Who will be Orr's successor?
Mar. 25—With Brian Orr's retirement Wednesday, Lewis-Clark State College will have to do something it hasn't done in more than two decades: find a women's basketball coach.
There are several former players with ties to the program that have coaching experience and can immediately step in and take charge (including one still on the staff), along several other candidates from inside the Cascade Conference and the Pacific Northwest that can serve as viable candidates to take over the helm of the women's basketball team.
In the 50-year history of the program, there have been four female coaches (Bernice Sohn, 1973-74; JoAnn Rust, 1975-78; Marigay Schopp, 1978-84; and Heidi Hyser, 1986-87). But for the past 36 seasons, there's been incredible stability with Mike Divilbiss (1987-2001) followed by Orr.
So who could next be in line? Here's a list of potential candidates:
Caelyn Orlandi
The first and most obvious choice of potential candidates is current associate coach Caelyn Orlandi.
After a playing career that included two All-NAIA honors, Orlandi joined Orr's coaching staff in 2017 after graduating from LCSC. She has been the lead assistant the past three years. Orlandi will be inducted into the LCSC Athletics Hall of Fame on April 22.
Just four days ago, Orlandi was named the NAIA's assistant of the year by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
She has the familiarity with the current roster, a history with the program that spans a decade, and was taught as a player and a coach by Orr himself.
If the athletic department's goal is continuing the momentum of this past season, which ended with the Warriors getting to the round of 16, there's probably not a better candidate than Orlandi.
Brittany Tackett
Tackett is a former teammate of Orlandi's who earned All-American and all-conference honors, and retired with the school record for career field-goal percentage, making 61.1% of her shot attempts in her playing career.
Tackett served as an assistant in 2018-19 season, and currently is an assistant at Crystal Springs Uplands School, a college prep school in Hillsborough, Calif.
Although not as experienced as Orlandi in the coaching ranks, Tackett also has familiarity with the program and can be a good option should the school want to bring someone in with past ties to the school.
Tiffanie Ulmer
Ulmer is a long-time assistant at Cascade Conference rival Eastern Oregon, having been in the position for more than a decade. Ulmer has experience, being with the Mountaineers for several 30-win and national tournament teams, and she has ties to the Pacific Northwest, being a former standout at Ellensburg (Wash.) High School.
It might be a bit more difficult to convince Ulmer to take the LCSC vacancy, but she is a proven winner and can help mitigate some of the coaching experience lost with Orr's departure.
Taylor Pierce
Arguably the best collegiate basketball player in the history of the state of Idaho, Pierce has been gaining experience coaching the past two seasons as a part of Jon Newlee's women's basketball staff at Idaho.
Pierce, a member of the Vandals' "Splash Sisters" duo with Mikayla Ferenz, set several school and NCAA records with her 3-point shooting frequency and efficiency. Pierce is third all-time in NCAA history with 472 made 3-pointers.
As a part of Newlee's staff the past two seasons, Pierce has specialized in the development of guard and wing players.
Should Pierce be given a look, she not only would check the box in maintaining a local tie, but it would be a splash (pun intended) to have one of the greatest shooters in NCAA women's history in charge of your program.
Kowatsch can be reached at 208-848-2277, tkowatsch@lmtribune.com or on Twitter @Teren_Kowatsch.
