`A GREAT MOMENT'

From NAIA to Division II to Division I, Cal Baptist to face UCLA in NCAA Tournament

A loud cheer erupted inside the lobby of the Fowler Events Center on Sunday evening when the words “California Baptist” appeared on an NCAA Division I Women’s Tournament bracket for the first time.

Players, coaches and support staff were joined by more than 100 faithful supporters and family members to celebrate the historic moment. And they didn’t have to wait long to find out where the Lancers will be playing.

California Baptist, which punched its ticket by winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday morning in Las Vegas, is the No. 15-seeded team in

the Albany 2 bracket. The Lancers (28-3) will take on No. 2-seeded UCLA (25-6) in a first-round game Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at UCLA’S Pauley Pavilion.

“It was pretty cool to see it up there,” CBU coach Jarrod Olson said as the watch party started to break up. “It’s a great moment for the school because I think it further validates the build we have been doing — going from NAIA to Division II and now in Division

I. So, to see CBU up there on the same line as UCLA is a pretty big deal. This has been something the school and the community can get excited about and rally around.”

Of the 12 players on CBU’S roster, only senior point guard Nae Nae Calhoun has experienced this feeling. Calhoun played 10 minutes in Hawaii’s 89-49 first-round loss to Baylor in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. That was Calhoun’s final game at Hawaii, as she returned to her hometown to finish her collegiate career.

Calhoun, who graduated from North High School in 2019, said Sunday will be a moment she will remember.

“This feels amazing, especially being able to do it for my hometown,” Calhoun said.

PHOTO BY MILKA SOKO California Baptist University basketball players react after finding out they will play UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.