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ATLANTA (July 19, 2017) — University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Emporia State University, Emerson College, Purdue University Northwest and Des Moines Area Community College sit atop their respective divisions in the 2016-17 WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls announced today by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.
Green Bay, coached by Kevin Borseth, finished first among NCAA Division I members with a 3.819 cumulative team grade-point average. Emporia State, coached by Jory Collins, led NCAA Division II members with a 3.744 GPA. Emerson, coached by Bill Gould, took top honors in NCAA Division III with a 3.673 GPA. Purdue Northwest, coached by Thomas Megyesi, was No. 1 in the NAIA division with a 3.746 GPA. And Des Moines, coached by Steve Krafcisin, led all junior/community college members with a 3.539 GPA.
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 GPAs inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. The 2016-17 season is the 22nd in which the WBCA has compiled the honor rolls.
“The WBCA family is committed to the student-athlete experience and celebrates these teams that have demonstrated excellence in the classroom,” said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. “This year’s WBCA Academic Top 25 is a powerful list of teams and their head coaches who have winning cultures that prepare their student-athletes for success in life.”
Here are the 2016-17 WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls by division. The head coach listed for each institution was its head coach during the 2016-17 season.
NCAA Division I
|
Rank |
Institution |
Head Coach |
GPA |
|
1 |
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay |
Kevin Borseth |
3.819 |
|
2 |
Robert Morris University |
Charlie Buscaglia |
3.726 |
|
3 |
University of South Dakota |
Dawn Plitzuweit |
3.704 |
|
4 |
St. Francis College Brooklyn |
John Thurston |
3.689 |
|
5 |
Arizona State University |
Charli Turner Thorne |
3.672 |
|
6 |
Miami University (Ohio) |
Megan Duffy |
3.662 |
|
7 |
Bowling Green State University |
Jennifer Roos |
3.625 |
|
8 |
University of Northern Iowa |
Tanya Warren |
3.609 |
|
9 |
Drake University |
Jennie Baranczyk |
3.600 |
|
10 |
University of North Carolina-Asheville |
Brenda Kirkpatrick |
3.597 |
|
11 |
Belmont University |
Cameron Newbauer |
3.575 |
|
T12 |
Eastern Washington University |
Wendy Schuller |
3.562 |
|
T12 |
Loyola University Maryland |
Joe Logan |
3.562 |
|
14 |
DePaul University |
Doug Bruno |
3.561 |
|
T15 |
High Point University |
DeUnna Hendrix |
3.560 |
|
T15 |
Gardner-Webb University |
Rick Reeves |
3.560 |
|
17 |
Presbyterian College |
Todd Steelman |
3.530 |
|
18 |
St. Bonaventure University |
Jesse Fleming |
3.527 |
|
19 |
University of Missouri-Kansas City |
Marsha Frese |
3.523 |
|
20 |
University of Wyoming |
Joe Legerski |
3.521 |
|
21 |
Eastern Illinois University |
Debbie Black |
3.512 |
|
T22 |
Fairfield University |
Joe Frager |
3.510 |
|
T22 |
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale |
Cindy Stein |
3.510 |
|
T24 |
University of Kentucky |
Matthew Mitchell |
3.492 |
|
T24 |
Youngstown State University |
John Barnes |
3.492 |
NCAA Division II
|
Rank |
Institution |
Head Coach |
GPA |
|
1 |
Emporia State University |
Jory Collins |
3.744 |
|
2 |
Michigan Technological University |
Kimberly Cameron |
3.736 |
|
3 |
Minnesota State University, Mankato |
Emilee Thiesse |
3.728 |
|
T4 |
Lubbock Christian University |
Steve Gomez |
3.723 |
|
T4 |
Maryville University |
Collin Lanam |
3.723 |
|
6 |
Seton Hill University |
Mark Katarski |
3.722 |
|
T7 |
Ohio Dominican University |
Lynsey Warren |
3.717 |
|
T7 |
Pittsburg State University |
Lane Lord |
3.717 |
|
9 |
Nova Southeastern University |
LeAnn Freeland |
3.706 |
|
10 |
Grand Valley State University |
Mike Williams |
3.669 |
|
11 |
Northwood University |
Jeff Curtis |
3.664 |
|
12 |
University of Southern Indiana |
Rick Stein |
3.640 |
|
13 |
Fort Hays State University |
Tony Hobson |
3.624 |
|
14 |
Southern New Hampshire University |
Karen Pinkos |
3.602 |
|
15 |
Rockhurst University |
Larry Park |
3.593 |
|
16 |
Augustana University |
Dave Krauth |
3.588 |
|
17 |
University of the Sciences |
Jackie Hartzell |
3.581 |
|
18 |
Saginaw Valley State University |
Jamie Pewinski |
3.576 |
|
19 |
West Texas A&M University |
Kristen Mattio |
3.568 |
|
20 |
Minnesota State University Moorhead |
Karla Nelson |
3.554 |
|
21 |
Western Oregon University |
Holli Howard-Carpenter |
3.539 |
|
22 |
University of Findlay |
Jim Wiedie |
3.537 |
|
23 |
Montana State University Billings |
Kevin Woodin |
3.529 |
|
24 |
Notre Dame College (Ohio) |
Katie Hine |
3.527 |
|
25 |
Embry-Riddle University |
Lisa Nuxol-Wilson |
3.519 |
NCAA Division III
|
Rank |
Institution |
Head Coach |
GPA |
|
1 |
Emerson College |
Bill Gould |
3.673 |
|
2 |
Westminster College (Missouri) |
Tracey Braden |
3.669 |
|
3 |
University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg |
Erin Eaton |
3.647 |
|
4 |
Greenville College |
Roy Mulholland |
3.641 |
|
5 |
University of Dubuque |
Mark Noll |
3.634 |
|
6 |
New York University |
Lauren Hall-Gregory |
3.625 |
|
7 |
MIT |
Sonia Raman |
3.618 |
|
8 |
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire |
Tonja Englund |
3.594 |
|
9 |
Western Connecticut State University |
Kimberley Rybczyk |
3.593 |
|
10 |
William Smith College |
Lindsay Sharman |
3.576 |
|
11 |
Vassar College |
Candice Brown |
3.559 |
|
12 |
Ithaca College |
Dan Raymond |
3.558 |
|
13 |
Bethel University (Minnesota) |
Jon Herbrechtsmeyer |
3.552 |
|
14 |
Middlebury College |
KJ Krasco |
3.549 |
|
15 |
Carthage College |
Tim Bernero |
3.547 |
|
16 |
Marywood University |
Tara Macciocco |
3.546 |
|
17 |
Baldwin Wallace University |
Cheri Harrer |
3.544 |
|
18 |
Washington and Lee |
Christine Clancy |
3.540 |
|
19 |
Houghton College |
Alicia Mucher |
3.537 |
|
20 |
Swarthmore College |
Renee DeVarney |
3.532 |
|
21 |
Elmhurst College |
Tethnie Carrillo |
3.527 |
|
22 |
University of Minnesota, Morris |
Tim Grove |
3.526 |
|
23 |
Suffolk University |
Ed Leyden |
3.519 |
|
24 |
Case Western Reserve University |
Jennifer Reimer |
3.513 |
|
25 |
Thomas More College |
Jeff Hans |
3.511 |
NAIA
|
Rank |
Institution |
Head Coach |
GPA |
|
1 |
Purdue University Northwest |
Thomas Megyesi |
3.746 |
|
2 |
Mount Marty College |
Tom Schlimgen |
3.741 |
|
3 |
St. Ambrose University |
Krista Van Hauen |
3.701 |
|
4 |
Montana State University-Northern |
Chris Mouat |
3.690 |
|
5 |
Concordia University (Nebraska) |
Drew Olson |
3.673 |
|
6 |
Grand View University |
Garey Smith |
3.659 |
|
7 |
Blue Mountain College |
Lavon Driskell |
3.628 |
|
8 |
Indiana Institute of Technology |
Jessie Biggs |
3.608 |
|
9 |
University of Rio Grande |
David Smalley |
3.568 |
|
10 |
Freed-Hardeman University |
Dale Neal |
3.545 |
|
11 |
Saint Xavier University |
Bob Hallberg |
3.536 |
|
12 |
Huntington University |
Lori Culler |
3.530 |
|
13 |
Columbia College |
Jessica Keller |
3.523 |
|
14 |
University of Great Falls |
Bill Himmelberg |
3.516 |
|
15 |
Northwestern College |
Chris Yaw |
3.490 |
|
16 |
Missouri Valley College |
Timm Dixon |
3.486 |
|
17 |
University of St. Francis |
Samantha Quigley Smith |
3.483 |
|
18 |
Stephens College |
Ray Fron |
3.464 |
|
19 |
Cardinal Stritch University |
John Pfaffl |
3.426 |
|
20 |
Campbellsville University |
Ginger Colvin |
3.422 |
|
21 |
Concordia University (Michigan) |
Thad Sankey |
3.412 |
|
22 |
Indiana University East |
Tiffani Selhorst |
3.382 |
|
23 |
John Brown University |
Jeff Soderquist |
3.376 |
|
24 |
Kansas Wesleyan University |
Ryan Showman |
3.370 |
|
25 |
Lyon College |
Tracy Stewart-Lange |
3.362 |
Junior/Community College
|
Rank |
Institution |
Head Coach |
GPA |
|
1 |
Des Moines Area Community College |
Steve Krafcisin |
3.539 |
|
2 |
Snow College |
Mike Russell |
3.517 |
|
3 |
Northwest College |
Janis Beal |
3.510 |
|
4 |
Dawson Community College |
Romeo Lagmay |
3.402 |
|
5 |
Umpqua Community College |
Dave Stricklin |
3.335 |
|
6 |
Moberly Area Community College |
Chad Killinger |
3.329 |
|
7 |
Ventura College |
Ned Mircetic |
3.325 |
|
8 |
Illinois Central College |
Karrie Redeker |
3.321 |
|
9 |
McHenry County College |
Karen Wiley |
3.303 |
|
10 |
Minnesota West Community College |
Rosalie Hayenga |
3.261 |
|
11 |
Gulf Coast State College |
Roonie Scovel |
3.238 |
|
12 |
Northwest Mississippi Community College |
Don Edwards |
3.121 |
|
13 |
Indian Rver State College |
Diana Couch |
3.117 |
|
14 |
Northeast Mississippi Community College |
Brenda Mayes |
3.096 |
|
15 |
Frank Phillips College |
Eric Rodewald |
3.081 |
|
16 |
Tallahassee Community College |
Franqua Bedell |
3.070 |
|
17 |
Ellsworth Community College |
Ed Geitz |
3.043 |
Note: There were only 17 institutions eligible for nomination in the junior/community 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 are nominated for the honor by the WBCA-member head coach. A team must have a 3.000 or better GPA to be nominated.
About the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association
Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. 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 a diverse community 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 www.WBCA.org for more details about the Association.