team to the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title during the 1997 season.
Along with her collegiate coaching experience, Norris has spent the past seven years serving as the USA Athletes International head softball coach, traveling and coaching collegiate athletes at international competitions.
The St. Louis, Mo. native is actively involved with the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, and has been honored as a Four Star Master Coach through the National Fastpitch Coaches College. In recent years she has served on the NAIA All-Region and All-American committees.
Norris was a two-sport athlete at Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky., playing softball and field hockey. She received a BA in English from Bellarmine in 1993, an MA in Teaching from Webster University in 1995 and an MS in Kinesiology with an emphasis in coaching fastpitch from Texas Woman’s University in 2006.
