Walsh Jesuit Welcomes New Men’s Basketball Coach, Kevin Byrne

CUYAHOGA FALLS, OH June 7, 2018 — Kevin Byrne WJ ’92 will be the next Walsh Jesuit Men’s Warrior Basketball team head coach. Having successfully coached teams at the collegiate level, Byrne hopes to continue being successful for his alma mater.
"I am very excited and thankful to have this great opportunity," Byrne said. "I'm looking forward to coaching at Walsh Jesuit - a place very dear to me."

Most recently, Byrne was the assistant men’s basketball coach at Akron University. Prior to that position, he was the head men’s basketball coach at Ohio Northern University. While at Ohio Northern, Byrne guided the Polar Bears to a 41-38 record, a winning percentage of .519. ONU had a 16-10 record and finished fourth in the Ohio Athletic Conference in 2013-14.

"We are very excited about welcoming Coach Byrne to the WJ family. Coach brings an exceptional energy and expertise to our program that will truly 'make the W shine.' We look for great success for our athletes and our program under Coach Byrne's leadership," said Barb Salata, Walsh Jesuit’s Athletic Director.

Byrne came to Ohio Northern after a 4-year stint at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he served as their associate head coach, and brought 13 years of coaching experience and three years of experience playing professional basketball to the Polar Bears. The Akron, Ohio, native also had coaching stints at Marietta and Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) and played professional basketball for three seasons in Europe.

Prior to MIT, Byrne was the assistant coach at his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon. During Byrne's eight-year tenure, the team set the school record for wins with 19 (2004-05 season) and experienced the first 20-win season and first ever UAA championship, as well as the second ever trip to the NCAA Tournament (2005-06 season). The Carnegie Mellon coaches were named the Coaching Staff of the Year in the UAA in both 2004-05 and 2005-06.

After graduating from CMU, Byrne enjoyed a three-year professional career playing in England and Ireland. While at Carnegie Mellon, he graduated as the third all-time leading scorer and fifth all-time leading rebounder. Byrne's class graduated with the most wins of any graduating class in Carnegie Mellon history.

Byrne earned a B.A. in Psychology from Carnegie Mellon in 1996 and an M.A. in Psychology from Duquesne and is completing his M.B.A. As a student at Walsh Jesuit, Byrne played for coach Frank Lupica. Byrne resides in Solon with his wife, Krista, and baby son.

John Norris '96, successful veteran men’s basketball coach at Walsh Jesuit High School formally resigned his position as coach. John will continue his role as teacher and department chairperson at Walsh Jesuit High School.

“As most of the basketball world knows, John and his wife Teresa welcomed Baby Olivia into their family two years ago. John has embraced fatherhood enthusiastically and now would like to spend more time with Teresa and Olivia,” said Walsh Jesuit’s Athletic Director, Barb Salata. With regret, the Walsh Jesuit Administration accepted Norris’s resignation. “While his resignation is WJ’s loss, it is certainly his family’s gain,” said Salata.

According to the Walsh Jesuit Athletic Department, Norris has been a vital and important part of the coaching and athletic staff and we will greatly miss him as will his players and the WJ basketball families. “John’s success has not been limited to wins, although he has led his players to many victories. His greatest success has been molding student athletes into true men for others,” said Salata.

“It has been such a tremendous honor and privilege to be the head basketball coach at Walsh Jesuit. I am so proud of the Warrior program and what we have been able to accomplish. I am blessed with building so many positive relationships and I am proud of being part of the coaching fraternity. I thank the parents, staff, and community that make Warrior Basketball such a special and well-respected program. Most of all, I want to thank the players for such dedicated work, great effort and commitment to the highest standard of excellence in representing Walsh Jesuit basketball,” said Norris.


About Walsh Jesuit High School
Walsh Jesuit is a Catholic, college preparatory high school and one of approximately 50 Jesuit secondary schools in the United States. Recognized twice as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education (the only high school in Northeast Ohio to receive this prestigious award twice), Walsh Jesuit operates in the spirit of St. Ignatius Loyola, guiding its students to be intellectually competent, open to growth, loving, religious, and committed to doing justice. Founded in 1964 and located in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, the school has a coed enrollment of more than 1,000.

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