Michael Lorente was introduced by Cordova High School on Sept. 15 as its newest Athletic Director. Photo by Rick Sloan

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA (MPG) - The Cordova Lancers’ athletic department is entering a new era, as Michael Lorente was introduced by Cordova High School on Sept. 15 as its newest Athletic Director. 

Lorente spent the past six seasons as the head boys’ basketball coach and administrator at Destiny Christian Academy, which was previously known as Capital Christian. From 2021-2025, Lorente led the Destiny Christian Academy program to five consecutive league titles between both the Capital Athletic League and Metro League, including three straight 20-win seasons from 2022-2025.

Lorente also earned Coach of The Year honors during the 2023-2024 season. During his time with the program, he helped 15 student athletes move on to play at the collegiate level and was the figurehead of one of the most successful teams in the state. Lorente also currently serves as the head coach of boys’ basketball at American River College after taking the job earlier this year. 

Prior to his recent stops, Lorente served as head coach at Rocklin High School (2010-2012), and was an assistant coach at ARC from 2013-2020. Now at Cordova, Lorente is impressed with what he sees and is excited to get going. When asked about his feelings about coming over to Cordova, he did not mince words. 

“It feels great,” Lorente said. “I’m impressed by the amount of community support that the school has. I’m super excited and humbled to be a part of leading the charge moving forward. I really like the leadership here. We’ve got a tremendous staff. The kids are great and I think we’ve got so much potential. I think where we’re going is going to be unprecedented. The school has a rich history, but I think where we’re going is going to surpass what history has provided.”

Lorente takes over the Cordova athletic department that was previously led by Lancers’ varsity football coach JP Dolliver, who elected to step down from the position in order to focus more on football. Enter Lorente, who recognizes the rich history and tradition that Cordova has, and intends on upholding those traditions while also ushering the various sports programs into a new era. 

“It’s very important,” Lorente said when asked about what honoring past traditions at the school means to him. “I’ve been in a lot of meetings with the city and RC Sac who is a tremendous supporter of our programs. I think there’s tremendous parent support. The leadership starting from Mr. Swanson, the superintendent all the way down to myself and mid-level management here with our site leaders, everyone is really aligned with honoring the history. I think it’s really critical that we honor the history, but I also think it’s critical that we don't get stuck looking in the rear view and we focus on looking out the windshield. I think it's really important to know where we've been but also understand where we're going and honor the history but really focus on the future."