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For the past decade, the Lancer following has been building for California Baptist University athletics. The Lancers have seen increases in overall attendance averages since it began tracking attendance for its sports in 2011-12.

This past year, CBU saw a 32.4 percent increase in its average home attendance from 2014-15 (351.26). Over 153 home events, the Lancers drew 71,181 people for an average of 465.24 per event in 2015-16.

When taking away/neutral attendance into account (147 events, 49,387 total attendance), a total of 120,568 people witnessed CBU compete – an average crowd of 401.89 over 300 events. Away/neutral events were not taken into consideration for aquatics, cheer, cross country, golf, track and wrestling since attendance is not taken at opposing schools.

The total home attendance of 71,181 is a single-year record for CBU by nearly 15,000. It updates the previous record of 56,202 set in 2014-15. Its overall attendance of 120,568 is another record after the Lancers hit the six-digit mark (106,560) for the first time in 2014-15.

Since CBU began tracking total attendance in 2011-12, there have been percent increases of 78.97 and 101.73 in total average attendance and average home attendance, respectively.

Several programs drew big numbers and ranked highly in NCAA Division II and the region.

On the NCAA statistical website, CBU baseball ranked 22^nd in average attendance, but that was without taking the team’s home playoff games and its neutral-site game at Angel Stadium where it played as the home team in front of a crowd of 7,583. With those factors taken into consideration, Lancer baseball ranked third in all of D-II in average attendance (524.41) and fourth in accumulative attendance (16,781).

Elsewhere in the Division II average attendance rankings, softball took 13^th (234) in its sport, men’s volleyball finished 16^th (411) out of all Division I-II, women’s volleyball was 19^th (503), men’s soccer took 22^nd (348) and the women joined the top-30 at No. 26 (291).

There were a number of standouts in a regional ranking that included all PacWest and CCAA teams and UC Riverside. Softball, women’s volleyball, and baseball all took first in that custom ranking.

Women’s basketball ranked first in accumulative attendance (8,205) and second in average attendance out of CBU’s custom regional ranking. Men’s basketball ranked third in accumulative attendance (14,836) and fourth in average attendance (927) in that ranking, as well.

Ben Wahlman, Shaun Dyk, Nicole Adams and Amy Ramirez were all included in the induction ceremony during the CBU Athletic Department’s 2015-16 Senior Banquet in Van Dyne Gym. With these four, CBU’s Hall of Fame is now home to 65 legendary Lancers.

Even years after his final dive, Wahlman’s records still stand in CBU’s swim and dive history book. His top 11-dive scores of 533.40 on the three-meter and 515 on the one-meter boards hold up almost a decade later.

In his four-year Lancer career, the St. Louis, Missouri native earned All-American honors every chance he got, with a total of eight over in four seasons. To make it even more impressive, seven of his All-American performances were good for national championships, with the lone exception being a runner-up finish. His seven individual national titles rank first among all Lancer divers and is second among the swimmers, as well.

Wahlman excelled not only on boards but in the classroom, as he was named a two-time NAIA All-American Scholar Athlete in his career, truly epitomizing what it is to be a student-athlete at CBU.

In three years, Dyk left an indelible mark on the Lancer men’s volleyball program. He not only helped CBU win two national championships in 2004 and 2005, but he became one of the premiere point scorers in program history.

Dyk is one of the best servers in the history of the program, with his 130 career aces ranking fifth all time and his 0.49 aces per set average standing as second all time. As an opposite hitter, he posted 1,113 kills on 1,975 attempts for a .380 hitting percentage, with all three of those stats in the top-five career rankings.

Of course, awards followed those numbers for Dyk as he was named to the All-NAIA Invitational Tournament teams in 2003 and 2004. He was voted the NAIA Championships MVP in 2004, leading the Lancers to their third national championship in program history and first in two years.

From the first time Adams — formerly Nicole Davis — stepped onto the court for CBU women’s basketball, it was evident she was a special player. Not only would she lead the Lancers in points, assists and steals in all four seasons, she would set records that have yet to be broken.

Adams was a three-time NAIA All-American and became the program’s first All-American first teamer in 2008, after ranking second in all of NAIA with a 21 points-per-game average. She was also a four-time All-GSAC selection.

In the record books, Adams holds the record for most points in a game (42), field goals made (18) and assists (15). She used to hold the record for most three-pointers made in a single-game with eight, but it was just broken this year by Kamille Diaz, who hit nine in a conference-tournament game. She also sits third overall with 10 steals in a single game.

Over her four years as a Lancer, Adams ranks second with 2,090 career points, 603 career assists, 5.29 career assists per game and 387 career free throws made. She is also third all-time with 18.3 points per game and 201 three-pointers made, and fifth in career steals with 282.

Current CBU softball assistant coach Ramirez — formerly Amy Thomas — established herself as one of the most dominant forces in the circle for CBU softball in just two years. Her performance day in and day out on the rubber garnered her both conference and national attention.

She was a two-time All-GSAC, two-time GSAC Pitcher of the Year, two-time All-Region and two-time Region II Pitcher of the Year. Not to mention, she was also named an NAIA All-American both her junior and senior years, and was named the NAIA Pitcher of the Year both seasons, as well.

Ramirez etched herself into the CBU record book and still holds the all-time ERA record with a 0.83 career ERA. She is second in opponent batting average (.180) and saves (8), while also ranking third in walks per game (1.28). Her 60 career wins stand as the fourth-best in CBU history, while she sits sixth in appearances with 66 as well as strikeouts with a staggering 371.

In single season records, Ramirez holds the second-best single season ERA with a 0.57 mark in 2007, just behind her sister and fellow Hall of Famer Candice Ulibarri, aka Candice Thomas. Her 47 appearances in 2008 sit tied with her sister for the single-season record, as well.

Three years into its membership as an NCAA member, California Baptist University put together a banner year in a number of ways in 2015-16. For the third year in a row, the Lancers moved up in the NCAA Division II Learfield Directors’ Cup rankings, and for the fourth time in department history they came away with the PacWest Commissioner’s Cup.

Both honors signify CBU is not only the most well-rounded university in the PacWest Conference, but one of the premiere programs in all of Division II.

In 2013-14, the Lancers debuted at No. 26 in the Learfield Directors’ Cup in their first season as a fully-fledged NCAA member. They moved up to No. 16 in 2014-15 and then climbed all the way to No. 4 this past year. It came on the heels of a single-season best 13 CBU teams making the NCAA playoffs, with wrestling and men’s golf leading the way by both posting top-six finishes in Division II.

At the conference level, CBU brought home a single-season record nine championships, with six coming in the PacWest and the three others out of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Both cross country, basketball and swim teams won their conferences, while wrestling, baseball and women’s golf added crowns, as well.

For the first time, CBU put on an NCAA postseason tournament. Baseball earned the right to host five other teams for the Division II West Regional in May and advanced all the way to the region championship game.

Cheer not only reached its national competition, but topped all challengers to win the National Cheerleaders Association Championship. It extended the program’s streak of dominance and national-championship run to four years.

Individually, CBU won two national championships in Division II, which has the Lancers averaging one individual NCAA title in its three years of membership. Two years after swimmer Mary Hanson won the school’s first NCAA title, Christie Halverson won the Lancers’ second Division II crown in the 1000-yard freestyle with a time of nine minutes, 51.96 seconds in March. Three days later, Joe Fagiano won CBU wrestling’s first NCAA championship in the heavyweight bracket.

Two other Lancers distinguished themselves nationally. Hannah Evans of women’s water polo repeated as the NCAA Division II Player of the Year, and men’s volleyball’s Enrique de Diego Garcia notched the NCAA Division I-II statistical national championship in hitting percentage (.481).

Success at California Baptist University has never been limited to athletics, with academics playing just as big a role for the Lancers. CBU’s 436 student-athletes continue to succeed in the classroom in 2015-16, evidenced by the 92-percent academic success rate, highest department grade point average at 3.241 and slew of individual all-academic awards that came in this year.

“I’m so proud of our student-athlete success in the classroom,” said director of athletics, Dr. Micah Parker. “Our student-athletes are competing in all aspects of their opportunities at CBU.  I also think this is a result of the good work Rachel Keys is doing as the Athletic Academic Counselor.”

The Academic Success Rate is supplemental to the Federal Graduation Rate and accounts for all student-athletes who were on an official squad list, participating as of the first date of competition in the championship segment of their sport.

“This is an outstanding accomplishment and a great improvement from our first ASR of 76-percent in 2010-11,” said Keys, who is also the Senior Woman Administrator.

A total of 221 Lancers brought home all-academic awards across five conferences, as well. CBU also led the PacWest in all-academic selections for the third year in a row with 169 in all.

Baseball (Dylan Stowell), women’s volleyball (Jenna Perry) and women’s swim/dive (Christie Halverson) produced the academic athletes of the year in their sports. There were more standout academic awards given, as Stowell was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American. Wrestling’s Nolan Kistler nabbed the RMAC Summit and CoSIDA Elite 90 awards for being the individual with the highest GPA to compete at the RMAC and Division II Championships.

CBU’s women’s volleyball team boasted the highest GPA with a 3.809 over the year (3.864 in the spring). Men’s golf had the highest GPA out of the men’s teams, with a 3.276. Women’s water polo posted the third-highest team GPA in the NCAA (Divisions I-III) with a 3.47, and wrestling won the Brechler Award for recording the top GPA in the RMAC.

“I am so incredibly proud of the efforts of our student-athletes and the CBU faculty and staff who support them,” said faculty athletic representative, Dr. David Pearson. “Participation in athletics assists in developing many needed skills, but without a degree and the education it represents, professional opportunities are limited.  I am thrilled that our student-athletes are maximizing their potential for success by performing at such a high level in both athletics and academics.”

Head Coach Rick Croy, Head Coach Jarrod Olson, Director of Athletics Dr. Micah Parker

With most of the infrastructure complete on California Baptist University’s new Event Center Sundt Construction celebrated with CBU at the Topping Out Ceremony this past June. In building construction, topping out (or topping off) is a ritual traditionally held when the last beam (or its equivalent) is placed atop a structure during its construction.
CBU President Dr. Ronald Ellis, university dignitaries, CBU Director of Athletics Dr. Micah Parker, men’s and women’s basketball coaches and other CBU staff members came out to the construction site to sign the final beam before it was hoisted into the air.

“[It is] truly a wow day celebrating a wow building,” said Dr. Ellis at the construction site.

“It is humbling to stand in the middle of the Event Center and think about all the great things that are going to happen there,” said Dr. Parker. “So many people are working to make this a special place that will serve our students well and allow us to showcase great student-athletes to the Inland Empire community.”

The multi-use events center is scheduled to open in the spring of 2017 and will become the school’s largest indoor gathering space to serve a variety of campus activities, including sporting events, chapel and graduation ceremonies. Construction continues on through the summer and into the fall. The events center is being built adjacent to the CBU Recreation Center located in Lancer Plaza near the corner of Adams Street and Diana Avenue. The center’s north-facing front entrance will be located on Lancer Lane.

The centerpiece of the 153,000 square feet building will be a 5,050 seat arena—expandable to more than 6,000 seats—that will showcase some of the CBU athletics teams competing in the PacWest Conference and NCAA Division II. These include men’s and women’s basketball, wrestling, and men’s and women’s volleyball. The building also will feature locker rooms for home and visiting teams, as well as new athletics offices.

The two-level events center is designed to complement the Mission Revival architecture style that is a hallmark of the CBU campus. A 100-foot tower will adorn the building’s north side.

California Baptist University students have been known to excel in their selective fields outside of college, and the same goes for the school’s student-athletes. It was perhaps most evident this summer, as four Lancers in different sports have experienced success outside of the collegiate ranks.

Spotlights were shown on the Lancers’ baseball, women’s soccer, men’s volleyball and men’s water polo programs this summer, with all three seeing one of their athletes break into new waters in their professional or international careers. Baseball’s Adam Hofacket signed a minor-league contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Kristopher Johnson of men’s volleyball made the United States team for the Pan American Games and men’s water polo’s Eric Carnohan inked a professional contract with Water Polo Navarra of Pamplona, Spain. Kelly Jenks from women’s soccer stepped in and made an immediate impact with Kokkola F10, a professional team in Finland.

Hofacket became the 26^th Lancer drafted under Coach Gary Adcock’s 12-year tenure and is one of four players currently in the minor leagues – joined by Caleb Dirks, Trevor Oaks and Sharif Othman. Dirks and Othman are both playing at the double-A level. In 24 games, Hofacket has maintained a 3.41 earned-run average, logged eight saves and struck out 22 batters, compared to just three walks.

Jenks adjusted to the next level quickly for Kokkola F10. She played in each of the team’s first 10 games and was leading the league in goals early on, with 12 on the year. Her highlight performance of the young season came in a 4-0 win over Vantaa VJS on June 27th. She scored in the first minute of action and then assisted on another goal in the 91st minute.

Johnson was only one of two non-NCAA Division I products selected to the U.S. team but started every set of the tournament held in Toronto, Canada, which was also broadcast through WatchESPN. He finished the tournament with 27 kills on a .529 hitting percentage, eight blocks and four digs in five matches. Johnson has also been named to the U.S. preliminary roster for the 2015 FIVB World Cup and will continue his professional career with Leka Volley Club in Finland this year.

Carnohan was signed by Navarra, along with two international players from Brazil and Canada. He left for Spain on Aug. 24^th and will look to build on a fantastic senior season he completed with the Lancers in 2014. He joins a list of elite Lancers who have played water polo on the international stage. Austen Ramer, CBU’s career leader in saves with 1,129, played professionally for three years in Australia after graduating in 2012. Brandon Jung also saw plenty of playing time in the Olympics for Canada in 2008.

Over the last two seasons, more than 63 percent of California Baptist University’s eligible athletic programs have qualified for the NCAA Division II postseason. The Lancers will look to their six fall programs to set the pace for more success on the conference and national levels in 2015-16. Four fall sports advanced to the NCAA playoffs in their first shot in 2013-14, and the Lancers will look to improve on that feat two years later.

Both men’s and women cross country have qualified for the Division II postseason the last two years, with both programs sweeping the PacWest Championships last year. CBU will open 2015-16 at home with the Lancer Invitational at the Riverside City Cross Country Course at 5 p.m. on Friday. It will be one of three rare home opportunities to see CBU in Riverside this season, with the CBU Invitational (Oct. 3^rd) and PacWest Championships (Oct. 24^th) taking place at the Riverside City Cross Country Course, as well.

The men are looking to win their fifth-straight PacWest title and advance out of the West Region tournament for the third season in a row. The women aim at a repeat performance in the PacWest and to reach the Division II Championships for the first time.

In the gym, women’s volleyball was picked to win the PacWest in the conference’s preseason poll after a 16-12, 12-8 in conference run in 2014. The Lancers return all but two regular contributors from last season, including three All-PacWest players and the reigning PacWest, West Region and Division II Freshman of the Year determined by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

For the second year in a row, CBU will open up at Cal State East Bay’s Route 92 Tournament, followed by a trip to Seattle Pacific for the GNAC-PacWest Crossover. The Lancers open up the conference and home season simultaneously when it hosts Dixie State at 7 p.m. on Sept. 18^th.

Women’s soccer opens the year in Bellingham, Wash. with games against Western Washington and Concordia (Ore.) on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. The Lancers will open at home against Sonoma State on Sept. 10^th at 3 p.m. The team is looking to build on its 11-4-3 record from 2014 when it took second in the PacWest with a 9-0-3 record and just missed out on the postseason.

After winning its final three contests last year, men’s soccer is determined to carry that momentum over into 2015. CBU is looking to charge back into the playoffs, like it did in 2013, after going 18-15-2 and 16-8 in the PacWest combined over the last two years. Much like the women, the Lancer men will open the season in Washington against Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser in Seattle on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Cal State Dominguez Hills comes to the Lancer Soccer Field at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday to kick off the home schedule for CBU.

Men’s water polo is gearing up for a new season with a new coach, Kevin Rosa. The Lancers are coming off a program-best, fourth-place finish in the Western Water Polo Association last year and return many of the players who were key to that success. The team is receiving votes in the Collegiate Water Polo Association’s preseason NCAA top-20 poll and opens the year against No. 2 USC and No. 3 Cal in the Triton Invitational on Saturday at 11:10 a.m. and 3:10 p.m., respectively. CBU will open up at home against UC Irvine on Sept. 16th.

Twelve California Baptist University athletic programs are offering a total of 25 camp sessions this summer.

Youngsters have the opportunity to learn from the best Lancers have to offer in the sports of men’s and women’s basketball, soccer, swimming, volleyball, water polo, baseball, softball and wrestling.  Camps are already underway and will continue through June and July, with the camp season wrapping up in August.

For more information on prices, dates and offerings, visit the www.cbulancers.com/camps and select the sport you are interested in learning more about. Camp registration and payments can be made online for a majority of the camps.

With the final stretch of 2014-15 well underway, California Baptist University is looking to add to its impressive list of accomplishments in NCAA Division II this spring. Both softball, baseball are aiming at qualifying for the NCAA playoffs for the second year in a row, along with men’s and women’s golf. Cheer is aiming at winning its third-consecutive NCA national title, and both distance track teams have individual NCAA glory on their minds.

CBU women’s golf resumed its season in the spring with a victory at the Super San Diego Championship, and followed it up with Tina Yang winning her first individual title of the season at the CBU Invitational where the Lancers took second. With top-10 finishes at all eight of its tournaments and five top-three marks, CBU has jumped to eighth in the NCAA Division II rankings, with top-10 finishes at all eight of its tournaments and five top-three marks this year.

On the softball diamond, the Lancers opened the season with a top-25 ranking and had three players earn preseason honors. Belinda Renne was named the PacWest Preseason Pitcher of the Year and was joined on the preseason all-conference team by Savannah Miller and Krista Mann. CBU has since jumped to No. 13 in the Division II rankings, and are 28-6, 17-3 in conference about halfway through the season. They opened PacWest action with series wins over Holy Names, Notre Dame de Namur, Chaminade and sweeps of BYU-Hawaii, Hawaii Hilo and Academy of Art. Ashley DeVaere has been a dangerous weapon for the Lancer offense, leading the conference in RBIs, doubles, home runs and walks.

The two-time National Cheerleaders Association championship CBU cheer team is ready to start another campaign for the coveted title. This year, the Lancers qualified a stunt group for nationals. Katarina McKnight, Briana Davee, Taylor Hendricksen, and Raven Rivera will compete at the USA College Championships on March 23 and then again at the NCA College Championship in April.

Distance track is off to a very promising start this season. Through three events, the Lancer men and women’s teams have combined to post 18 (11 men, seven women) top-10 performances. CBU showed it is starting to hit its stride at the Occidental Distance Carnival. Valentin Robert has stood out not only for CBU or in Division II, but in the nation at large. His time of eight minutes, 59.44 seconds in the steeplechase placed him second and was not only an NCAA Division II qualifying time but the fastest time for the event in Division II and the NCAA overall. Abel El-Hajjami also grabbed a B-cut and top-three time in Division II of 14:33.12 in the 5000 meter.

On the women’s end of things, Caroline Barkechir set a new school record in the 3000 (10:06.35) and 5000-meter (17:02.36) events. Her 5K mark also gave her a B-cut for the Division II Championships. Katie Deimling also grabbed the program’s first victory of the season, taking the steeplechase in 11:24.35.

There has been a hot streak brewing in the Lancer Aquatics Center, as CBU women’s water polo has won 10 of its past 11 matches, including seven straight to improve to 14-8 this season. Six of the Lancers’ wins have come over NCAA Division I squads — Siena, Bucknell, George Washington, Iona and St. Francis. CBU will look to continue to build a full head of steam heading into the Golden Coast Conference Championships April 23^rd to the 24^th.

After reaching the NCAA Division II West Region semifinals in its first year playoff eligibility, CBU baseball gave itself a challenge non-conference schedule with two four-game series with top-10 ranked opponents and took home a 17-3 shellacking of #3 Colorado Mesa and 3-2 win over #9 Cal Poly Pomona. The Lancers will have to battle through an equally daunting PacWest slate. After being picked to win the conference, with Andy Crowley also expected to repeat as the PacWest Player of the year in the preseason polls, four of the nine league squads are currently ranked in the NCBWA’s top-10 West Region teams. CBU carries a 10-12, 2-2 in conference record into its second conference series with Hawaii Pacific, the No. 8 team in the region, at James W. Totman Stadium Saturday and Monday. CBU has been picked to win the PacWest title for the third time in four years, with Andy Crowley being named the conference preseason player of the year in the poll of the league’s coaches.

With the spring season now in full swing, CBU men’s golf has turned a new leaf with its young group. With the addition of sophomore Fresno State transfer Christian Sanders, the Lancers have produced top-seven finishes at their three spring tournaments. It started with a seventh-place showing at the primarily Division I Folino Invitational, followed by a bronze finish at the Coyote Classic and sixth-place showing at the St. Edward’s Invitational. Phenomenal freshman Kavan Eubank has highlighted the Lancers’ success and won consecutive PacWest Golfer of the Week awards after winning medalist honors at the Coyote Classic and going top-10 at the Folino Invite.

Records have already been broken, with two single-season marks in jeopardy for a new-look Lancer men’s volleyball, which stands at 6-15, 2-13 in the MPSF more than halfway through its schedule in the toughest conference in the country. In a sweep of UC Merced on January 10^th, the Lancers attacked at a .627 percentage (36 kills, four errors in 51 attempts), which ranks second in CBU history and fourth in the MPSF since the rally-scoring era began in 2001. The Lancers also had 16 aces against the Bobcats, which tied a program high and is two off the MPSF’s all-time record. Enrique de Diego Garcia’s current 1.28 blocks-a-set average ranks him second on CBU’s single-season list, and tied a single-match record with 16 blocks in a sweep of UC San Diego, which stood as a new three-set record. He also ranks 10th in single-season hitting percentage with a .385 mark. Coming off a 17-dig performance, Kevin Kustura has put up 2.13 digs a set this year, which is the fifth best average in a season for CBU.

With the winter season nearing its conclusion, California Baptist University continued its impressive standing in the race for another PacWest Commissioner’s Cup. The Lancers are in a good spot, looking for its third Cup and second in a row after just four years as a member of the conference. 

The Lancers sit atop the 2014-15 standings with an average of 12.429 points, while rival Azusa Pacific is right on their heels with a 12.000 average. Last year, CBU grabbed its second Commissioner’s Cup in one of the closest races in conference history. The Lancers became just the second school in the conference, along with Hawai’i Pacific, to win the Commissioner’s Cup twice. CBU won it in its first year in the conference three years ago.

The PacWest Commissioner’s Cup Scoring System awards points to schools based on their finishes in conference-sponsored sports. Regular-season standings are used for baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and volleyball, while the results of the conference championships in the sports of cross country, golf and tennis. Tennis, golf, baseball and softball are still yet to be calculated into the mix.