Prior to the finish of the 2020-21 regular season, Jarrod Olson told WAC Hoops Digest he was recruiting his senior guard and WAC Player of the Year Ane Olaeta pretty hard to come back for the extra year in 2021-22. Whatever Olson said, it worked. Olaeta, Caitlyn Harper, Brittney Thomas and all the rest of the cast are coming back for the defending WAC champions in 2021-22. The Lancers were nearly perfect in 2020-21 en route to winning both the WAC regular season and tournament championships. Unfortunately, the season ended in the WNIT third round with a loss to Rice. It was the lone blemish on an otherwise perfect season. And now, the Lancers are primed for another run at perfection with the entire cast returning for one more show.
Head Coach:
Jarrod Olson (10th Season)
At CBU: 211-71
Overall Collegiate Record: 347-167
’20-’21 Record: 26-1 Overall & 14-0 WAC (Regular Season & Tournament champions)
Postseason: 2-1 in the Dallas WNIT Regional
Departures:
Belle Frazier 6-0 JR G (Southern Nazarene>>D2)
Hope Weber 5-8 SO G (Biola University>>D2)
Newcomers:
Jaelyn Acker 5-7 FR G
Mia Morel 5-7 FR G
Trinity San Antonio 5-10 FR G
Naomi Yim 5-7 SR G (Loyola Marymount transfer)
Key Returners:
EVERYONE including WAC Player of the Year Ane Olaeta
Predicted WAC Finish
First – repeat as WAC regular season champs
Breakdown
How do you follow up a near perfect season? That’s the task that awaits California Baptist University’s women’s basketball team in 2021-2022. Luckily for 10th year head coach Jarrod Olson the core of his team, which rewrote both Lancer and Western Athletic Conference record books, is back under the extra year granted seniors with 2020’s postseason cancelled.
With all that experience back as noted below CBU is among the favorites to win a new look WAC championship.
*Ane Olaeta led the nation in assists at 7.8 per contest for the Lancers in 2020-21. Olaeta also averaged 11.6 points per game while shooting 41.3 percent from the field while averaging 31 minutes per game. She is the reigning WAC Player of the Year and the floor general for a veteran-laden squad.
*Caitlyn Harper was Most Outstanding Player at the 2021 WAC Tournament and leading scorer at 14.3 PPG while shooting 53 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from 3-point land. Harper also averaged 7.5 rebounds per contest in 24 minutes played.
*Britney Thomas averaged 14.0 PPG while shooting 66.5 percent from the field and 8.4 Rebounds Per Game in 20 minutes played.
– Both post players were returning from season ending injuries in 2019-2020.
*Sydney Palma is the team’s top returning 3-point shooter at 44.7 percent.
WAC Player of the Year Ane Olaeta leads a talented and veteran CBU squad into the 2021-22 season. Courtesy CBU Athletics.In addition, Nicole Avila-Ambrosi, who missed the stretch run due to a knee injury, also returns. She appeared in 16 games with four starts and averaged 10.9 points per game while shooting 39 percent from 3-point range at the time of her injury against New Mexico State. Avila-Ambrosi was named to the 2020-21 WAC All-Newcomer Team.
Two reserves transferred out to Division 2 institutions in Hope Weber (Biola) and Belle Frazier (Southern Nazarene).
However, the Lancers recruiting class of four (three freshman and a senior transfer) is solid. Naomi Yim (Norco HS) comes back to Riverside County after spending time at Loyola Marymount University while local product Trinity San Antonio joins the Lancers after winning a CIF-State Southern California Regional title at nearby Corona Centennial.
CBU finished last year ranked in the collegeinsider.com women’s basketball poll at No. 5 and received an Associated Press top-10 vote.
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