UALR Director of Athletics Chris Peterson announced Tuesday the hiring of Ouachita Baptist University’s (OBU) Scott Norwood as head baseball coach.

Norwood has compiled a 150-75 record in four seasons at OBU (.667 winning percentage), while leading the Tigers to a Gulf South Conference West Division championship in 2007 and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Division II South Central Regional.

“We are excited to hire a head coach of Scott Norwood’s caliber. He is a proven winner at every place he’s been,” Peterson said. “Scott has a great grasp of the state of Arkansas and the region, which is a huge plus as we continue to take this program in a direction that is highly competitive in the Sun Belt Conference.”

Norwood’s reputation as a re-builder is evident at OBU, where he took over a program that had won a combined 45 games in the five years prior to his arrival and transformed it into a national power. Over the last two years, Norwood has led the Tigers to an impressive 93-24 overall record (.795 winning percentage), including a school-record 50-10 record in 2007. OBU was ranked as high as No. 1 in the nation in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper poll last season, and is currently ranked 26th in the country heading into the 2008 NCAA Division II South Central Regional.

“I would like to thank Chris Peterson and Gary Hogan for this great opportunity. I think this city is ready for a winner, and I feel we have the resources and the facilities to make that happen,” Norwood said. “This is a program which is looking for some energy and passion to be put back into it. We are going to have a great attitude from the start and make this program go as quick as possible.”

A native of Tulsa, Okla., Norwood graduated from Tulsa Memorial High School in 1984, after leading them to the Oklahoma 5A State Championship. He played two years at Connors State College in Warner, Okla., helping the Cowboys to a fifth-place finish in the NJCAA Division I World Series.

After earning his associate degree from Connors State in 1986, Norwood moved on to Oral Roberts University to continue his playing career. He graduated from ORU in 1988 with a bachelor of science degree in business administration. Norwood went on to earn his master of arts in curriculum and instruction in 1998 from the University of Indianapolis.

Norwood is the fifth head coach to lead the Trojans since UALR joined the Division-I ranks in 1979. He takes over for current head coach Jim Lawler, who announced his resignation on April 25.