Kevin Byrne, ’92, is happy to be back home at a place that holds a special place in his heart. After previous coaching stints at Carnegie Mellon, Marietta, MIT, Ohio Northern, and the University of Akron, Mr. Kevin Byrne has returned home to his alma mater to become the new Director of Alumni Relations and head basketball coach.

After high school, Byrne played basketball at Carnegie Mellon University until he graduated 1996. He then played professionally in England and Ireland for three years.

Coach Byrne takes over for Mr. Norris, who stepped down as basketball coach for family reasons. After 17 years (4 as an assistant and 13 as the head coach), Mr. Norris leaves WJ coaching with a 170-123 record. In his time as head coach, Mr. Norris built a successful program that fielded a solid basketball team year after year. Coach Byrne takes over a program that is in great shape due to Mr. Norris’ success.

However, Coach Byrne wants to develop the program even more and build upon the foundation that Norris established. “Coach Norris did such a good job, and I want to help build the basketball program further,” Byrne said.

Coming back home to Walsh Jesuit is something that Coach Byrne is very happy to do. After his previous stops as an assistant coach at various places, Coach Byrne is back at a place that means so much to him.

“Walsh has a special place in my heart, so when the job opened up due to Coach Norris deciding to step away, it was something that was immediately appealing to me as a potential opportunity…,” Byrne said.

As both the new head basketball coach and Director of Alumni Relations, Coach Byrne is excited to take on his new roles at Walsh Jesuit.

“I am excited for the opportunity to work with the guys, day in and day out and to take a group of individuals and turn them into a cohesive team,” Byrne said. As for being the new Director of Alumni Relations, “I am excited to get the chance to catch up with some people I haven’t seen in a while and talk to some of the alums that have done some great things in the world since graduating from Walsh,” he added.

The arrival of Coach Byrne has many current players very excited for the upcoming season as well. They are impressed with him so far. One of those players is senior Justin Cottrell.

“Coach Byrne expects us to bring our best every single day. He expects us to be there and contribute and to be committed 110%, and I believe that is all anybody can ask for,” Cottrell said.

In his personal life, Coach Byrne lives in Solon with his wife, Krista, and son, and in addition to basketball loves to play the guitar and spend time with his family.