Lady Raven women's basketball coach Chad Folsom took over the program heading into the 2001-2002 school year and has become the Ravens all-time winningest coach, guiding the program to a 536-279 mark. Â Under his leadership, the Lady Ravens have averaged an amazing 21-plus wins for 25 straight years.
From 2022-2025, the Lady Ravens were named the Heart of America Athletic Conference Musco Team Sportsmanship Award winner for women’s basketball. They were the only women's basketball program in the conference to earn this honor for all three years that the Heart of America Athletics Conference had been selecting the Champions of Character teams.
Coach Folsom has been named the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) Coach of the Year twice and has led the program to the NAIA National Championship Tournament 12 times (2006, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025, and 2026), including nine of the past twelve seasons. Coach Folsom’s 2015-2016 team finished the year 29-7, 17-5 in the Heart, and played to the NAIA Div. I FAB FOUR for the first time in the school’s history. Along the way, the team beat the #1, #2, #5, and #7 nationally-ranked teams while finishing the year ranked #8 in NAIA Div. I. Last season’s 2025-2026 Lady Raven team finished second in the tough Heart of America Athletic Conference, with a conference record of 18-2, and overall record of 24-8. This marked the 22nd year in Coach Folsom’s 25-year tenure at Benedictine College that the Lady Ravens have finished the season in the top 4 of the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
Folsom’s 2005-2006 Lady Ravens’ squad set a school record for wins.  The team finished the year 30-5, won the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championship, won the post-season Heart tournament, and reached the Elite Eight at the NAIA Division II National Tournament.
During his tenure, the program has earned 90 All-Heart of America Athletic Conference performers, has produced 14 NAIA All-American selections, and has had 17 one-thousand point scorers.
Under Coach Folsom’s leadership, the Lady Ravens have not only become one of the most consistent programs in the Heart on the floor but have become known as one of the top academic programs in the Midwest.  He has coached 71 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athletes in his 25 years with the Lady Ravens and his programs have consistently been named an NAIA Scholar Program carrying a team cumulative G.P.A. over a 3.30. After graduating from a small, liberal arts college, Coach Chad Folsom understands the important balance of quality education and athletics.
Coach Folsom returned to his hometown of Atchison after being away for 11 years.  Before coming to Benedictine College, he coached the men’s basketball team at Lamar Community College in Lamar, Colorado for 4 years, three years as the head coach.  He brought the men’s program at Lamar C.C. to their first winning season in 8 years, while at the same time, his teams produced 5 Academic All-Americans.
Coach Folsom graduated from Maur Hill Prep School in Atchison before he attended Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa.  While at Grinnell, Chad earned a total of 12 varsity letters in basketball, indoor, and outdoor track and was named captain in all three sports in his senior year.  Folsom’s 1994 Grinnell Pioneers’ basketball team was the National Scoring Champions averaging 110 points per game.
Coach Chad Folsom graduated from Grinnell College with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.  He then attended the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, where he completed his master’s degree in sport psychology.
Chad is married to Amy (McKelvy), a graduate of Benedictine College. Â Amy and Chad reside in Atchison and have five children, Haylie, Taylor, Madison, Kaitlyn, and Kyle.
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