Elias Roelfsema Added to Women’s Basketball Staff as Strength and Conditioning Coach
6/4/2026 11:44:00 AM | Women's Basketball
NASHVILLE – The Lipscomb University Women's Basketball Program has announced the hiring of Elias Roelfsema as the team's Strength and Conditioning Coach for the 2026-27 season.
For the first time in program history, Lipscomb women's basketball will have a strength and conditioning coach dedicated to the team year-round.
"We were really fortunate to have an incredible group of candidates for this position, but Elias truly separated himself from the pack. He has a ton of experience directing basketball, and he has done it at an extremely high level," said head coach Lauren Sumski.
"Beyond that, he is a phenomenal guy who is a tremendous fit for our university, our athletics department and our program. We absolutely cannot wait to get to work with him! I can't wait to see what he can do with this roster in a year."
Before arriving in the Music City, Roelfsema served as the Director of Sport Performance at Advanced Physical Therapy in Little Rock, Arkansas, during the 2025-26 season. He spent time with the Little Rock men's golf team and was a part of a program that won the Ohio Valley Conference and earned a berth at an NCAA Regional.
He worked at the University of Central Arkansas from 2019-25, serving as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach before being elevated to the Director of Basketball Performance, serving both basketball teams, as well as the UCA golf teams.
In the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Roelfsema served on the women's basketball staff as the Sugar Bears qualified for the Women's National Invitational Tournament in back-to-back campaigns. Making it to the ASUN title game in both seasons, the program won over 20 games in each of those two seasons.
With the men's golf team, he helped transform a program that finished 12th at the ASUN Championship in 2023 to second in 2024. The following year, he was a part of an ASUN title with the Bears that saw them qualify for an NCAA Regional.
A former student-athlete, Roelfsema was a decathlete and heptathlete with Central Missouri, earning four All-Conference selections with the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association during his time with the Mules from 2015-18.
Roelfsema graduated from the University of Central Missouri with a Bachelor of Science in exercise science and a minor in nutrition. He also earned a Master of Science in exercise science and human performance, with a minor in sport nutrition, from the University of Central Arkansas.
He is married to his wife, Alex.
For the first time in program history, Lipscomb women's basketball will have a strength and conditioning coach dedicated to the team year-round.
"We were really fortunate to have an incredible group of candidates for this position, but Elias truly separated himself from the pack. He has a ton of experience directing basketball, and he has done it at an extremely high level," said head coach Lauren Sumski.
"Beyond that, he is a phenomenal guy who is a tremendous fit for our university, our athletics department and our program. We absolutely cannot wait to get to work with him! I can't wait to see what he can do with this roster in a year."
Before arriving in the Music City, Roelfsema served as the Director of Sport Performance at Advanced Physical Therapy in Little Rock, Arkansas, during the 2025-26 season. He spent time with the Little Rock men's golf team and was a part of a program that won the Ohio Valley Conference and earned a berth at an NCAA Regional.
He worked at the University of Central Arkansas from 2019-25, serving as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach before being elevated to the Director of Basketball Performance, serving both basketball teams, as well as the UCA golf teams.
In the 2024 and 2025 seasons, Roelfsema served on the women's basketball staff as the Sugar Bears qualified for the Women's National Invitational Tournament in back-to-back campaigns. Making it to the ASUN title game in both seasons, the program won over 20 games in each of those two seasons.
With the men's golf team, he helped transform a program that finished 12th at the ASUN Championship in 2023 to second in 2024. The following year, he was a part of an ASUN title with the Bears that saw them qualify for an NCAA Regional.
A former student-athlete, Roelfsema was a decathlete and heptathlete with Central Missouri, earning four All-Conference selections with the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association during his time with the Mules from 2015-18.
Roelfsema graduated from the University of Central Missouri with a Bachelor of Science in exercise science and a minor in nutrition. He also earned a Master of Science in exercise science and human performance, with a minor in sport nutrition, from the University of Central Arkansas.
He is married to his wife, Alex.
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