As of April 2026, eight athletic coaches that have left Cal State Bakersfield or have been placed on administrative leave in the span of a calendar year.
James Davenport and Letty Olivarez, Softball Head Coaches – A softball player’s TikTok video surfaced the internet about the alleged inappropriate behavior from the softball coaches.
CSUB softball players filed a lawsuit on the allegations of harassment and misconduct. On March 11, both coaches were placed on administrative leave after the serious allegations from the incident. After their leave, Alyssa Graham took over as the interim head coach.
Chris Hansen, Swim and Dive Head Coach–for reasons undisclosed, Hansen was placed on paid administrative leave on May 6. Immediate search for a new swim coach began and Eric Bugby became the new swim and dive head coach as of Aug.
On May 6, Hansen was placed on paid administrative leave for reasons undisclosed according to CSUB athletics and the search began for a brand-new swim coach. On August 7, Eric Bugby became the new head swim and dive head coach after a successful stint at Niagara with three coach of the year awards and four conference championships.
Kevin Mays, Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach – On Sept 4, Mays was arrested for trafficking a woman across three different states. He is being charged a total of 11 criminal charges including pimping which is a felony, possession of firearms and marijuana, and possession of disturbing and obscene matter involving someone under the age of 18. Following this investigation and arrest Mays is currently on leave. The trial is still ongoing, and a hearing will take place on May 15, 2026.
Kyle Conder, Athletic Director – On September 9, Conder was placed on leave effective immediately. Dr. Sarah Tuohy became the acting director of athletics as of September 10.
Rod Barnes, Men’s Basketball Head Coach – On September 24, Barnes officially ended his tenure after 14 seasons with the Roadrunners ending with a record of 210-231. Assistant Men’s basketball coach Michael Scott was the interim head coach for the 2025-26 basketball season. Coach Barnes was a two-time Don Haskins Western Athletic Conference Coach Of The Year in back-to-back seasons during the 2015-2016 and the 2016-2017 seasons. He was also named the Hugh Durham Mid Major Coach Of The Year back in 2017 by CollegeInsider.com.
Barnes has led CSUB to a Western Athletic Conference Tournament Championship in 2015 which qualified them to their first ever Division 1 NCAA Tournament. In round 64, the ‘Runners fell short and lost to the Oklahoma Sooners 82-68.
Two years later, he led the ‘Runners to a National Invitational Tournament Semifinal appearance beating teams such as the California Golden Bears, Colorado State Rams, and the University of Texas Arlington Mavericks before losing to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Eric Bugby, Swim and Dive Head Coach – On October 30, Bugby resigned from his position due to undisclosed reasons according to SwimSwamNews. Ryan Brimer was the interim head coach for the swim season.
Ari Wideman, Women’s Basketball Head Coach – On March 5, 2026 Wideman was placed on paid administrative leave for reasons undisclosed” according to Jennifer Self, CSUB’s spokesperson, in an article by Bakersfield Now. Wideman was hired by CSUB in 2024 and in her tenure had a record of 9-49 that is punctuated with an eight game losing streak before being placed on paid administrative leave. Wideman resigned from her position on April 14. Associate head coach Ray Alvardo is the interim head coach until a new women’s head basketball coach is decided.
Whitney Pitalo, Women’s Soccer Head Coach – On March 24, Pitalo stepped down from her position to pursue other opportunities per CSUB Athletics. Her first-year coaching led CSUB all the way to the Big West Championship game where the ‘Runners were one goal away from becoming Big West champions going to the NCAA Tournament as they ultimately lost to the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos in some thrilling penalty kicks, 8-7.
In her second year, Coach Pitalo helped the squad set multiple program records such as fewest goals in a season and the most conference wins, points and goal differential in a single season. Associate head coach Martin Navorro will take over as the new interim head coach. Pitalo is now an assistant coach at the University of Washington.
Todd Lee was introduced as the men’s basketball coach on March 26. He was an assistant coach with the Arkansas Razorbacks and USC Trojans before coming back to CSUB where he helped them win a Division 2 championship.
This school year in the coaching department has been a rollercoaster of epic proportions.
