CBU Athletics

Jarrod Olson was named the California Baptist University women's basketball head coach in April 2012 and has led the Lancers to immense success at the NCAA level. CBU has put together a 284-97 record for a winning percentage of 74.5 in Olson's 12 seasons. He sports an 133-54 Division I record (71.1 percent), while also tallying a 76-26 record in the Western Athletic Conference.
 
Olson has earned five conference Coach of the Year awards after being named the Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2018-19, 2020-21, and again in 2023-24. Olson led his Lancers to a 26-1 record during the COVID season of 2020-21, rattling off 26 wins in-a-row during the season and building a 29-game win streak, the longest in Division I. It led to Olson being named the Kay Yow Coach of the Year Award, which is given to the top Division I coach in the nation each season. 

As if Olson's CBU resume wasn't impressive enough, he continued his habit for historical seasons. Just eight games in Olson eclipsed 400 NCAA head coaching wins with a hard-fought 60-57 victory over Pepperdine in Malibu. The Lancers would go 10-1 in non-conference play, 14-0 at home, and 18-2 in WAC play, claiming the programs second outright conference title with a thrilling 85-81 overtime over Grand Canyon in Phoenix on the final day of the regular season. He would lead the Lancers past UT Arlington with ease in the second-round of the WAC and orchestrate a fourth-quarter rally over Stephen F. Austin to win the second WAC Tournament, earning CBU's first-ever trip to March Madness.

Selection Sunday came and revealed that the Lancers had earned a 15-seed in their debut tournament and were set to faceoff against 2-seed UCLA in historic Pauley Pavilion. The Lancers would hang tough in the first half, trailing by just three points late in the second quarter. The Bruins would eventually pull away and claim the victory, but CBU made thousands of Lancer fans in attendance and 306,000 Lancers nationwide who watched on ESPN2 very proud. Highlighting the season was am unmatched offensive output by Chloe Webb, who became the first player in the Division I era to average over 20 points per game, finishing the season No. 12 in scoring (21.0) and No. 25 in steals per game (2.62). She ran away with WAC Player of the Year and took the WAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player while leading CBU to some uber impressive season standings: Points Per Game: 81.2 WAC - 1st NCAA - 10th | Rebounds Per Game: 42.4 WAC - 1st NCAA - 14th | Assists Per Game: 19.3 WAC - 1st NCAA - 8th | Steals Per Game: 10.0 WAC - 3rd NCAA - 43rd | 3PT Made Per Game: 9.9 WAC - 2nd NCAA - 5th | Asst/TO Ratio: 1.34 WAC - 1st NCAA - 16th.

The 2021-22 season boasted an especially strong schedule for CBU that challenged the Lancers with the likes of Pac-12 power Oregon State, San Diego State, and Santa Clara. The team collected the program's first-ever Power 5 win, downing a strong TCU squad, 91-77, at the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic. An expanded WAC introduced new foes in the form of Stephen F. Austin, Abilene Christian, Sam Houston, and Lamar, as the Lancers finished with an overall record of 23-9 and 13-5 conference record.

The Lancers' completed their progress into a full Division I member institution with one of the best four-year transition win/lose records ever. The Lancers closed out the switch with a record of 83-37, the fourth-most wins among the 49 teams that have transitioned since the 1997-98 season. Florida Gulf Coast tops the list with 100 victories, followed by South Dakota State (92) and Abilene Christian (84).

The Lancers went on a historic run during the 2020-21 season. CBU managed to overcome the travel restrictions, no fans allowed in venues, and constant COVID-19 testing to win the WAC regular season and tournament championships for the first time in program history. They also became just the fourth women's basketball program since 1998 to win both of those championships while maintaining an undefeated record, joining UConn, Baylor, and Notre Dame. CBU also earned a vote in the AP Top-25 Poll for the first time in program history in the final week of the voting season.
 
This all-time Lancer squad competed in the Women's National Invitation Tournament for the second time in program history. CBU won two games in the WNIT over the University of New Mexico and San Francisco. Britney Thomas and Caitlyn Harper earned WNIT All-Region honors for their work in Fort Worth.

In 2022-23, the women's basketball team finished 22-13 with a 13-5 conference record. The team's 22 wins marked the third-straight 20-win season for the Lancers and five winning season since entering DI. CBU reached the WAC Championship game for the second time in three years after defeating #5 Utah Tech and #1 Stephen F. Austin. The Lancers were invited to the Women's Basketball Invitational and brought home the championship, defeating North Dakota, Georgia Southern, and New Mexico State en route to the title.  
 
CBU closed out an injury-filled 2019-20 season with a 16-15 overall record and a 7-9 record in the WAC. The season opened on a high note, as the Lancers started out 7-0 on the season. The Lancers finished the season by winning four of their last five games to get over .500 on the year.
 
CBU ended the 2018-19 season with an 18-12 record and went 11-5 in the WAC. The Lancers finished the regular season by winning 12 of their last 14 games, including nine straight at one point. They would qualify for and host the WNIT that season, becoming the second first-year Division I program to achieve either of those feats. 
 
Olson was also named the PacWest Coach of the Year in back-to-back seasons (2016-17) and the NCCAA West Region Coach of the Year in 2013. He guided CBU to three West Region titles, including two in the NCAA (2015 and 2017), the Division II semifinals twice, and two national championship games, including the 2015 D-II Finals.
 
The Lancers have combined for 31 all-conference awards (19 PacWest, 12 WAC), 10 All-West Region (five NCAA), and five All-American awards (four NCAA) under Olson. CBU produced the Newcomer of the Year in the WAC in 2019, the Player of the Year in the WAC in 2021, the Player of the Year in the PacWest and West Region in 2017, and conference Freshman of the Year in 2014. 
 
In tournament play, the Lancers produced two all-tournament honorees in the WAC, including the 2021 WAC Tournament MVP and a pair of all-region players in the WNIT. In Division II, seven all-tournament players were selected in the PacWest, five in the West Region, and two in the Elite 8. CBU produced the MVP of the PacWest Tournament in 2017 and the West Regional MVPs in 2017 and 2015.
 
Forty-six of Olson's players have also earned All-Academic status at the conference level. Cassidy Mihalko brought in PacWest Female Athlete and Scholar-Athlete of the Year and CoSIDA Academic All-America of the Year honors in 2017, as well. 
 
In 2016-17, Olson was named the PacWest Coach of the Year for the second year in a row, as CBU went 35-3 and 20-0 in the PacWest to win the regular season and tournament titles in the conference. The Lancers set a new winning-streak record at 32 games and continued their home winning streak to 34 consecutive games, which ended in 2017-18.
 
CBU won the NCAA Division II West Region championship for the second time in three years and reached the Final Four. The Lancers finished the year ranked third in D-II. 
 
Olson came to CBU after six seasons as the head coach at NCAA Division II Florida Southern. He is the 10th coach in the Lancer program's 37-year history.
 
With an extensive history of success at Florida Southern, Olson led the Moccasins to back-to-back Sunshine State Conference (SSC) regular season titles and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, reaching the second round both times. In 2011, he also guided the Moccasins to their first SSC tournament title and NCAA tournament appearance since 2003.
 
Olson, the two-time SSC Coach of the Year, posted a 113-61 (.650) record in six seasons at Florida Southern. Throughout Olson's first five seasons, the program improved its win total each year, culminating in back-to-back 24-plus win seasons in 2011 and 2012.
 
Before his time at FSC, Olson served as an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Creighton for four seasons. He helped guide the team to a 75-49 record that included a pair of 24-win seasons. In 2004, the Bluejays won the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT), and during Olson's tenure, the team finished first or second in the Missouri Valley Conference three times.
 
In the summer of 2005, he coached the Otago Breakers of the Women's National Basketball League in Dunedin, New Zealand, earning WNBL Coach of the Year honors. Prior to his time at Creighton, Olson built the program at College of Saint Mary in Omaha, Neb., helping the program to a 13-game improvement after being hired in 2000.
 
Olson's coaching career began at Emporia State, where he was a graduate assistant in 1998. Emporia State was 33-1 and the NCAA Division II runner-up. Before taking the job at College of Saint Mary, Olson was an assistant men's basketball coach for one year at Millard South High School in Omaha and an assistant men's basketball coach at Bellevue University for one season.
 
As a player, Olson was an NAIA All-American at Doane College in Crete, Neb., still ranking fifth on the school's all-time scoring list with 2,018 career points. He also played briefly with the Queens Graduates basketball club in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
 
Olson married his wife, Amy, in 2003. She is a former college basketball player and served as an assistant coach with her husband for the Otago Breakers. The Olson's have two sons, Eamon and Moses, and a daughter, Felicity.