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Jon Olsen returns to coach McCook CC baseball team
The first baseball coach ever at McCook Community College is coming back to fill the final vacancy of the MCC Coaching staff.
McCook High School graduate and former MCC baseball coach Jon Olsen has been named the baseball coach.
Olsen spent four seasons as coach at Independence Community College in Kansas.
He came to Independence after spending the 2002 season leading MCC in the school's inaugural baseball season.
"We're very happy to have coach Olsen back with us. He started the program here, but financially couldn't make a living as a part-timer so took the job at Independence where he has done well," MCC athletic director Chet DeVaughn said.
At Independence in 2003, ICC broke the school record for wins, and Olsen was named coach of the year in the Jayhawk East.
In his second year, the Pirates had their best conference finish tying for third in the Jayhawk East. ICC did not finish outside the top half of the conference in Olsen's stint as the coach.
"We are excited to have coach Olsen join our coaching staff here at McCook Community College. He brings with him a wealth of coaching experience and local knowledge of the baseball talent in the area. He's a successful coach who will effectively lead our program at MCC," said Michele Gill, area dean of Student Life.
In addition to coaching in the Jayhawk conference, Olsen spent two years playing, and a year coaching in the conference.
As a freshman Olsen played at Dodge City Community College, he then transferred to Colby Community College where he caught for their 1997 Jayhawk West Conference runner-up squad.
After graduating with his associates degree in May 1997, Olsen transferred to Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill.
A two year starter for Wheaton Olsen graduated with his B.S. degree in Kinesiology in December 1999.
He is currently working on his masters degree through Emporia State University.
After his Senior year at Wheaton Coach Olsen stayed on as an assistant for the 2000 season.
After one year at Wheaton he went back to his alma mater to be an assistant at Colby Community College.
Following a one year stint there, Olsen became the first baseball coach at MCC, but after one year the opportunity for Olsen to get back into the Jayhawk Conference as a head coach was too much for him to pass up as he was hired as the new head coach at Independence CC in June 2002.
"We're happy he applied for the position and know he's going to do a good job for us, I know as soon as we hired him, he was already out recruiting," DeVaughn said.
Olsen will be teaching classes in the health and physical education department at MCC as well.
"He's an asset to our college and we look forward to his leadership of MCC baseball," Gill said.
"Coach Jorgensen has built a solid foundation for coach Olsen to build upon and we wish coach Jorgensen best of luck in his new position with Doane College."
Olsen's hiring completes a summer in which there were vacancies in five of the college's six sports teams.
Brandon Lenhart from William Penn University will fill the coaching vacancy to lead the men's basketball program.
Benjamin Smith, a former assistant at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks will lead the women's basketball program in addition to serving as MCC's Director of Housing.
Tyrone Robinson, an assistant coach at Rainy River Community College in International Falls, Minn., takes over the head coaching duties for the MCC softball team.
Former Heritage Hills PGA professional Bill Stokley will coach the MCC men's golf team beginning this fall.