Lancer Athletics

The 2020-21 California Baptist University women’s basketball team had three goals when the season started: win the conference regular-season title, win the conference tournament and advance in a postseason tournament.

To say the Lancers accomplished their goals would be a disservice to their actual achievements. They won the Western Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles and a pair of games in the WNIT Postseason, but this team managed to do more than just that along the way.

The Lancers would check off their first goal as a 15-point win over Grand Canyon guaranteed the program’s first outright WAC regular-season championship. After sweeping Seattle U on the road, the Lancers would clinch the WAC’s first-ever undefeated regular-season record the following weekend.

Ultimately, a 26-1 season record would become a national talking point as well as a benchmark in the department’s transition to becoming a full NCAA Division I member institution. The Lancers maintained the nation’s longest active win streak for most of the season, finally surpassing inactive Princeton at 22-0 to claim sole ownership of that title.

With the number one seed firmly in hand, the Lancers earned a first-round bye in their inaugural trip to Las Vegas for the WAC conference tournament. Unfazed by the fact that they could not obtain the WAC automatic qualifier bid to the NCAA Tournament due to their transition status, the Lancers won their games against NM State and GCU by an average margin of victory of 21.5 points, which earned them the right to cut down the nets for a second time this season.

Ane Olaeta

Graduate Student WAC Nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year

The Western Athletic Conference announced its 2021 nominees for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award and named California Baptist University basketball’s Ane Olaeta as one of the conference’s two nominees.

Established in 1991, the NCAA Woman of the Year award is rooted in Title IX and recognizes graduating female college athletes who have exhausted their NCAA eligibility and distinguished themselves in academics, athletics, service and leadership throughout their collegiate careers.

The Woman of the Year Selection Committee will now choose the Top 30 honorees, who will be celebrated and the 2021 NCAA Woman of the Year will be named later.

Keith to the Dodgers Wrestling to Join Big12

Damon Keith added to California Baptist University’s nextlevel success when the Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him during the 2021 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

The Dodgers selected Keith in the 18th round at 552 overall. He becomes the 36th Lancer to be drafted and the 25th under Coach Gary Adcock. Adcock has now had at least one player drafted in 11 of the last 12 years.

Keith emerged as CBU’s top draft prospect this year after being named an NCAA Top 200 prospect by Perfect Game. He only improved his stock this season with a campaign that earned him 2021 Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors. He led the conference in home runs and runs, and ranked in the top ten in seven other offensive categories. California Baptist University wrestling has received a letter of intent from the Big 12 Conference regarding affiliate membership starting in 2022-23.

The Big 12 is currently home to Air Force, Fresno State, Iowa State, North Dakota State, Northern Colorado, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, South Dakota State, Utah Valley, West Virginia and Wyoming. The Lancers would give the conference 12 teams in 2022-23, as Fresno State is set to discontinue its program at the end of this season.

“CBU continues to achieve sustained growth in academic programming, enrollment, physical plant expansion, fiscal resource development, and athletic attainment. Affiliating with the prestigious Big 12 in wrestling is an honor that aligns with our pursuit of excellence,” CBU President Dr. Ronald L. Ellis said.

Tyler Mariucci Named the Director of Athletics

Tyler Mariucci has worked in leadership roles at NCAA Division I institutions spanning the Big Ten, WCC and Mountain West Conference during great transformation and change.

A former Division I FCS football student-athlete, Mariucci graduated with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology in 2007 from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He received a master’s in kinesiology/sports management in 2010 from San Jose State.

Mariucci, the son of former NFL head coach Steve Mariucci, is a third-generation collegiate student-athlete following the linage of his father and grandfather.

“I’m very excited and honored to become the next Director of Athletics at CBU during this transformational time in the university’s history,” Mariucci said. “The commitment and strong conviction from university leadership to not only compete at the Division I level but to win at the highest level is exciting for me to be a part of and to lead. I feel very blessed to have this opportunity.”