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WAVERLY, IA - A ferocious fourth-quarter comeback fell shy as the 16th-ranked Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball team saw its season come to a close with a 62-59 loss at No. 6 Wartburg College Saturday night, March 2, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. (Kodiak Creative/Jimmy Naprstek)
Kodiak Creative

Women’s Hoops Earns WBCA Academic Team Honor Roll Special Mention

Titans posted second-highest GPA of CCIW programs in 2023-24

7/24/2024 10:11:00 AM

ATLANTA, Ga. - A strong year in the classroom saw the Illinois Wesleyan University women's basketball program garner Academic Team Honor Roll Special Mention status from the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Wednesday, July 24. IWU, which boasted a team grade point average of 3.584, was one of four College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin schools recognized.

The Titans won a share of the CCIW Regular Season Championship in 2023-24, finishing the season with a record of 23-6. IWU, which boasted the second-highest GPA in the CCIW, notched a 14-2 league record and saw four student-athletes named to the All-CCIW teams.

"The WBCA is pleased to recognize those women's basketball programs that have committed themselves to excellence on the court and in the classroom," said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew.  "The 112 teams we honor this year strive to achieve all-around success and we commend their efforts. Congratulations!"
 
Below are the 2023-24 WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls by division. The head coach listed for each institution was its head coach during the 2023-24 season. Teams having a 3.0 combined GPA and qualifying for consideration for the top 25 in their respective divisions are also listed as special mentions.
 
NCAA Division I
 
Rank Institution Head Coach GPA
1 Youngstown State John Barnes 3.868
2 Western Illinois JD Gravina 3.866
3 Maine Amy Vachon 3.856
4 Northern Illinois Lisa Carlsen 3.811
5 Belmont Bart Brooks 3.803
T6 Northern Iowa Tanya Warren 3.780
T6 Green Bay Kevin Borseth 3.780
8 Missouri Robin Pingeton 3.772
9 Drake Allison Pohlman 3.736
10 Toledo Tricia Cullop 3.724
11 Abilene Christian Julie Goodenough 3.715
12 Merrimack Kelly Morrone 3.696
13 Davidson Gayle Fulks 3.679
14 California Baptist Daniel Cook 3.675
15 North Florida Erika Lambert 3.674
16 Wyoming Heather Ezell 3.672
17 South Dakota State Aaron Johnston 3.652
18 Houston Christian Donna Finnie 3.636
19 Northern Arizona Loree Payne 3.629
20 Saint Peter's Jennifer Leedham 3.628
21 Gonzaga Lisa Fortier 3.623
22 Boise State Gordy Presnell 3.614
23 Harvard Carrie Moore 3.613
24 Fairleigh Dickinson Stephanie Gaitley 3.606
25 NJIT Mike Lane 3.595
 
Special Mention: Lafayette, Kia Damon-Olson, 3.594; Portland, Michael Meek, 3.580; UNC Charlotte, Tomekia Reed, 3.573; Robert Morris, Chandler McCabe, 3.540; Holy Cross, Maureen Magarity, 3.535; Drexel, Amy Mallon, 3.533; Bradley , Kate Popovec-Goss, 3.529; DePaul, Doug Bruno, 3.529; Richmond, Aaron Roussell, 3.528; Milwaukee, Kyle Rechlicz, 3.527; Western Michigan, Shane Clipfell, 3.522; Albany, Colleen Mullen, 3.521; Stonehill, Trisha Brown, 3.520; UC Santa Barbara, Renee Jimenez, 3.519; Illinois, Shauna Green, 3.509; Bowling Green, Fred Chmiel, 3.508; East Tennessee State , Brenda Mock Brown, 3.506; Valparaiso, Mary Evans, 3.506; Pacific, Bradley Davis, 3.504; Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Royce Chadwick, 3.495; Fresno State, Jaime White, 3.494; Yale, Dalila Eshe, 3.493; Lehigh , Addie Micir, 3.481; Fairfield, Carly Thibault, 3.475; Kent State, Todd Starkey, 3.471; Florida Gulf Coast, Karl Smesko, 3.471; Iona, Angelika Szumilo, 3.464; Cleveland State, Chris Kielsmeier, 3.464; Utah, Lynne Roberts, 3.446; Binghamton, Bethann Shapiro Ord, 3.438; Creighton, Jim Flanery, 3.428; Indiana, Teri Moren, 3.428; Eastern Washington, Joddie Gleason, 3.421; Colgate, Ganiyat Adeduntan, 3.420; Elon, Charlotte Smith, 3.419; Villanova, Denise Dillon, 3.417; Vanderbilt, Shea Ralph, 3.416; La Salle, Mountain MacGillivray, 3.413; San Diego, Cindy Fisher, 3.412; Florida State, Brooke Wyckoff, 3.410; Montana State, Tricia Binford, 3.409; Saint Joseph's, Cindy Griffin, 3.401; Stanford, Tara VanDerveer, 3.401; Iowa State, Bill Fennelly, 3.389; Alabama, Kristy Curry, 3.386; Longwood, Erika Lang-Montgomery, 3.383; Illinois State, Kristen Gillespie, 3.380; South Florida, Jose Fernandez, 3.377; Lipscomb, Lauren Sumski, 3.372; Ohio State, Kevin McGuff, 3.372; Denver, Doshia Woods, 3.365; UC Irvine, Tamara Inoue, 3.362; Syracuse, Felisha Legette-Jack, 3.358; Georgetown, Darnell Haney, 3.356; California, Charmin Smith, 3.339; Georgia State, Gene Hill, 3.329; New Hampshire, Megan Shoniker, 3.328; Iowa, Lisa Bluder, 3.327; Tulane, Ashley Langford, 3.320; Louisville, Jeff Walz, 3.319; Nevada , Amanda Levens, 3.312; Hofstra, Danielle Santos Atkinson, 3.308; Bethune-Cookman, Janell Crayton, 3.303; Rider , Lynn Milligan, 3.302; Tennessee, Kellie Harper, 3.301; Seton Hall, Anthony Bozzella, 3.298; Portland State, Chelsey Gregg, 3.298; UAB, Randy Norton, 3.297; Liberty, Carey Green, 3.296; Kansas State, Jeff Mittie, 3.281; Penn State, Carolyn Kieger, 3.281; Pennsylvania, Mike McLaughlin, 3.272; St. Bonaventure, James Crowley, 3.250; Massachusetts, Mike Leflar, 3.246; Kansas, Brandon Schneider, 3.245; Sacramento State, Aaron Kallhoff, 3.243; Tulsa, Angie Nelp, 3.239; UNLV, Lindy La Rocque, 3.238; Colorado, JR Payne, 3.225; Niagara, Jada Pierce, 3.222; Southern Illinois, Kelly Bond-White, 3.220; Oklahoma State, Jacie Hoyt, 3.216; Arizona State, Natasha Adair, 3.188; Brigham Young, Amber Whiting, 3.178; West Virginia, Mark Kellogg, 3.163; Central Florida, Sytia Messer, 3.156; Texas A&M-Commerce, Valerie King, 3.151; Oklahoma, Jennie Baranczyk, 3.139; Illinois Chicago, Ashleen Bracey, 3.129; Notre Dame, Niele Ivey, 3.122; UMass Lowell, Denise King, 3.117; Rutgers, Coquese Washington, 3.094; Maryland, Brenda Frese, 3.087; St. John's, Joe Tartamella, 3.078; Georgia Southern, Anita Howard, 3.046; North Carolina, Courtney Banghart, 3.012; Texas Tech, Krista Gerlich, 3.009; North Texas, Jason Burton, 3.005.
 
NCAA Division II
 
Rank Institution Head Coach GPA
1 Ashland Kari Pickens 3.875
2 St. Cloud State Lori Fish 3.847
3 Montana State Billings Kevin Woodin 3.824
4 Texas Woman's Beth Jillson 3.810
5 Westminster Asami Morita 3.802
6 Lubbock Christian Steve Gomez 3.801
7 Chaminade Michael Edwards 3.794
8 Upper Iowa Justin Maass 3.792
9 Henderson State Jill Thomas 3.786
10 Tiffin Joshua Mason 3.773
11 Eckerd Paul Honsinger 3.770
12 West Liberty Kyle Cooper 3.763
13 Fort Hays State Talia Kahrs 3.755
14 Maryville Brita Hand 3.724
15 St. Thomas Aquinas Bill Cleary 3.719
16 Kutztown Janet Malouf 3.718
17 Central Missouri David Slifer 3.716
18 Pace Carrie Seymour 3.713
19 Chestnut Hill Reggie Hill 3.692
20 Embry-Riddle (FL) Lisa Wilson 3.688
21 Lee Marty Rowe 3.668
22 Post Courtney Burns 3.665
23 Wingate Ann Hancock 3.663
24 Southern New Hampshire Karen Pinkos 3.650
25 Colorado Mesa Taylor Wagner 3.646
 
Special Mention: Southwest Minnesota State, Tom Webb, 3.641; Rockhurst, Larry Park, 3.635; Point Loma Nazarene, Charity Elliott, 3.635; Northwestern Oklahoma State, Tasha Diesselhorst, 3.633; Emory & Henry, Jaclyn Dickens, 3.625; Missouri S&T, Kira Carter, 3.619; McKendree, Kari Kerkhoff, 3.618; Rollins, Glenn Wilkes, 3.611; Minnesota State, Emilee Thiesse, 3.603; Truman State, Theo Dean, 3.597; MSU Denver, Tanya Haave, 3.595; Seattle Pacific, Mike Simonson, 3.590; Michigan Tech, Samantha Clayton, 3.573; Montevallo, Olivia Chapman, 3.573; Union, Mark Campbell, 3.569; Northwest Nazarene, Steve Steele, 3.561; Franklin Pierce, Mark Swasey, 3.554; Findlay, Michele Durand, 3.554; Harding, Tim Kirby, 3.554; UW-Parkside, Jen Conely, 3.544; D'Youville, Alison Bouman, 3.538; Carson-Newman, Michael Mincey, 3.538; Frostburg State, Jenna Eckleberry, 3.534; Wayne State (MI), Carrie Lohr, 3.530; Pittsburg State, Amanda Davied, 3.518; Azusa Pacific, T.J. Hardeman, 3.516; UVA Wise, Jamie Cluesman, 3.514; Shorter, LaSheena Brooks, 3.514; Alaska Fairbanks, Amy Donovan, 3.514; Emporia State, Brian Ostermann, 3.509; Florida Tech, John Reynolds, 3.490; Hillsdale, Brianna Brennan, 3.457; Gannon, Cleve Wright, 3.452; Davenport, Shonda Sanders, 3.446; Quincy, Courtney Boyd, 3.438; Mercyhurst, Brooklyn Kohlheim, 3.418; Assumption, Kerry Phayre, 3.413; Kentucky State, Amani Williams, 3.408; Hawai'i Hilo, David Kaneshiro, 3.405; Tuskegee, Chiante Wester, 3.402; Daemen, Jenepher Banker, 3.399; Virginia Union, Tierra Terry, 3.378; CSU Monterey Bay, Sarah Hopkins-Chery, 3.369; CSU East Bay, Jenny Thigpin, 3.353; South Dakota Mines, Jeri Jacobson, 3.352; Dominican (CA), Tim LaKose, 3.346; Coker, Melissa DeVore, 3.337; Bentley, C White, 3.329; UNC Pembroke, John Haskins, 3.312; Lincoln, Janice Washington, 3.302; Tusculum, Roger Hodge, 3.266; Newman, Amy Briggs, 3.247; West Florida, Stephanie Yelton, 3.123; Academy of Art, Jesse Clark, 3.109; Converse, Samantha Davidson, 3.070; CSU San Bernardino, Casandra Renno, 3.055.
 
NCAA Division III
 
Rank Institution Head Coach GPA
1 Williams Patricia Manning 3.856
2 Martin Luther Dan Gawrisch 3.847
3 Wartburg Bob Amsberry 3.846
4 Hardin-Simmons Kendra Whitehead 3.824
5 Shenandoah Melissa Smeltzer-Kraft 3.801
6 Sarah Lawrence (NY) Bradley Alexander 3.793
7 UW-Stevens Point Matt Hockett 3.783
8 Middlebury KJ Krasco 3.765
9 Skidmore Jessica Turner 3.754
10 Colorado College Katherine Menendez 3.742
11 Washington (St. Louis) Randi Henderson 3.730
12 Lawrence (WI) Riley Woldt 3.725
13 St Catherine Donald Mulhern 3.721
14 Manhattanville Kate Vlahakis 3.717
15 Springfield Naomi Graves 3.715
16 Widener Alisa Kintner 3.708
17 Wesleyan Kate Mullen 3.706
T18 Bowdoin Megan Phelps 3.705
T18 Concordia (MN) Kim Wagers 3.705
20 Westminster (MO) Talisha Washington 3.701
21 NYU Meg Barber 3.695
T22 Emory Misha Jackson 3.693
T22 Case Western Reserve Jennifer Reimer 3.693
T22 Wheaton (IL) Kent Madsen 3.693
25 Gustavus Adolphus Laurie Kelly 3.686
 
Special Mention: MIT, Lucia Robinson-Griggs, 3.685; UW-Stout, Hannah Iverson, 3.685; Swarthmore, Dawn Grant, 3.677; Carnegie Mellon, Kathy McConnell-Miller, 3.677; Trine, Andrew Rang, 3.677; Misericordia, Jessica Rini, 3.671; Calvin, Mark Christner, 3.669; Baldwin Wallace, Cheri Harrer, 3.667; SUNY Geneseo, Alyssa Polosky, 3.653; DePauw, Kristin Huffman, 3.652; St. Scholastica, Jason Schmitz, 3.650; Alfred, Mike Moskowitz, 3.649; Denison, Maureen Hirt, 3.647; UW-Oshkosh, Brad Fischer, 3.645; UChicago, Maria Williamson, 3.643; Saint Benedict, Mike Durbin, 3.640; Adrian, Kathy Morris, 3.639; Arcadia, Jackie Hartzell, 3.638; Redlands, Rich Murphy, 3.636; Smith, Lynn Hersey, 3.635; Johns Hopkins, Rodney Rogan, 3.635; Gallaudet, Stephanie Stevens, 3.633; UW-River Falls, Shelby Lyman, 3.630; Penn College, Britni Mohney, 3.624; Fredonia State, Sarah Cartmill, 3.620; Spalding, Ben Arsenault, 3.619; Bryn Mawr, Carla Coleman, 3.618; Haverford, Grace Elliott, 3.618; St. Norbert, Amanda Perry, 3.615; Simpson, Brian Niemuth, 3.611; Suffolk, Ed Leyden, 3.608; WPI, Cherise Galasso, 3.607; Drew, John Olenowski, 3.605; Luther, Amanda Bailey, 3.598; Saint Vincent, James Petruska, 3.597; John Carroll, Elizabeth Andrews, 3.592; Kean, Mandy Kingsley, 3.591; Scranton, Ben O'Brien, 3.590; Illinois Wesleyan, Mia Smith, 3.584; Catholic, Matt Donohue, 3.581; Rhodes, Judi Vigneulle, 3.576; Immaculata, Brittany Whalen, 3.574; Hope, Brian Morehouse, 3.570; William Paterson,  Erin Monahan, 3.562; St. Joseph's (ME), Mike McDevitt, 3.560; Wellesley, Jennifer Kroll, 3.560; Marietta, Kole Vivian, 3.558; Stevens, Megan Haughey, 3.552; Mary Washington, Deena Applebury, 3.548; Muskingum, Kelly Broderick, 3.548; Ohio Wesleyan, Stacey Lobdell, 3.547; Christopher Newport, Bill Broderick, 3.546; Millsaps College, Justin LeBlanc, 3.543; Franklin & Marshall, Brianna Spector, 3.539; Houghton, Phil Pellegrino, 3.538; Elizabethtown, Veronica Nolt, 3.534; Occidental, Anahit Aladzhanyan, 3.528; King's (PA), Caitlin Hadzimichalis, 3.524; William Smith, Lindsay Sharman, 3.522; Randolph-Macon, Lindsey Burke, 3.516; Saint Mary's (IN), Melissa Makielski, 3.515; Kenyon, Mary Corbett, 3.513; Monmouth (IL), Michelle DeCoud, 3.507; Mount Union, Suzy Venet Pietz, 3.502; Utica, Michele Davis, 3.499; UW-Eau Claire, Tonja Englund, 3.492; Whitman, Michelle Ferenz, 3.489; Dubuque,  Justin Smith, 3.486; Ohio Northern, Mark Huelsman, 3.484; York (PA), Betsy Witman, 3.480; Susquehanna, Gabby Holko, 3.479; Lynchburg, Allison Nichols, 3.477; Rhode Island College, Jenna Cosgrove, 3.476; Penn State Behrend, Christine VanHook, 3.474; Fitchburg State, Laura Pierce, 3.472; Rochester Tech, Amy Reed, 3.472; Marywood, Jennifer Carleton, 3.471; Carthage, Megan Jones, 3.467; Gettysburg, Nathan Davis, 3.463; Husson, Kissy Walker, 3.459; Central (IA), Justin Weiland, 3.456; Capital, Camille McPherson, 3.451; DeSales, Fred Richter, 3.442; Muhlenberg, Ron Rohn, 3.440; Washington & Jefferson, Jina DeRubbo, 3.439; McDaniel, Christin Gowan, 3.437; Anderson (IN), Jon Gin, 3.434; Hollins,  Emilee Dunton, 3.431; Manchester, Josh Dzurick, 3.425; Marymount, Margaret White, 3.421; Coe, Kayla Waskow, 3.419; Southern Virginia, Lynette Schroeder, 3.417; Rochester, James Scheible, 3.416; Dickinson, Aby Diop, 3.410; SUNY Brockport, Corinne Jones, 3.409; Salisbury, Aprile Preller, 3.396; Augustana (IL), Mark Beinborn, 3.394; Marian (WI), Josh Ward, 3.391; Wilkes, Al Berger, 3.388; Penn State Harrisburg, Ross Patrick, 3.387; Elmira, Thaddeus Phillips, 3.374; Kalamazoo, Ryan Clark, 3.363; Bard, Casi Donelan, 3.362; Babson, Kate Barnosky, 3.361; Chapman, Carol Jue, 3.358; Regis, Samantha Crough, 3.348; Bethany Lutheran, Emma Purfeerst, 3.327; Mount Mary, Joshua Steffen, 3.319; St. Mary's (MD), Brittney Kemp, 3.300; Moravian, Mary Beth Spirk, 3.295; Willamette, Peg Swadener, 3.286; LeTourneau, Scot MacAllister, 3.278; Heidelberg, Rachel Mease, 3.268; Buena Vista, David Wells, 3.267; Gordon, Carter Shaw, 3.242; Colby-Sawyer, Tim Viola, 3.225; Mount Saint Mary (NY), Marion Dietz, 3.222; Principia, Ramiro Dominguez, 3.200; Keystone, Jason Rhine, 3.123; Mount Aloysius, Brian Giesler, 3.076.
 
NAIA
 
Rank Institution Head Coach GPA
1 Sterling K.C. Bassett 3.831
2 Tabor Shawn Reed 3.826
3 Pikeville Clifton Williams 3.824
4 Keiser Pam Oswald 3.809
T5 John Brown Jeff Soderquist 3.762
T5 Cumberlands Rick Reeves 3.762
7 Grand View Jasmine Stohr 3.756
8 Carroll Rachelle Sayers 3.702
9 Southern Oregon Carlotta Kloppenburg-Pruitt 3.691
10 Faulkner Reed Sutton 3.677
11 Culver-Stockton Janette Burgin 3.665
12 Cornerstone Jessica Yonkers 3.655
13 Jamestown Thad Sankey 3.596
14 Kansas Wesleyan Ryan Showman 3.592
15 Mid-America Christian Hannah Moeller 3.591
16 Holy Cross (IN) Tom Robbins 3.578
17 Indiana Tech Jessica Biggs 3.521
18 Providence (MT) Bill Himmelberg 3.515
19 Embry-Riddle (AZ) Michael Trujillo 3.496
20 Grace Dan Davis 3.479
21 Rio Grande (OH) David Smalley 3.448
22 Lourdes Tandy Bradford 3.439
23 Loyola (New Orleans) Kellie Kennedy 3.433
24 Ottawa Hunter Bondurant 3.388
25 Columbia (MO) James Arnold 3.387
 
Special Mention: Southwest (NM), Michael Dominguez, 3.362; Siena Heights, Sue Syljebeck, 3.230.
 
Two-Year College*
 
Rank Institution Head Coach GPA
1 Folsom Lake (CA) Ali Mollet 3.564
T2 Lamar (CO) Delino Lewis 3.506
T2 Solano (CA) Matt Borchert 3.506
4 Southwestern Oregon Heather Weber 3.490
5 Rio Hondo (CA) Rene Herrera 3.489
6 Taft (CA) Romeo Lagmay, Jr. 3.480
7 Pima (AZ) Todd Holthaus 3.478
8 Kansas City Kansas Martina Mihailovic 3.412
9 Minnesota West Rosalie Hayenga 3.243
10 Cypress (CA) Brittany Imaku 3.239
11 Northeast Mississippi Chelsey Rhodes 3.224
12 Pratt (KS) Eric Rodewald 3.137
 
* There were only 12 institutions eligible for ranking in the two-year college division.
 
A team's GPA is calculated by dividing the total number of quality points (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0) earned by the total number of academic hours attempted by all team members in the academic terms (semesters or quarters) that the season spans. Weighted grades are converted to a 4.0 scale. The GPAs are rounded to the nearest thousandth of a point. Teams must be nominated for the honor by their head coach who must be a WBCA member. A team must have a 3.000 or better GPA to be nominated.
 
About the Women's Basketball Coaches Association
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. Founded in 1981, the WBCA offers educational resources that coaches need to help make themselves better leaders, teachers and mentors to their players; provides opportunities for coaches to connect with peers in the profession; serves as the unifying voice of coaches to those organizations that control the game; and celebrates those coaches, players and other individuals who excel each year and contribute to the advancement of the sport. Visit WBCA.org for more details about the association.
 
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