Doane Athletics
Rick Schmuecker, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletics Communication
CRETE – Doane University is excited to announce the selection of Jordan Olson as Head Softball Coach. Olson joins the Tigers after spending the past four seasons as head coach at NCAA Division II Davis & Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia.
Olson returns to Doane where she served as a graduate assistant and assistant coach from 2014-16. At Doane, she was part of the Tigers’ Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) championship team in 2015 and two NAIA national tournament appearances in 2015 and 2016.
“We are very excited to bring Coach Olson back to Doane where she was a big part of our 2015 GPAC championship and two national tournament appearances,” said Matt Franzen, Director of Athletics. “She left us for a Division II head coaching position at Davis & Elkins College where she gained very good experience. We’re looking forward to working with Jordan as she builds our softball program at Doane!”
While at Davis & Elkins, Olson won 68 games in three-plus seasons as the Senators were 9-5 before play was halted in 2020. The program was able to record 20 or more wins in two of her three full seasons with two postseason berths in the conference tournament.
“I am grateful and honored for the opportunity to lead the Doane University softball program,” Olson said. “I’d like to thank Matt Franzen for this opportunity to come back to a university that has given me so much and for believing in me as a coach and as a person. I also would like to thank Renae Littrell (former Doane Head Coach) for giving me an opportunity at Doane as a grad assistant which paved my way into making coaching a career. Finally, I want to thank my past and present players at Davis & Elkins College for helping me grow as a head coach the last four years.”
Olson’s first tenure at Doane started in January 2014 following a fall semester as an assistant at Mayville State University in Mayville, North Dakota. A Lady Comet alum, she played two seasons for her hometown university and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and Health. Prior to her coaching stint at Mayville, Olson served as an assistant coach at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego, California.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to be back in the familiar town of Crete and to be a part of the family vibe Doane University provides,” Olson said. “This place gave me so much as a young coach and now that I have some head coaching experience under my belt, I’m ready to implement those experiences back here. This move in my career seems like a no brainer – the support the Doane Athletics Department and the University as a whole provides makes for an easy transition. Being closer to my family was a priority in my next move and Doane also provides that. After being at a competitive Division II school, I believe I can get this program back to the top of the GPAC.”
Doane’s season was cut short in March 2020 due to the COVID pandemic with the team finishing with a 7-15 mark against a competitive non-conference slate. Olson replaces Aurelia Gamch, who resigned in early July for a job opportunity in California, bringing Gamch back to her home state.
“I want to recognize Coach Gamch for her contributions to our program over the past three seasons,” said Franzen. “This past year was obviously tough everywhere but she kept our team together through the mess and we truly wish her well on her next endeavor.”
The Tigers are expected to return five position starters who played in 20 or more games in 2020 and three pitchers who combined for 80.2 innings of work this past season.