CB Long Named Head Women's Baketball Coach
LANSING, Mich - Great Lakes Christian College and the Great Lakes Christian College Athletic Department are pleased to announce CB Long has been hired as the next coach for Women's Basketball Program. Long most recently served as the Head Coach at NCCAA Division II/Mideast rival Grace Christian University in Wyoming, MI, and takes over for Tom Pier who stepped down in May. Long led the Tigers to 36-34 record in his two and a half years with the program. The Tigers had great success under Long, consistently being ranked in the top 10 in the NCCAA peaking at #4 in the polls in 19-20. Long also led the Tigers to the Mideast Regional Title in 19-20 and the NCCAA National Tournament Final Four before the tournament was canceled due to COVID 19. Long was also named Mideast Coach of the Year in 2019-2020 season. Long coached four All Americans and three scholar athletes during his tenure at Grace Christian.
Coach Long played basketball for Lakewood High school from 1986-88 and went on to play at Hope College from 1988-1990. He started his coaching career at Hamilton High School in 1995, where he was assistant coach for the boy's varsity basketball team until 2000. He then coached boys and girls AYBT and AAU basketball for 9 years before returning to the high school realm at Grand Haven High School, coaching the JV boy's team from 2014-16. In 2016, he joined the Tigers' athletics staff as the JV men's assistant coach and has held that spot for the past two seasons.
Director of Athletics Richard Westerlund said this about Coach Long, "This is a great day to be a Crusader. We are thrilled to land a coach of Coach Long's caliber. He is a proven recruiter, coach and program builder. He is one of the top and most respected coaches for women's basketball in the NCCAA, and I could not be more thrilled for our Women's Basketball program. It was important as we were trying to identify the right person for this position that we found someone that was enthusiastic about the opportunity to build and recruit. I am eager to see Coach Long's vision and blueprint for success unfold. He was truly excited about the opportunity, and I am very excited for the path of the women's basketball program here at Great Lakes Christian College."
Coach Long said this about joining the Great Lakes Christian College family, "God works in mysterious ways! I am so humbled to be able to say, thank you to President Larry Carter, Greg Stauffer, and Richard Westerlund for the opportunity to coach the women's basketball program at GLCC. With many challenges ahead, I am excited to become part of the Great Lakes Christian College team. As Kathleen Norris said, "Before you begin a thing, remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead. You can only see one thing clearly, and that is your goal. Form a mental vision of that and cling to it through thick and thin!" The past year has certainly created delays, difficulties and things not foreseen, but without them, I would not be here, accepting this awesome challenge, to once again rise up and shine a light on God. It was Him who said, "2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4. It is pure joy that I feel at this time, to be able to become a part , once again, of a situation bigger than myself. To become a part of something significant. It will be larger than wins and loss', it will be more significant than national championships. It will be for His glory. I look forward to the many challenges and difficulties ahead, because without them, it would not be worth it."
In addition to coaching, Long will head up Advancement/Fundraising for Great Lakes Christian College Athletic Department. He resides in Grand Haven with his wife, Kristin. They have 3 kids, Jason, Maggie, and Molly.