Jeff Walz Adds Stephanie Norman To His Staff
April 12, 2007 | Women's Basketball
April 12, 2007
Louisville, Ky. - Stephanie Norman, a top assistant at Vanderbilt University the past five seasons, has joined the University of Louisville women's basketball staff head coach Jeff Walz announced today. Norman comes to Louisville with a strong recruiting background. In just her second season with the Commodores, she helped sign the No. 1 recruiting class in 2003, that produced No. 10 and No. 14 picks in the 2007 WNBA Draft.
"Stephanie will be a great asset to our program," said Walz. "She is a great person with outstanding character. She has a wonderful reputation and has had success with every program she has been associated with. Her knowledge of the game and her ability to relate to the student-athletes make her a great fit for our program. She is well-respected by her peers for her recruiting contacts. We are excited to have her as a part of our staff."
After signing the No. 1 recruiting class, Norman continued to solidify her reputation as a top recruiter by signing back-to-back Top 20 classes in 2005 and 2006. The 2006 recruiting class was ranked No. 7 in the nation. During her time at Vanderbilt, the Commodores made five straight appearances in the NCAA Tournament, including two Sweet 16 Appearances. The Commodores won two SEC Tournaments and were ranked in the Top 25 all five seasons. Vanderbilt has also produced six WNBA draft picks in the last five seasons.
"I am excited to be working with Coach Walz," said Norman. "He is a well-respected teacher and motivator. I wanted to be part of continuing to build the tradition of excellence here at the University of Louisville."
Norman came to Vanderbilt after serving two seasons as an assistant at Oregon State. After serving one year away from collegiate athletics, Norman joined the Oregon State women's basketball staff in May of 2000. She helped guide the Beavers to a 16-13 overall mark and their first post-season appearance since 1996 with a trip to the WNIT.
Prior to joining the Oregon State staff, Norman was the assistant athletics director and science teacher at Marist High School in Eugene, Oregon for a year. Norman began her stint in Oregon when she joined the University of Oregon staff in 1992 as an assistant coach. During her time at Oregon, the Ducks compiled a 122-69 record, including six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
Norman came to Oregon after she served as a graduate assistant at the University of Hawaii for two seasons highlighted by a runner-up finish in the Women's National Invitational Tournament in 1992.
She began her coaching career in 1990 as an assistant at the University of British Columbia where her team was ranked sixth in the nation and advanced to the regional playoffs.
Norman was a four-year letterwinner at Arizona State University where she served as the Sun Devils' captain during her junior and senior seasons. She earned a bachelor of science degree in wildlife biology from Arizona State in 1989 and earned a master's degree in education from the University of Hawaii in 1992.
Stephanie and her husband Geoff have two children, Parker (5) and Cassidy (3).
