In nine seasons, Norris has led the program to accomplishments it had never achieved. Norris is the only coach in program history to take the Cardinals to MAC regular season and tournament titles along with three berth’s to the NCAA tournament (2016, 2021 & 2022). He has coached the Cardinals to an impressive 153-50 (.753) overall mark and a 60-22 (.731) MAC ledger.
The Ball State women's tennis team continues to etch its name into the program's record books after the 2022 season, claiming the program's fourth Mid-American Conference regular season championship and second MAC Tournament title in the past six conference seasons.
The Cardinals also earned a berth to the NCAA Championship marking the third time in program history, with all three coming under Norris. In fact, Norris has guided the program to all four of its MAC regular season championships (2016, 2017, 2021 and 2022) and to both of the program’s MAC Tournament championships in 2016 and 2022. Norris was also the 2021 and 2022 MAC Coach of the Year.
Ball State exceeded program annals once again in 2021 season after posting a 22-4 overall record while finishing the conference play with a 13-1 ledger. The special year also featured a 22-match winning streak for the Cardinals.
The Ball State women's tennis team had one of its best spring starts in 2020 under Norris. The Cardinals owned a 10-2 non-conference ledger prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that ultimately cut the season short. Ball State was one match away from starting the 2020 Mid-American Conference portion of its schedule.
The 2019 season saw the Cardinals advance to the semifinals of the MAC Tournament but unfortunately their run was cut short when they fell to Miami. Ball State also celebrated coach Norris' 100th career victory at the helm of the Cardinals after posting a 7-0 sweep over Buffalo in Muncie on April 5.
Coach Norris over the years has continued to build a dynasty at Ball State. In 2017, Norris guided the Cardinals to their second consecutive MAC regular season title championship, clinching the with a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over Akron on April 22 at the Cardinal Creek Tennis Center. Ball State ended the league's regular season 8-0 for the first time in program history. The Cardinals also earned the right to host the 2018 MAC Tournament after already hosting last year's conference tourney.
Norris' 2016 team made history, wrapping up the season with an NCAA tournament appearance against Big Ten foe Michigan. He was tabbed MAC Coach of the Year for his efforts, marking only the fourth time in program history Ball State's head coach had received MAC Coach of the Year accolades and the first since 1995. The Cardinals ended the 2016 season with a 22-4 overall record, which marked the most wins in a single season at Ball State and a 7-1 mark.
In 2015 Norris led the Cardinals to their first ever MAC Tournament championship match appearance. Ball State was also the only school to have two All-MAC First Team honorees, which were Courtney Earnest and Courtney Wild. Earnest and teammate Bethany Moore were also named to the All-MAC Tournament Team. He finished his first season with 16 wins, which at the time ranked second in program history.
Norris’ debut season was highlighted with a road win at Michigan State which proved to be the only MAC win over a Big Ten opponent in 2014. It also marked only the fifth time ever the Cardinals had topped a Big Ten opponent in women’s tennis, and first since the 2001 season.
Under his tutelage, 16 Cardinals have earned All-MAC First Team, Second Team and All-MAC Tournament honors, including the program's first ever MAC Tournament MVP, Carmen Blanco in 2016. Ball State added another Cardinals to the MAC Tournament MVP list in 2022 when Jessica Braun received the honor.
Norris has also continued a coaching tradition in his last seven seasons, encouraging his athletes to excel in the classroom where his team has featured 26 Academic All-MAC recipients. Further, the Cardinals continue to lead Ball State athletics year after year with one of the highest team GPA’s. Ball State women's tennis has also earned ITA All-Academic team honors in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Norris re-joined the Ball State tennis program after working as a student manager under current head men's tennis coach Bill Richards from 2009-10 and a volunteer assistant in the fall of 2008. Following his time with the Cardinals, Norris served as a volunteer assistant for the women's tennis program at North Carolina (2010-12) before being hired as the assistant women's tennis coach at Alabama.
At Alabama, Norris helped the Crimson Tide reached the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament and the final 16 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, both were firsts in program history. In 2013, Alabama ended the season with a final national ranking of No. 11, after reaching a season-high ranking of No. 5.
Norris helped coach the Crimson Tide's Mary Anne Macfarlane and Alexa Guarachi to the 2013 NCAA doubles semifinals, with Guarachi also advancing to the NCAA singles semifinal. Both were firsts in program history. Macfarlane and Guarachi also earned All-American accolades.
At North Carolina, Norris helped the TarHeels reach the round of 16 in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, and a final national ranking of No. 8 to go along with a second-place finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference. From 2011-12, he helped coach three All-American selections, Zoe DeBruyker (2011) and the doubles team of Shinann Featherston and Lauren McHale (2011 & 2012). In 2011, Norris was on the staff which led the TarHeels to an ACC Championship, the semifinals of the ITA National Team Indoor, the NCAA Quarterfinals and a national ranking of No. 4.
Norris, a 2008 graduate of Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio, was a 2007 and 2008 first team Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection, as well as a second team all-league honoree in 2006 and 2008. He ended his career with 80 wins, playing primarily in the top three singles positions and top two doubles spots. He was named the team's most valuable player in all four seasons.
After receiving his undergraduate degree from Heidelberg, Norris spent two years at Ball State, where he earned a master's degree in communication studies in 2010. While at Ball State, Norris helped the men's tennis program, taught undergraduate classes, and received the 2010 Graduate Student of the Year Award from the Department of Communication Studies.
Before his collegiate experience, Norris spent five years (2005-09) as a teaching professional at Sylvania Country Club located in Sylvania, Ohio.
