Olivia Olson (basketball)

Olivia Olson (born November 2, 2005) is an American basketball player who has committed to play for Michigan women's basketball. She is 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.

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. As an eighth grader for Benilde-St. Margaret's, she tallied 40 points against a talented DeLaSalle High School team. She also played varsity soccer as an eighth grader, but sat out her junior season before returning as a senior goalkeeper. By January 2021, the freshman had 17 athletic scholarship offers and was the number 9 prospect in the national class of 2024. She averaged 23 points as a freshman. 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. She averaged 22.8 points as a sophomore.

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. National class of 2023 top-30 prospect, Taylor Woodson, from Minnesota had also committed to Michigan by September 2022. She was the first top-40 player in the national class of 2024 to give a verbal commitment. 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.

On November 8, 2023, she signed her National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play college basketball at Michigan. 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. Her father's Twitter explained that Olson's surgery required 2 plates and 12 screws. 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. The class of 2024 was the highest ranked class in school history (ranked number 4 on signing day).

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. 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.

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. Olson and Liv McGill were the eighth and ninth Minnesotans named McDonald's All-Americans. She has also been selected for the April 13 Nike Hoops Summit at the Moda Center in Portland Oregon. 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. She was also awarded Minnesota Miss Basketball. 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. The play received lots of public praise, with ESPN's color commentator mentioning it as possibly "the prettiest play we've seen all game".

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. She was one of only 3 15-year-olds selected for the team.

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.