BIG RISK PAYS OFF
Olson has coached California Baptist into a Big Dance chance against UCLA tonight
RIVERSIDE >> History will be made this evening when the California Baptist women’s basketball team steps onto the court at Pauley Pavilion to take on nationally-ranked UCLA in the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Division I Tournament.
The path toward this historic moment started about a dozen years ago with a leap of faith.
Jarrod Olson had just completed his sixth season at Florida Southern when he interviewed for the position at California Baptist in the spring of 2012. Olson’s decision to take the job on the other side of the country caught some in the basketball world by surprise. He was leaving a successful Division II program for one getting ready to begin to make the transition from NAIA to Division II.
“It was a big risk ... but something about it felt right, like this is the place God wanted us to be,” Olson said following the Lancers’ 75-74, come-from-behind win over Stephen F. Austin in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament’s championship game.
Olson has guided the program through two transitions, the first to Division II (201314) and another to Division I (2018-19). There have been challenges during those 12 seasons, but Olson, his staff and his players continue to raise the bar for success.
“The first word that comes to mind is help. We have had so many people contributing to our success over the years,” Olson said Sunday, moments after the Lancers learned they would be playing UCLA to open the tournament. “I have got a great staff, but it really comes down to the players. … It’s just been amazing to see the growth in what really is a short amount of time.”
Olson, 49. also gave plenty of credit for the success to Dr. Ronald L. Ellis, who has been CBU’S President since November of 1994.
“I think it started with his vision for what this university could become,” Olson said. “Dr. Ellis always says that athletics is the front porch of every institution. It takes someone with the vision and ability to put the pieces into place and get the right people in the right spots. At the end of the day, we all just try to pull together in the same direction to get things done.”
Olson grew up in Omaha and was surrounded by several of the best basketball coaches in the state, one of them being his father Rich, who was inducted into the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. Rich Olson guided teams to four state titles throughout a 32-year career coaching the girls programs at Millard South, Lincoln Northeast, and Lincoln Lutheran high schools.
“I went to the best high school in Nebraska for boys and girls basketball (Millard South). And I was around great coaches from the time I first started playing in kindergarten all the way through college,” Jarrod Olson said. “I was blessed to have those influences in my life. I was smart enough at the time to pay close attention and observe everything it took to be a good coach.”
Olson was a standout at Doane University in Crete, Neb., and he still ranks No. 7 in career points and No. 1 in career assists in program history. And he followed in his father’s footsteps by getting in the coaching game soon after he graduated. Olson’s first head coaching job came at the age of 26, when he took the reins at College of St. Mary, an NAIA school in Omaha.
Olson’s younger brother, Drew, has been the women’s basketball coach at Concordia-nebraska University for 18 seasons.
“I’m not surprised to see him having so much success,” Drew said. “He is very driven and competitive and works extremely hard. I think what makes him such a great coach is he understands players and knows how to put them in a position to be successful.”
California Baptist started its transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II in the summer of 2010, with the ultimate goal one day of being a Division I athletics program. And the search for coaches who could make those transitions successful started.
Dr. Micah Parker was in his first stint as CBU athletic director in 2012, when the university was seeking a new coach to lead the women’s basketball program. Parker also has deep Nebraska roots, including stints as the men’s and women’s basketball coach at Concordia-nebraska. And when Parker put together a shortlist of candidates, it came as no surprise Olson’s name was included.
“I have a pretty unique history with Jarrod. I actually coached against him when he was a player, and we also coached against each other as head coaches and also as assistants,” said Parker, who returned to lead CBU’S athletics department last May. “We were looking to find people who could get us to those next levels, and I knew he was a great coach and leader.”
It didn’t take long to prove a smart hire. The Lancers captured the NCAA Division II West Regional title and also advanced to the national championship game in Olson’s third year in charge. And after a successful fiveyear run in the Division II ranks, CBU made that leap to Division I. CBU won the WAC’S regular-season championship and the WAC Tournament title in 2021, but the Lancers were ineligible to compete in the NCAA Women’s Tournament the first four years after making the Division I transition.
“I think one of Jarrod’s biggest strengths is he truly enjoys doing the work. He’s invested in finding ways to get things done at the highest level,” associate head coach Angie Ned said. “He’s a great Xs and Os coach, but where I’ve really seen his grow over the years is the connections he has with the players. He is open and receptive and can see things beyond just the game.”
This year’s team has faced several obstacles, including injuries to a handful of key players during multiple points of the season. The coaches and players have battled through the adversity, relying on the bonds they’ve built and the trust they have for one another.
“He has the utmost trust in his players,” senior point guard Nae Nae Calhoun said. “He’s always reassuring us through good times or bad times. That makes things so much easier when you know your teammates and your coaches have your back.”
Olson became emotional at the press conference following CBU’S victory over UT Arlington in the WAC Tournament semifinals.
“This has been a really fun team to coach, and not every coach gets that opportunity,” Olson said while fighting back tears. “Not only about playing for the championship, but just to have a team buy into what you’re saying . ... And we all know that is been getting harder and harder to do with the way college sports is going. To have a team that is there for you and is really going to buy in and just let them coach you. They are a great example of what that can do for you.”
Olson said he has become a more patient coach during his time at CBU, and he credits fatherhood as the reason for that change.
“Struggling, at times, through parenthood has made me a better coach today,” Olson said. “Every single one of those players is someone’s daughter, and that is a fact that I do not take lightly. I try to coach every player like I’d want my own kids to be coached.”
Brittany Chambers played for Olson at CBU for three seasons (2014-16) and joined Olson’ staff at the start of the 2017 season.
“As a player, I admired the work and attention to detail he put in every day,” Chambers said. “He had high expectations of us, but he also instilled the confidence to reach those goals. I have really enjoyed being on this side (coaching). … Over the 10 years I’ve known him, I’ve seen him grow in terms of humility and the way he treats players. He’s very honest and straight-forward but also realizes that here is a person behind the athlete. He makes everyone, from the players to the rest of the coaching staff, feel like they matter.”
CBU (28-3) faces long odds tonight. The Lancers are 27.5-point underdogs, and a No. 15 seed has never beaten a No. 2 seed in an NCAA Women’s Tournament since it expanded to 64 teams in 1994. Despite those facts, Olson continues to be grateful for his and the program’s opportunities.”
“Nobody knows how things are going to go when a season starts,” Olson said following that victory over UT Arlington. “But I know God has brought these players here to our team and brought me to CBU for a purpose. Whatever that purpose ends up being is not for us to decide or us to choose. It’s our job to show up and give everything we can for Him and for each other.”