WBCA announces 2015 Academic Team Honor Rolls

The University of Missouri–Kansas City, Ohio Dominican University, Nebraska Wesleyan, Valley City State University and Snow College are the top honorees in their respective divisions on the WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls for the 2014-15 season announced the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

The WBCA Academic Top 25 recognizes NCAA Division I, II and III; NAIA; and junior/community college women’s basketball teams across the nation that carry the highest combined grade point average (GPA) inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. The 2014-15 season is the 20th in which the WBCA has compiled the honor rolls.

Here are the top honorees by division, their head coaches and combined GPAs:

Division Institution 2014-15 Head Coach Team GPA
NCAA Division I University of Missouri-Kansas City Marsha Frese 3.726
NCAA Division II Ohio Dominican University Lynsey Warren 3.842
NCAA Division III Nebraska Wesleyan University Britni Fett 3.650
NAIA Valley City State University Jill DeVries 3.692
Jr/Comm College Snow College Mike Russell 3.626

The University of Missouri-Kansas City reached the WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll for the third time in program history and earned the top spot for NCAA Division I for the second straight year. Ohio Dominican University makes the list for the sixth time and sits atop the NCAA DII honor roll for the second time overall.  Nebraska Wesleyan took the top spot for NCAA Division III for the first time in program history and returned to the list for the first time since 2004. Valley City State University made the list for the seventh time in the award’s 20 year history, posting their best showing since last making the list in 2010 at the two spot for NAIA. Snow College leads the Junior/Community College division for the third consecutive year.

“The WBCA applauds these teams for their commitment to academic excellence during the 2014-15 school year,” said Danielle Donehew.  “The student-athlete experience is an exciting and challenging time period and we appreciate these programs for setting an academic standard that other teams can strive to achieve.  We value the hard work and dedication the players and coaches have put forth to thrive in the classroom and on the basketball court.”

A team’s GPA is calculated by dividing the total number of quality points earned by the total number of 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 GPA’s are rounded to the nearest thousandth of a point. Teams are nominated for the honor by a WBCA-member head coach. A team must have a 3.000 or better GPA to be nominated.

NCAA Division I
The University of Missouri-Kansas City topped the NCAA Division I Academic Top 25 with a 3.726 GPA. The Kangaroos finished the 2014-15 season with a 6-24 record, ending their season in the Western Athletic Conference tournament to Texas-Pan American by a score of 61-50.

Seven of the top 25 teams on the Division I WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll earned a berth in the 2015 NCAA tournament.

Here is the complete 2014-15 WBCA Academic Top 25 for NCAA Division I (**NCAA tournament; *-left after season):

Rank Institution 2014-15 Head Coach Team GPA
1 University of Missouri-Kansas City Marsha Frese 3.726
2 St. Francis College** John Thurson 3.656
3 DePaul University** Doug Bruno 3.622
4 Drake University Jennie Baranczyk 3.599
5 Bowling Green State University Jennifer Roos 3.594
6 Saint Louis University Lisa Stone 3.564
7 Arizona State University** Charli Turner Thorne 3.558
8 Eastern Washington University Wendy Schuller 3.554
9 Florida Gulf Coast University** Karl Smesko 3.552
T10 Western Illinois University JD Gravina 3.530
T10 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay** Kevin Borseth 3.530
12 University of Northern Iowa Tanya Warren 3.519
13 University of North Dakota J. Travis Brewster 3.517
14 Jacksonville State University Rick Pietri 3.511
15 Belmont University Cameron Newbauer 3.501
16 Northwestern State University** Brooke Stoehr 3.461
17 Houston Baptist University Donna Finnie 3.445
18 University of Toledo Tricia Cullop 3.443
19 Northern Illinois University Kathi Bennett 3.438
20 University of Northern Colorado Kamie Ethridge 3.431
21 South Dakota State University** Aaron Johnston 3.427
22 Youngstown State University John Barnes 3.422
23 St. Bonaventure University Jim Crowley 3.406
24 University of Maine Richard Barron 3.399
25 Lehigh University Susan Troyan 3.396

NCAA Division II
Ohio Dominican University led all NCAA Division II institutions with a 3.842 GPA. The Panthers ended the season with an 11-17 record, winning their final three games of the regular season.

Seven of the 25 teams that earned a spot on the honor roll advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament.

Below is the complete 2014-15 WBCA Academic Top 25 for NCAA Division II (** – NCAA tournament; * – left after season):

Rank Institution 2014-15 Head Coach Team GPA
1 Ohio Dominican University Lynsey Warren 3.842
2 Minnesota State University, Mankato** Emilee Thiesse 3.749
3 Upper Iowa University Carol Russell 3.740
4 Lubbock Christian University Steve Gomez 3.696
5 Drury University** Molly Miller 3.651
6 Seton Hill University Mark Katarski 3.647
T7 Ashland University** Sue Ramsey 3.644
T7 Augustana College Dave Krauth 3.644
9 University of the Sciences Jackie Hartzell 3.637
10 University of Minnesota – Duluth Annette Wiles 3.616
11 University of Sioux Falls Travis Traphagen 3.605
12 Holy Family University** Mark Miller 3.599
13 Winona State University Scott Ballard 3.598
T14 Southern New Hampshire University Karen Pinkos 3.595
T14 Texas Woman’s University Beth Jillson 3.595
16 Lee University Marty Rowe 3.588
T17 Philadelphia University** Tom Shirley 3.559
T17 Saginaw Valley State University Jamie Pewinski 3.559
19 Merrimack College Monique LeBlanc 3.557
T20 Gannon University** Jim Brunelli 3.550
T20 Seattle Pacific University Julie Heisey 3.550
22 University of North Alabama Melissa Tiber 3.540
23 Fort Hays State University** Tony Hobson 3.536
24 Northeastern State University Randy Gipson 3.521
25 University of California San Diego Heidi Vanderveer 3.510

Division III
Nebraska Wesleyan University captured the top spot for NCAA Division III institutions with a 3.650 GPA. The Prairie Wolves closed out the season with a 72-65 loss to Mount Mary College to go 2-23 on the year.

Two programs making the WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls participated in the NCAA Division III tournament.

Below is the complete 2014-15 WBCA Academic Top 25 for NCAA Division III (** – NCAA tournament; * – left after season):

Rank Institution 2014-15 Head Coach Team GPA
1 Nebraska Wesleyan University Britni Fett 3.650
2 Kalamazoo College Katie Miller 3.619
3 University of Dubuque Mark Noll 3.605
4 Washington & Lee University Christine Clancy 3.602
5 Chatham University Sandra Rectenwald 3.598
6 Emerson College William Gould 3.586
7 California Institute of Technology Sandra Marbut 3.584
8 Haverford College Bobbi Morgan 3.565
9 University of New England** Antthony Ewing 3.553
10 Milwaukee School of Engineering Jessica Ott 3.544
11 Millikin University Lori Kerans 3.535
12 Ithaca College** Dan Raymond 3.533
13 Hardin-Simmons University Melanie Chonko 3.526
14 Immaculata University Patricia Canterino 3.524
15 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Tonja Englund 3.518
T16 Middlebury College KJ Krasco 3.507
T16 Westminster College (Mo.) Tracey Braden 3.507
18 Waynesburg University Samuel Jones 3.504
19 Utica College Michele Davis 3.502
20 York College of Pennsylvania Betsy Witman 3.501
21 Case Western Reserve University Jennifer Reimer 3.486
22 Ohio Northern University Michele Durand 3.473
23 St. Joseph’s College-Maine Mike McDevitt 3.471
24 King’s College Brian Donoghue 3.469
25 Westminster College (Pa.) Rosanne Scott 3.467

NAIA
Valley City State University landed the top spot for NAIA institutions on the Academic Top 25 Honor Rolls with a 3.692 GPA. The Vikings advanced to the North Star Athletic Association championship game where they dropped a 65-48 decision to the University of Jamestown to post a 22-9 record on the season.

Fourteen of the 25 programs that made the 2014 Academic Top 25 Honor Roll also played in either the NAIA Division I or Division II tournament.

Below is the complete 2014-15 WBCA Academic Top 25 for the NAIA (** – NAIA tournament; * – left after season):

Rank Institution 2014-15 Head Coach Team GPA
1 Valley City State University Jill DeVries 3.692
2 Southeastern University** Jody Martinez 3.668
3 University of Great Falls** William Himmelberg 3.661
4 Northwestern College Chris Yaw 3.615
5 Kansas Wesleyan University Ryan Showman 3.601
6 Mount Marty College Tom Schlimgen 3.578
7 St. Ambrose University Krista Van Hauen 3.575
8 Huntington University** Lori Culler 3.572
T9 Cardinal Stritch University** John Pfaffl 3.554
T9 Clarke University** Don Adams 3.554
11 Saint Xavier University** Bob Hallberg 3.533
12 Lewis-Clark State College** Brian Orr 3.446
13 Freed-Hardeman University** Dale Neal 3.431
14 Indiana University South Bend Steve Bruce 3.428
15 Menlo College** Shannon Osborne 3.350
16 Carroll College** Rachelle Sayers 3.344
17 Blue Mountain College Lavon Driskell 3.337
18 University of St. Francis Samantha Quigley 3.324
19 Grand View University Garey Smith 3.312
20 Central Methodist University James Arnold 3.306
21 Davenport University** Mike Williams 3.300
22 Loyola University** Kellie Kennedy 3.267
23 Purdue University Calumet Tom Megyesi 3.244
24 Montana State-Northern** Chris Mouat 3.243
25 William Woods University** Dan Chapla 3.220

Junior/Community College
Snow College secured the top spot on the Junior/Community College Academic Top 25 Honor Roll with a 3.626 GPA. The Badgers concluded the 2014-15 season with an 82-44 victory against Colorado Northwestern Community College in the Scenic West Athletic Conference postseason tournament to finish with a 21-8 overall record.

One team advanced to the NJCAA Tournament that qualified for the J/CC WBCA Academic Top 25 Honor Roll.

Below is the complete 2014-15 WBCA Academic Top 25 for Junior/Community College (** – NJCAA Division I *** – NJCAA Division II tournament):

Rank Institution 2014-15 Head Coach Team GPA
1 Snow College Mike Russell 3.626
2 Sheridan College Frank McCarthy 3.547
3 Wabash Valley College** Zach Loll 3.478
4 Northwest Mississippi Community College Don Edwards 3.478
5 Northwest College Janis Beal 3.426
6 Lincoln College Carol Wilson 3.406
7 Ventura College Ned Mircetic 3.405
8 Minnesota West Community and Technical College Mike Fury 3.400
9 Ellsworth Community College Ed Geitz 3.315
10 Mesa Community College Kori Stephenson 3.225
11 Umpqua Community College David Stricklin 3.179
12 McHenry County College Karen Wiley 3.058
13 Indian River State College Diana Couch 3.019
14 Frank Phillips College Eric Rodewald 3.005

 

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