BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- Cal State University Bakersfield introduced Ari Wideman as its next head women's basketball coach Tuesday at the Icardo Center. Wideman comes to Bakersfield after a successful playing career at the University of Nevada and multiple assistant coaching stops around the country. She says, coaching has been a dream of hers since she was 20 years old, and just 12 years later, she becomes the youngest women's basketball coach in the Big West. The Southern California native returns home to her family and an opportunity she couldn't pass up. Bakersfield woman who tried to turn in found marijuana was turned away by police "Honestly, it's just an opportunity to be closer to home. I'm used to seeing my parents like once a year at Christmas. But it's exciting to be able to represent the state of California and this community in Bakersfield and just pour into to these players. And I just want to put a really good product on the floor so that people are excited about supporting us," CSUB's new Women's Basketball head coach Ari Wideman said. Her father, Tony Wideman, said he's thankful for the opportunity his daughter is getting. "To be 32 years old and the head coach at a Division I program. I mean, it can only be God. So we're thankful for the opportunity. And we know her hard work is paying off." Never miss a story - Make KGET.com your homepage Her road to Bakersfield came with the help of Bakersfield College head football coach R. Todd Littlejohn. The two met a decade ago when Wideman was a graduate assistant at Prairie View A&M and they've kept in touch ever since. R. Todd recommended her for the job because of a few qualities he saw in her that few other coaches have. "Watching her work, watching her passion, watching her enthusiasm, all of the things. And I said to her, 'You are a rising star.' Just mark my words. And she kind of grinned a little bit. But what I noticed, it was genuine. You know, she did it every day. I watched her out on the floor, you know, with the team, and you could just tell," Littlejohn said.