The Pepperdine women’s basketball family has grown by 7 pounds, 12 ounces. Waves coach Katie Faulkner delivered her third child 10 days ago, welcoming daughter Cali Jo to the Malibu campus community.
“We’re doing it . . . we did it,” Faulkner said this week. “She’s a rock star.”
Rock stars — and newborns — keep their own timetables. Faulkner woke up a week ago Friday — the eve of her due date — knowing Cali wasn’t quite ready to make an appearance. “But I know we’re getting close,” she said at the time. “You kind of have a deep breath and OK, Operation Let’s Have a Baby, and then let’s get back to work.”
Faulkner gave birth the following Monday and had visions of returning to the sideline last Saturday when the Waves played Washington State at Firestone Fieldhouse. “I could definitely see myself coming back for the game if that seems right,” Faulkner said in an interview days before delivering.
After all, she had continued to coach at practice until days before giving birth. Pepperdine Athletic Director Tanner Gardner thought the whole thing was a bit ambitious. “You’re crazy . . . that might have been what my reaction was,” he said.
Gardner stressed that he encouraged Faulkner to do whatever she needed for her own well-being and that of her new child. “What’s sure is that we offered and continue to offer Katie to take all the time off that she needs to welcome her new baby,” he said before Cali’s birth. “Family is first at Pepperdine.”
Faulkner ultimately decided staying home a few more days made sense for all, including herself. “Everyone was more so disappointed they didn’t get to see Cali at the game,” she joked. “We have a couple more home games that she can maybe be at.”
The Waves, under the direction of stand-in coach Brian Porth, have won four in a row, improving to 6-6 in the West Coast Conference after their 78-62 win over the Cougars. Their 15-9 overall record represents the most wins the program has produced in six seasons.
Faulkner will return to the sidelines Thursday night when the Waves make the short trek to Los Angeles to face LMU (15-8, 9-3). The Lions have won three in a row and seven of their past eight games to climb into a tie for second place, one game back of Gonzaga.
While she is eager to be back with her team, Faulkner said she is proud about how her assistant coaches and her players responded. “We have a pretty well-oiled machine when it comes to our culture,” she said. “The right voices on the team are rising up. They’re starting to own it, which you have to this time of year if you want to have success.
“Whether I’m there, whether I’m not, the standard is the standard. I obviously love being there and I love those girls.”
The players had her back throughout the pregnancy, Faulkner said. “They’ve been so patient with me when I’m I have to sit down during practice, or I’m out of breath when I give my pre-game speech or hormonal and hyped up on emotions.”
Those emotions bubbled to the surface after a 69-68 home defeat to Oregon State in mid-January. “I cried in the locker room and I was like, `I’m so sorry,’ “ she recalled. “But they’ve been great and they’re super excited.”
Gardner said he was not at all surprised by Faulkner’s dedication to her squad. “Katie is a team-first person and she treats her team like she would treat her family,” he said. “Her level of commitment to the young women of Pepperdine basketball is exceptional In that way.”
Last Saturday, as the Waves were wrapping up their victory over WSU, Faulkner — who lives on campus less than a mile from the arena — could stay away no longer. She snuck into the locker room post-game to congratulate her players. “It was a special moment,” she said
On the advice of her doctor, Faulkner stayed home when Pepperdine traveled to Santa Clara a week earlier. It was a novel experience for the second-year head coach, who watched the 74-72 victory from her sofa, flanked by her two older kids, 4-year-old son Baker and 2-year-old daughter Laney.
“It was definitely weird,” she said. “I was opening up snacks for the kids and trying not to yell at the TV. Just not having an initial say in things as a coach used to being on the sidelines, that’s hard.”
But Faulkner also said there was an unexpected benefit to the unusual circumstances. It was cool, she said, to get the chance to watch more as a fan.
“To see the culture and see the togetherness and see what we are, not from a coaching perspective,” Faulkner said. “It was encouraging. It is such a testament to our staff and how we prepare and how we coach and run our program. Like any company, somebody goes on maternity leave at Google, the whole company doesn’t crash.”
Faulkner, husband Derek and their two older children are adjusting nicely to a new member of the family. She called that first meeting of the three siblings “one of those memories you kind of bottle up and cherish forever.
“Them coming into the hospital and meeting her, that was really special. There’s highs and lows. They’re kind of like, `OK, is this thing leaving?’ I’m like, `No, it’s sticking around.’ They run up every morning, give her a big kiss and then go about their day.”
Her other kids — Pepperdine’s players — are equally giddy about the new kid on the block. Faulkner dropped into practice this week to introduce Cali to the players. “College kids are probably not around babies much,” she reasoned. “They were like, `I’ve never seen anything that small.’ They’re in love.”
Faulkner is now ready to be back with her team on game night. “It’ll be seamless,” she said when asked how she expects things to unfold Thursday night. “At this point in the year, it’s routine and habits. But I’m super-excited to be there with the team.”