Pascagoula’s Ronald Norman headed to Meridian

Pascagoula High School basketball coach Ronald Norman has accepted a similar position at Meridian High School.

The hiring of Norman was announced Friday by the Meridian Star. According to the Meridian Star, a press conference will be held Tuesday or Wednesday to introduce Norman.

Norman was named the Sun Herald’s boys coach of the year after guiding the Panthers (24-5) to a third straight appearance in the Class 5A state tournament. Pascagoula, which finished as the Sun Herald’s No. 1 team, made the state tournament in all three seasons under Norman.

The Meridian position became vacant when Randy Bolden recently became an assistant at Hinds Community College.

Before Norman came to Pascagoula, he coached at Wayne County. He coached the War Eagles to a 5A state title in 2011 and his teams made three other state tournament trips.

With Norman’s departure, Pascagoula will have two new basketball coaches next season. Crisla Herchenhahn replaces Carolyn Whitehead, who stepped down after two seasons, as the Lady Panthers coach.

Neither Norman nor Pascagoula athletic director Greg Freeman responded to multiple calls Saturday when contacted by the Sun Herald.

This story was originally published June 25, 2016 at 7:33 PM with the headline "Pascagoula’s Ronald Norman headed to Meridian."