Johns Hopkins University Athletics

Keith Norris completed his 17th season as the head coach of the Johns Hopkins wrestling team in 2021-22. Norris has firmly established the Blue Jays as an annual contender for the Centennial Conference Championship and has positioned Johns Hopkins well on the national stage with numerous trips ot the NCAA Championships.

One of the most respected coaches in the nation, Norris was honored in October 2019 by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame with one of its "Lifetime Service to Wrestling Awards"; he was one of five individuals to earn the prestigious award.

In addition to the team's success on the mat, Johns Hopkins wrestlers have also excelled in the classroom since Norris arrived.  JHU earned the top spot in the National Wrestling Coaches Association's Division III Team Academic Award program in 2018-19 with a national-best 3.776 team GPA.  This was the first time Hopkins has placed first in the team category, but the fourth consecutive top-10 finish for Norris's Blue Jays, who extended their run to national-best six consecutive top-10 finishes in the NWCA Team GPA category in 2021-22.

Johns Hopkins continued its run of success under Norris in 2021-22 as the Blue Jays placed second at the Centennial Conference Championships and seventh at the NCAA Regional Championships.  The Blue Jays produced one All-American, two NCAA qualifiers, three Centennial Conference Champions, four NWCA Scholar All-Americans and three Centennial Conference runners-up.

Norris and his Blue Jays placed fifth at the 2019 NCAA Regional Championships with six individuals placing in the top seven to help Hopkins to its second straight top-five finish.  This showing came on the heels of a strong 2017-18 season that saw the Blue Jays post an 8-3 record, including a 5-2 mark in the Centennial Conference.  Hopkins placed a program-best third at the NCAA Regional Championships and qualified three wrestlers for the 2018 NCAA Championships.

These successes are just the latest under Norris, who has guided the Blue Jays to some of the great moments in program history.

With a lineup consisting of just one senior, Norris put together a grueling 2011-12 regular season schedule for the Blue Jays, one designed to prepare Hopkins for the Centennial Conference Championships. Consider it mission accomplished as Johns Hopkins produced a school-record five individual conference champions and made a stunning comeback to claim the 2012 Centennial Conference title; the first CC Championship in school history. All 10 Blue Jay wrestlers scored at the championship meet and contributed to the title.

With conference champions in juniors Reid Mosquera and Paul Marcello, sophomores Henry Stauber and Matt Fusaro and freshman Paul Bewak, the Blue Jays carried that momentum to the 2012 NCAA Division III Championships, where Bewak (7th at 125) and Mosquera (8th at 197) earned All-America honors to help the Blue Jays to a program-best 27th-place finish.

Norris has guided the Blue Jays to 10 top-four finishes at the Centennial Conference Championships in his first 17 seasons with a runner-up finish in 2011 immediately preceding the 2012 championship and a runner-up finish in 2013 as well. Only two schools (Johns Hopkins, Ursinus) have 10+ top-four finishes at the Centennial Conference Championships to their credit in the last 17 years and Johns Hopkins was the only school to finish in the top two each year from 2011-13. In addition, Norris has coached 25 of Johns Hopkins' 28 all-time individual Centennial Conference Champions and has coached the only seven All-Americans in school history (the seven have combined to earn nine All-America finishes).

Norris may have turned in his best coaching job during the 2009-10 season as he guided the Blue Jays to a fourth-place showing at the Centennial Conference Championships. JHU produced one individual Centennial Conference Champion, one runner-up and all nine Blue Jay entries at the CC Championships advanced to the semifinals. Norris accomplished all of this with a roster consisting of no seniors. A year later, the Blue Jays set the stage for their 2012 title with a then program-best second-place finish at the CC Championships. Marcello and Mosquera won individual conference titles in 2011 to help JHU to its runner-up showing.

Prior to taking the job at Hopkins, Norris served as the head coach at Calvert Hall. The Cardinal program flourished under his leadership, with three straight 15-win seasons and six team tournament titles. In addition to coaching one of the most successful programs in the MIAA, Norris was also given the opportunity to coach Maryland to a victory in the prestigious Maryland-Virginia Senior All-Star Classic. He also spent four years as the head coach at Loch Raven High School. There, Norris produced four regional champions and had three wrestlers place at the Maryland State Championships.

A native of Parkton, Maryland and a Hereford High School graduate, Norris was a four-year member of the Kent State University wrestling team. In 2000, he placed fourth at the Greco-Roman South Regional Olympic Trials and earned a silver medal in the Greco-Roman Grand National Championships. Norris graduated from Kent State with a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education and a 3.79 cumulative grade point average.