Westmont College Athletics

Primary Media Contact for: Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Track and Field, and Volleyball

Jacob Norling graduated from Westmont in 2020 with a B.A. in English, and spent much of his free time as a student working with the Sports Information Office.

Norling was hired as a student broadcaster during his junior year, and fell in love with the craft during his first solo broadcast of a Warrior baseball game on February 7, 2019. In the bottom of the ninth, outfielder Isaiah Leach hit a three-run walk-off home run to give the club a 7-6 victory to which Norling proclaimed, "Today is indeed next year for the Warriors".

Norling went on to rearrange his academic schedule for the final two years of his college experience, in order to miss as few games as possible. During his senior year he started his own student sports podcast, "Next Year with Jacob Norling" in which he interviewed key members of the Westmont Athletics community such as Robert Ruiz and Tim Heiduk. Twenty episodes of the podcast remain available online.

The highlight of Norling's college experience came following the conclusion of his senior year in 2020, when he was honored with three top-ten calls (3, 9, 10) in the NAIA "Call of the Year" awards by CoSIDA. His personal favorite was #3, which was a call he shared with his predecessor and good friend, Tim Heiduk. 

In January of 2022, Norling was named a finalist at the inaugural "Broadcast Symposium & Dream Job Competition" in Beloit, Wisconsin. In partnership with the Beloit Sky Carp, a minor league affiliate of the Miami Marlins, Norling was one of seven finalists chosen to compete for a broadcasting position with the club that season.

After calling an inning of the 2016 World Series in front of professional judges including the Los Angeles Dodgers' Joe Davis and the Los Angeles Angels' Wanye Randazzo, Norling placed fifth.

In May of 2022, Norling experienced one of his proudest moment at Westmont, when he had the honor of calling the final out of the NAIA Opening Round- Santa Barbara Bracket. On May 18, a 12-0 win for the Warriors sent Robert Ruiz' club to the NAIA World Series for the first time in program history, and Norling narrated the moment, beginning the call with, "This is the year".

Norling coined the rally cry and hashtag #ThisYear for the Warriors' historic postseason run, paying homage to the Warriors chase for "Next Year" in the seasons leading up to 2022. To cap off the "Next Year" trilogy, the hashtag #AlwaysThisYear was used during the club's 2023 postseason run. Which of course, culminated in the Warriors' first and only NAIA World Series Championship.

This led to Norling directing the department's first-ever feature length documentary, Always This Year: A Westmont Baseball Story. The documentary, which can be viewed here, highlights the rich history of Westmont College Baseball, while telling the story of Westmont's final days in the NAIA. The film premiered in the Global Leadership Center on January 28, 2024, kicking off a week of celebration that culminated in the Warriors receiving their World Series rings. 

Norling took over as Sports Information Assistant on February 19, 2021, which was, coincidentally, his 23rd birthday. Norling earned his Master's in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concorida University-Irvine in the Spring of 2025. During the same semester, Norling produced and hosted The Inaugural WESPYs, Westmont's first-ever all-student-athlete awards show.

Jacob and his wife Ceili Joy Norling ('21) met during Westmont's annual Spring Sing while students at the school, and got married on Westmont's campus in June of 2023. Ceili also works at the college, serving as the Admissions and Marketing Coordinator.