BAKERSFIELD, Calif.(KBAK/KBFX) — California State University, Bakersfield women’s head basketball coach, Ari Wideman, has been placed on paid administrative leave, according to Jennifer Self, Senior Director of Strategic Communications at CSUB.
The cause for the placement was not announced.
New CSUB women’s basketball head coach, Ari Wideman. Credit: CSUB athletics
Self said Ray Alvardo, associate head coach, will serve as acting head coach for the remainder of the season.
Wideman was hired in May 2024 as the program’s first black female head coach, following the announcement to not renew the contract of long-tenured head coach Greg McCall in March 2024.
Men’s basketball head coach Rod Barnes stepped away from the program in September 2025. He spent 14 seasons with the Roadrunners.
Director of Athletics Kyle Conder departed from CSUB that same month.
Several coaching changes took place in the swimming and diving program, most recently when Director Eric Bugby announced his resignation in October 2025.
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In March 2025, CSUB softball player Violet Salazar came forward with allegations of abuse against her softball coaches in a TikTok video. She accused Assistant Coach James Davenport of sexual assault, claiming he grabbed her body after showering, leaving a bruise. CSUB softball head coach Letty Olivarez and Davenport were suspended by the university. Davenport was no longer employed by the university as of October 2025.
In October 2025, two former CSUB softball players filed a lawsuit against CSUB, claiming Olivarez and Davenport created a “sexually charged environment” because they “openly discussed their sex lives with the team” between 2022 and 2025.
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These coaching changes took place just before or after, for years, following former CSUB assistant men’s basketball coach Kevin Mays arres in early September for allegedly trafficking a woman across three states.
This story is developing.