Wildwood Catholic acts quickly, brings in former assistant as next boys basketball coach

Posted: August 12th 2025

By BRIAN CUNNIFF

CapeAtlanticLive.com

Wildwood Catholic Academy didn’t waste any time in finding its next head boys basketball coach.

Just one day after the resignation of Will Wareham from the position after three seasons, the Crusaders announced the hiring of Brendan Norris, a former assistant coach in the program.

A 2012 graduate of and former player at Wildwood Catholic, Norris has extensive high school coaching experience as an assistant in local programs. He most recently served under LaMarr Greer at Middle Township for the past four seasons, helping the Panthers to the 2023 South Jersey Group II title and the 2024 Cape-Atlantic League Tournament championship. He was previously an assistant coach for seven seasons at Wildwood Catholic under Dave DeWeese during one of the most successful eras in program history, the Crusaders winning three straight CAL championships from 2018 through 2020, as well as the 2020 South Jersey Non-Public B title.

This will be Norris’s first head coaching job at the varsity level.

“I’m just really excited to come home and have an opportunity to bring something to the program and to the school,” Norris said. “I’ve been wanting this opportunity (to be a head coach) for a while now. I’ve been coaching for a few years now and I feel like I’m ready. I’ve learned a lot under both LaMarr Greer and Dave DeWeese and now that the opportunity arose, this is perfect because I get to come home and get started with the program.”

Norris had been planning to take an assistant coaching position with the boys basketball program at the Pennington School for the upcoming season before the opportunity to run the program at his alma mater became available.

“Coach Norris brings the energy, discipline and vision needed to grow and develop a successful program,” Wildwood Catholic athletic director Mike Rennie said in a statement. “His commitment to player development and building a strong team culture aligns with the mission and values of Wildwood Catholic Academy.” 

Norris takes over a program that enjoyed a successful season under Wareham last winter. The Crusaders finished 20-9 and reached the championship game of the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament.

The Crusaders are expected to return rising senior Alex Daniel, one of the CAL’s top underclassmen last season, who averaged 13.2 points and 7.3 rebounds per game last season. Fellow rising seniors Calvin Kiker and Peyton Rosenello also played significant roles on last year’s team.

“It’s definitely late in the process but we have a lot of returning players who can help us win right away,” Norris said. “We’ll see what guys can come up for the JV to help us win, too. I think there’ll be a lot of talent in the gym, so we hope to keep up the winning tradition right away.”