#9 Head Coach - Scott Norwood

Hometown:  Tulsa, OK

High School:  Tulsa Memorial High School (1984)

College:  Oral Roberts University (1988)

Experience: 3rd season (7^th overall)

Contact Coach Norwood:  norwoods@obu.edu

Personal: Scott Norwood is entering his third season at the helm of the Ouachita Baptist University Tiger baseball program.  Norwood's second season at OBU was a record-setting year for the Tigers.  Norwood led the program to the most wins in school history with 31, and led the Tigers to its first postseason appearance since joining Division II in 1995.  OBU was ranked in the Top 30 for the second straight season, and placed 6 student-athletes on All-Gulf South Conference teams, while placing second in the GSC West Division with a 16-7 conference mark.

In his first season at the helm of the Tigers, Norwood guided the program to its most successful season in 32 years.  After the program had only won 45 games the previous 5 seasons, Norwood turned the program around in his very first season.  With a record of 26-27, 10-13 in the Gulf South Conference, Norwood gave OBU the most wins it has had since joining NCAA Division II, and the GSC.  In addition, the program saw its first ever national ranking, appearing in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 for the week of February 21, 2005 with a #29 ranking.  The Tigers also earned national rankings with the 4^th-best fielding percentage in all of NCAA Division II (.969).  Norwood also had two players earn All-GSC honors, making it the only time OBU has placed more than one player on the team in the same year.

Norwood owns an overall head coaching record of 188-114 (.623) over 6 seasons as the skipper of 3 different programs.  He is known for his ability to turn programs around, and instill a winning tradition at every institution at which he has been.  Norwood has had three of his players sign professional contracts, including Justin Mallett, currently a Top 40 prospect in the Cincinnati Reds organization.

Norwood began his coaching career in 1994 at the University of Indianapolis under head coach Gary Vaught.  In his five years as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator, Norwood helped turn the program into a national power.  U of I compiled 160 wins in 5 seasons,  including a #4 National Ranking, a 1998 NCAA II Regional appearance, and a top-10 finish in national fielding percentage.  Following the 1998 campaign at U of I, Norwood took the head coaching position at Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA.

Norwood turned Mercyhurst around in his only season, leading the Lakers to a 26-18 (.591) record.  The previous year they had only won 19 games.  Following that season, Norwood decided to leave coaching to take a position as Event Coordinator of the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, IN.  There, he oversaw all of the Indianapolis Colts games for the 2000, 2001 season, and the 2000 NCAA Final Four, in addition to the numerous conventions, and events held at the dome.

After a two-season hiatus from coaching, Norwood returned closer to his native Tulsa, OK, taking the job at Sterling College, located in Sterling, KS.  In three years as the skipper at the NAIA school, Norwood compiled a 105-45 (.700) record.  This included back-to-back Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) tournament championships, and back-to-back NAIA Regional appearances.  He also set the school record for wins in each year that he was there, with 33, 35, and 37 wins respectively.  In 2003, his team led the NAIA in team batting average at .375.

Norwood was born and raised in Tulsa, OK, where his parents Woody and Doris, and his sister Nancy and her family, still live.  He graduated from Tulsa Memorial High School in 1984, after leading them to the Oklahoma 5A State Championship, and moved on to Connors State College in Warner, OK.  His freshman season he helped lead CSC to a NJCAA I World Series appearance and 5^th place finish.  After earning his associates degree in 1986, Norwood transferred to Oral Roberts University, in Tulsa, OK, to continue his playing career.  He earned his B.S in Business Administration in 1988.  He also earned his M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction in 1998 from the University of Indianapolis, while serving as Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. 

Norwood married the former Anne Harper of Tulsa, OK in 2001.  They now reside in Arkadelphia, AR.

#3 Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator- Justin Haire

Hometown:  Hamilton, OH

High School: Stephen T. Badin High School (1999)

College:  University of Indianapolis (2003)

Experience:  3rd season (4th overall)

Contact Coach Haire:  hairej@obu.edu

Personal:  Justin Haire is entering his third season as the top assistant and recruiting coordinator for the Ouachita Baptist University Tiger baseball program.  In his second season at OBU, Haire helped lead the Tigers to the most successful season that the program has ever seen.  The 31 wins overall were the most in school history, and the 16 conference wins that the Tigers posted were the most since they joined NCAA Division II, and the GSC, respectively. 

Haire has helped bring in the three biggest recruiting classes in the school’s history, bringing in nearly 60 new players to the program over the past three years.  Among the new players, Haire has helped to bring in 31 transfers, and has been instrumental in reconstructing the face of Tiger baseball.

Coach Norwood hired Haire at the beginning of the spring in 2004, giving him his first collegiate coaching position.  He assumed the role of Pitching Coach, and helped to lead SC to the ERA crown in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) in 2004.  His staff included 3 All-Region pitchers, and one Honorable Mention All-American, in Travis Ring.  He also helped lead SC to its first ever Top 25 ranking in his only year there.

In 1999, Haire began his collegiate playing career at Bowling Green State University, and was there thru 2001. He was part of the 2001 MAC East champions that were guided by head coach Danny Schmitz.  After transferring to the University of Indianapolis, he helped lead the Greyhounds to a 39-22 record, a Regional Final appearance and a #5 NCAA Ranking, in 2003.

Haire was born in Muncie, IN to Anne and David Haire, and he grew up in Cincinnati, OH.  He has three brothers, and two sisters.  Haire was a standout at Stephen T. Badin High School in Hamilton, OH where he helped lead the Rams to the Ohio State Final Four his senior season, in both football and baseball.  His parents, one brother, and both sisters still reside in the Cincinnati area.

Haire is unmarried and lives in Arkadelphia, AR.