This week, Ashlee Trebilcock announced she would transfer from UCLA after only playing in four games.

Trebilcock was a prep All-American and a highly-touted guard who was part of UCLA's plan to replace senior point guard, Nikki Blue, and senior guard, Lisa Willis, both of whom will go very high in the 2006 WNBA Draft.

With Trebilcock's announcement, UCLA head coach Kathy Olivier is now on the hot seat. She has been at UCLA for over a decade, but has not achieved the on-court success that many expect out of one of the best athletic programs in the country.

In the late 1990s, UCLA reached the Elite Eight with Erica Gomez, a tough-as-nails point guard; Maylana Martin, a fluid/finesse post in the mold of Nicole Ohlde; and Janae Hubbard, an undersized banger in the paint. However, the following season, UCLA underachieved, despite returning those three players. Prep phenom (and Gomez' replacement at the point) Nicole Kaczmarski transferred from UCLA, leaving a big whole in the backcourt.

Blue, Willis, and Noelle Quinn (a junior guard/wing), form one of the most talented 1-2-3 combinations in the country. However, UCLA has not really been the threat on the national scene that people expected. In addition, very talented high school players were either leaving California for college or attending other PAC-10 institutions.

In late spring, assistant coach Tia Jackson announced she was leaving UCLA after five seasons to take an assistant coaching position at Duke. Tia was UCLA's best recruiter and someone who was very popular with the players. She was instrumental in the recruiting of Blue, Willis, and Quinn, as well as Lindsey Pluimer, a former McDonald's All-American. More importantly, Tia was able to get recruits to make official visits to UCLA who might not have otherwise.

With Blue and Willis graduating this year, Olivier is under even more pressure. The Bruins have not had the on-court results expected of a team with its talent. More importantly, the other PAC-10 teams are either pulling away from UCLA or starting to supplant the Bruins. Arizona State has risen to prominence under Charli Turner-Thorne. Stanford is still a national force and has brought in Candice Wiggins (Class of 2004) and Jayne Appel (Class of 2006), two of the top players in California high school basketball and top-10 recruits nationally. USC, under Mark Trakh, is bringing in the top recruiting class in the nation next year, including Jackie Gemelos, who spurned UCLA for USC after de-committing from UConn, and three other top-40 recruits. Joanne Boyle (another former Duke assistant) has taken over at Cal, with a tremendous freshman class and a great reputation as a recruiter and an Xs and Os coach.

Olivier is in the final year of her contract. For an athletic program with over 100 national championships in its history, located in the state with top-tier talent in the high school ranks, and with conference rivals who appear to be supplanting the Bruins on the national scene and in the conference, will the administration decide to offer her an extension? Or will the university decide to go in a different direction? For the good of the UCLA women's program, I hope UCLA chooses the latter.