Olivia Olson (basketball)

Last updated

Olivia Olson
20240302 Olivia Olson for Benilde-St. Margaret 06.jpg
Olson in March 2024
No. 1–Michigan Wolverines
Position Guard
League Big Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (2005-11-02) November 2, 2005 (age 19)
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Career information
High school Benilde-St. Margaret's
(St. Louis Park, Minnesota )
College Michigan (2024–present)
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the Flag of the United States.svg United States
FIBA U16 Americas Championship
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2021 León Team

Olivia Olson (born November 2, 2005) is an American college basketball player for the Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference. She was a five-star basketball recruit and one of the top players in the 2024 class. She has competed in basketball for Team USA at the 2021 FIBA Under-16 Women's Americas Championship and the Nike Hoop Summit. She is a 2024 McDonald's All-American. In 2023, she won Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) state championships as a senior goalkeeper in soccer and as a junior guard in basketball for Benilde-St. Margaret's. She helped Benilde defend their basketball title in 2024. She earned Minnesota Miss Basketball and Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year recognition.

Contents

High school career

Olson has trained with her father Chris from a young age; practicing her ball-handling skills. She began playing varsity basketball in eighth grade. [1] As an eighth grader for Benilde-St. Margaret's, she tallied 40 points against a talented DeLaSalle High School team. [1] She also played varsity soccer as an eighth grader, but sat out her junior season before returning as a senior goalkeeper. [2] By January 2021, the freshman had 17 athletic scholarship offers and was the number 9 prospect in the national class of 2024. [1] She averaged 23 points as a freshman. [3] Late in her sophomore season, she was the number 3 ESPN-ranked prospect of the national class of 2024 with over 40 college scholarship offers. [4] She averaged 22.8 points as a sophomore. [3]

On September 8, 2022, Olson gave a verbal commitment to Kim Barnes Arico and the Michigan Wolverines after the program reached its first two NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament Sweet Sixteen appearances in 2021 and 2022 and the 2021–22 Michigan Wolverines, posted the best season in school history. [5] [6] National class of 2023 top-30 prospect, Taylor Woodson, from Minnesota had also committed to Michigan by September 2022. [7] She was the first top-40 player in the national class of 2024 to give a verbal commitment. [8] Olson led her school to a 2023 MSHSL Class 3A State Championship averaging 25.6 points, 12.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. [3]

On November 8, 2023, she signed her National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play college basketball at Michigan. [9] In November, she was the goalkeeper for the MSHSL Class 2A state champion soccer team. Then, on November 25, 2023, she broke a bone in her left hand in the season opener and did not return to action until January 4, 2024, when she posted her 2000th career point. [3] Her father's Twitter explained that Olson's surgery required 2 plates and 12 screws. [10] Ranked at number 15 in the national class of 2024, she is the second (to number 11-ranked incoming Michigan freshman classmate Syla Swords) highest-ranked recruit in program history at the time of signing her NLI. [11] The class of 2024 was the highest ranked class in school history (ranked number 4 on signing day). [9]

At the MSHSL Class 3A State Championship tournament, Benilde-St. Margaret's won its three games by margins of 35, 31 and 23 to defend its championship. [12] [13] In the championship game, Benilde-St. Margaret's (who was seeded first and ranked second) faced DeLaSalle High School (who was ranked first and seeded second). Olson had 30 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists. [14] [15]

She was named to the April 2, 2024 McDonald's All-American Girls Game at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. Olson, along with incoming freshman Swords, are the program's first high school signees to earn the honor. [16] [6] Olson and Liv McGill were the eighth and ninth Minnesotans named McDonald's All-Americans. [17] [18] She has also been selected for the April 13 Nike Hoops Summit at the Moda Center in Portland Oregon. [19] During her senior year she averaged 24 points, 10 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 3.6 steals through 28 games and was named Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year. [20] She was also awarded Minnesota Miss Basketball. [21] Although she was not a big scorer in the McDonald's All-American Game, MaxPreps writer Aaron Williams used the phrase "The highlight reel dish of the night" to describe her pass to her future Michigan teammate Swords. [22] The play received lots of public praise, with ESPN's color commentator mentioning it as possibly "the prettiest play we've seen all game". [23] [24]

College career

Olson began her Michigan career in the starting lineup wearing the #1 in a November 4, 2024 68–62 loss to a number-one ranked South Carolina Gamecocks team that had not lost in a year and a half. [25] [26] At the 2024 Fort Myers Tip-Off, Olson earned All-Tournament honors as 7–1 Michigan stretched its win streak to 7 games. [27] Her performance in the tournament included her first NCAA career double-double with a 19 point/11 rebound effort in the first game against Belmont on November 29. [28] On December 9, Olson earned her first Big Ten Freshman of the Week honor for her 18-point effort against Northwestern the day before. [29] [30]

National team career

Olson has represented the United States women's national under-16 basketball team, winning a gold medal at the 2021 FIBA Under-16 Women's Americas Championship. [31] She was one of only 3 15-year-olds selected for the team. [1]

Personal life

By her high school freshman season, she had about a dozen landscaping customers. Her father and brother, Morgan, kept her business running while she was training with and playing for Team USA in 2021. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Youngblood, Keith (August 12, 2021). "Benilde-St. Margaret's Olivia Olson is all business in rise to basketball fame". StarTribune . Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Olivia Olson goes from the basketball court to soccer field". WCCO-TV. September 22, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Rippel, Joel (January 5, 2024). "Top senior in girls basketball splashes back onto the scene". AOL.com . Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  4. ↑ "Benilde-St. Margaret's Olivia Olson catching the eyes of college coaches". KSTP-TV. February 21, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  5. ↑ Heilig, Brock (September 8, 2022). "Five-star point guard Olivia Olson commits to Michigan". Rivals.com . Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Meyer, Craig (January 23, 2024). "Michigan basketball commits Olivia Olson, Syla Swords picked for McDonald's All-American Game". Detroit Free Press . Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Benilde-St. Margaret's junior Olivia Olson pumped to commit to Michigan basketball program". KSTP-TV. September 22, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  8. ↑ Bertels, Kevin (September 9, 2022). "Girls' basketball: Five issues raised by Olivia Olson's choosing Michigan". Yahoo! Sports . Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Skiver, Kevin (November 8, 2023). "Michigan women's basketball signs five recruits to 2024 class, highest in program history". Detroit Free Press . Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  10. ↑ Olson, Chris (November 29, 2023). "@ChrisOlson763 status update". Twitter. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  11. ↑ VanMetre, Sarah (November 8, 2023). "Wolverines Sign Five to National Letters of Intent". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive . Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  12. ↑ "2024 State Class AAA Basketball, Girls Tournament". Minnesota State High School League . Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Benilde-St. Margaret's School". Minnesota State High School League . Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  14. ↑ Cook, Mike (March 16, 2024). "State girls basketball: Benilde-St. Margaret's pulls away from DeLaSalle to defend Class 3A crown". St. Paul Pioneer Press . Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  15. ↑ Gunther, Joseph (March 17, 2024). "Benilde-St. Margaret's dominates 2nd half, repeats at 3A titlis" . Star Tribune . ProQuest   2957848553 . Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  16. ↑ VanMetre, Sarah (January 23, 2024). "Olson, Swords Named McDonald's All-Americans". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive . Retrieved January 23, 2024.
  17. ↑ Nelson, Joe (January 23, 2024). "2 Minnesota girls basketball stars named McDonald's All-Americans". Sports Illustrated . Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  18. ↑ Wald, Jeff (January 23, 2024). "Minnesotans Alivia McGill, Olivia Olson selected for McDonald's All-American Game". KMSP-TV . Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  19. ↑ "USA Rosters and Coaching Staffs Announced for 2024 Nike Hoop Summit". USA Basketball. January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  20. ↑ "Benilde-St. Margaret's Student-Athlete Named Gatorade Minnesota Girls Basketball Player of the Year" (PDF). Gatorade. March 14, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  21. ↑ Haggstrom, Ron (April 5, 2024). "Benilde-St. Margaret's Olivia Olson named Miss Basketball" . Star Tribune . ProQuest   3033641679 . Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  22. ↑ Williams, Aaron (April 2, 2024). "Joyce Edwards scores 19 to lead East to victory, five takeaways from McDonald's All American Game". MaxPreps . Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  23. ↑ "Michigan commits Olson, Swords link up with flashy no-look dime". ESPN. April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  24. ↑ Kahn, Andrew (April 3, 2024). "Future Wolverines deliver play of the night in McDonald's All-American game". MLive.com . Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Michigan Wolverines 62: 68 South Carolina Gamecocks". ESPN. November 4, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  26. ↑ "No. 1 South Carolina avoids major upset in 68-62 win over Michigan". ESPN. Associated Press. November 4, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  27. ↑ "Wolverines Blitz Virginia Tech, Win Fort Myers Tip-Off". MGoBlue.com. November 30, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  28. ↑ "Michigan 68, Belmont 58:". Detroit Free Press . November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
  29. ↑ "USC and Michigan Score Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Awards". Big Ten Conference. December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  30. ↑ "Olson scores 18, Hobbs 16 and No. 23 Michigan women edge Northwestern 60-54". ESPN. Associated Press. December 8, 2024. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  31. ↑ "Olivia Olson". USA Basketball . Retrieved January 25, 2024.
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