Head Coach Ari Wideman

Ari Wideman was named just the fourth Head Coach in the history of the Cal State Bakersfield women's basketball program, taking the helm of the squad in Spring of 2024.

Wideman brought an unprecedented perspective to the `Runners as she became the first woman to lead the CSUB women's basketball team dating back to the program's inception in 2000. She was also the first Black, female Head Coach in the 50-plus year history of CSUB Athletics.

The 2023-24 season saw Wideman serve as an assistant coach for the University of Toledo women's basketball team. A perennial contender in the Mid-American Conference, Wideman helped Toledo to a 28-6 record, the MAC regular-season title, and the third round of the Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament.

Prior to her year at Toledo, Wideman was the Assistant Coach & Recruiting Coordinator at Arkansas State during the 2022-23 season after spending the previous four years in the same role at San José State. She guided the A-State Red Wolves to a pair of wins at the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Championship, including a second-round upset of Georgia State.

While in Northern California's Bay Area, Wideman aided the Spartans in posting the nation's largest single-season wins turnaround as SJSU went from a six-win season in 2018-19 to recording 19 victories in 2019-20. On the way to a 19-12 record, the Spartans tallied the most wins in 40 years dating back to a 22-9 finish in the 1979-80 season.

Wideman's coaching experience began during her time as a professional basketball player in Iceland. When she was not competing or training, Wideman spent time coaching local youth teams, an opportunity that catalyzed her passion for molding young women.

After hanging up her laces professionally, Wideman returned to North America to formally jump into the coaching ranks, spending two seasons as a Graduate Assistant Coach at Prairie View A&M University.

Wideman was a four-year letterwinner as a women’s basketball student-athlete at the University of Nevada, Reno (2010-14) where she finished her collegiate career ranked third in program history with 383 assists and was named an All-Mountain West performer as a senior. Her career 77.4-percent mark at the free-throw line and 121 games played are the ninth-best on the program's career lists. In addition, her 136 assists as a senior and 12 dimes in a game in 2012 versus the same CSUB program she is now coaching ranked sixth on both the single-season and single-game lists.

Bakersfield’s leader holds a Master of Education degree in Educational Administration from Prairie View A&M University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from University of Nevada, Reno.