WBCA ANNOUNCES 2019-20 ACADEMIC TOP 25 TEAM HONOR ROLLS

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ATLANTA (Aug. 11, 2020) – The University of South Dakota, Seton Hill University, Buena Vista University, Indiana Institute of Technology and Miles Community College sit atop their respective divisions in the 2019-20 WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls announced today by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

The WBCA Academic Top 25 recognizes NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA and two-year GPAs inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. The 2019-20 season is the 25th in which the WBCA has compiled the honor rolls.

South Dakota, coached by Dawn Plitzuweit, finished first among NCAA Division I members with a 3.793 cumulative team grade-point average. Seton Hill, coached by Mark Katarski, led NCAA Division II members with a 3.831 GPA. Buena Vista, coached by David Wells, took top honors in NCAA Division III with a 3.865 GPA. Indiana Tech, coached by Jessie Biggs, was No. 1 in the NAIA division with a 3.806 GPA. Miles, coached by Taylor Harris, led all two-year college members with a 3.771 GPA.

“The WBCA applauds these head coaches and their teams for their commitment to academic excellence,” said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. “ We appreciate and value the hard work and dedication the players and coaches have put forth to thrive in the classroom and on the basketball court.”

Here are the 2019-20 WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls by division. The head coach listed for each institution was its head coach during the 2019-20 season.

NCAA Division I

Rank	Institution	Head Coach	GPA
1	University of South Dakota	Dawn Plitzuweit	3.793
2	Youngstown State University	John Barnes	3.782
3	Robert Morris University	Charlie Buscaglia	3.777
4	Western Illinois University	JD Gravina	3.751
5	Southern Utah University	Tracy Sanders	3.742
6	Bowling Green State University	Robyn Fralick	3.726
7	Houston Baptist University	Donna Finnie	3.723
8	Lipscomb University	Lauren Sumski	3.714
9	Belmont University	Bart Brooks	3.709
10	Marist College	Brian Giorgis	3.698
T11	Northern Illinois University	Lisa Carlsen	3.696
T11	South Dakota State University	Aaron Johnson	3.696
13	University of Wisconsin-Green Bay	Kevin Borseth	3.692
14	Drake University	Jennie Baranczyk	3.690
T15	Lehigh University	Susan Troyan	3.665
T15	Loyola University Maryland	Joe Logan	3.665
17	University of Maine	Amy Vachon	3.655
T18	Bucknell University	Trevor Woodruff	3.651
T18	Lafayette College	Kia Damon-Olson	3.651
T20	Northern Arizona University	Loree Payne	3.646
T20	University of Wyoming	Gerald Mattinson	3.646
22	University of Montana	Shannon Schweyen	3.634
23	Purdue University Fort Wayne	Niecee Nelson	3.631
24	Southern Illinois University	Cindy Stein	3.625
25	Cornell University	Dayna Smith	3.619

NCAA Division II

Rank	Institution	Head Coach	GPA
1	Seton Hill University	Mark Katarski	3.831
2	Ashland University	Kari Pickens	3.802
3	Eckerd College	Paul Honsinger	3.788
T4	Tiffin University	Jessie Ivey	3.779
T4	Lubbock Christian University	Steve Gomez	3.779
6	Lindenwood University	Katie Falco	3.768
7	Gannon University	Cleve Wright	3.764
8	Michigan Technological University	Samantha Hoyt	3.760
9	University of Wisconsin Parkside	Jen Conely	3.756
10	Minnesota State University Moorhead	Karla Nelson	3.726
11	McKendree University	Kari Kerkhoff	3.714
12	Point Loma Nazarene University	Lisa Faulkner	3.712
13	Bentley University	Barbara Stevens	3.711
14	Rockhurst University	Larry Park	3.707
15	Minnesota State University	Emilee Thiesse	3.706
16	Southern New Hampshire University	Karen Pinkos	3.679
17	Augustana University	Dave Krauth	3.677
18	University of the Sciences	Jackie Hartzell	3.672
19	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University	Lisa Wilson	3.671
20	Chaminade University	Arthur King	3.663
21	West Liberty University	Kyle Cooper	3.656
22	Seattle Pacific University	Mike Simonson	3.652
23	University of Colorado Colorado Springs	Lynn Plett	3.646
24	Winona State University	Scott Ballard	3.644
25	West Texas A&M University	Kristen Mattio	3.633

NCAA Division III

Rank	Institution	Head Coach	GPA
1	Buena Vista University	David Wells	3.865
2	Vassar College	Lucia Robinson-Griggs	3.794
3	Ithaca College	Dan Raymond	3.767
4	Emerson College	William Gould	3.763
5	Baldwin Wallace University	Cheri Harrer	3.757
T6	Stevens Institute of Technology	Megan Haughey	3.755
T6	Chatham University	David Saur	3.755
T6	Bethel University	Jon Herbrechtsmeyer	3.755
9	University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire	Tonja Englund	3.738
10	King's College	Caitlin Hadzimichalis	3.703
11	Middlebury College	KJ Krasco	3.695
12	George Fox University	Michael Coppolino	3.694
13	Bard College	Cassandra Donelan	3.683
14	Haverford College	Bobbi Cabrey-Morgan	3.681
15	Edgewood College	Chaia Huff	3.676
T16	New York University	Meg Barber	3.673
T16	Washington and Lee University	Christine Clancy	3.673
T16	Willamette University	Peg Swadener	3.673
19	Manchester University	Josh Dzurick	3.667
20	University of Maine at Farmington	Jamie Beaudoin	3.666
T21	York College Wome's Basketball	Betsy Witman	3.664
T21	Elmhurst College	Tethnie Carrillo	3.664
23	Wilkes University	Tara Macciocco	3.662
24	Hope College	Brian Morehouse	3.658
25	Hilbert College	Amy Senefelder	3.653

NAIA

Rank	Institution	Head Coach	GPA
1	Indiana Institute of Technology	Jessie Biggs	3.806
2	St. Ambrose University	Krista Van Hauen	3.793
3	Northwestern College	Chris Yaw	3.749
4	Taylor University	Jody Martinez	3.742
5	The College of Idaho	Janis Beal	3.736
6	Mount Marty College	Todd J. Schlimgen	3.725
7	Hannibal-LaGrange University	Kelly Quigle	3.707
8	Grace College	Dan Davis	3.706
9	Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univ. (AZ)	Michael Trujillo	3.702
T10	University of Providence	Bill Himmelberg	3.683
T10	Concordia University Ann Arbor	Kiefer Haffey	3.683
12	Tabor College	Shawn Reed	3.649
13	Briar Cliff University	Brita Hand	3.641
14	Grand View University	Kelli Greenway	3.616
15	Huntington University	Lori Culler	3.600
16	Culver-Stockton College	Janette Burgin	3.597
17	Blue Mountain College	Lavon Driskell	3.596
18	John Brown University	Jeff Soderquist	3.594
19	University of Jamestown	Thad Sankey	3.586
20	Ave Maria University	Megan Becker	3.580
21	Mid-America Christian University	Hannah Moeller	3.578
22	Columbia College	Taylor Possail	3.535
T23	Kansas Wesleyan University	Ryan Showman	3.527
T23	Benedictine College	Chad Folsom	3.527
25	University of Pikeville	Clifton Williams	3.526

Two-Year College*

Rank	Institution	Head Coach	GPA
1	Miles Community College	Taylor Harris	3.771
2	Ventura College	Ned Mircetic	3.544
3	Dodge City Community College	Zach Loll	3.534
4	Kilgore College	Addie Lees	3.440
5	Frank Phillips College	Eric Rodewald	3.377
6	Pima Community College	Todd Holthaus	3.354
7	Dawson Community College	Romeo Lagmay	3.346
8	John Wood Community College	Norman Rodriguez	3.344
9	Pratt Community College	John Ishee	3.318
10	Paris Junior College	Rosalyn Tindel	3.300
11	Umpqua Community College	David Stricklin	3.247
12	Northeast Mississippi Comm. College	Brenda Mayes	3.222
13	Gulf Coast State College	Roonie Scovel	3.217
14	Seward County Community College	Austin Mefford	3.185
15	Johnson County Community College	Ben Conrad	3.122
16	Cypress College	Margaret Mohr	3.089

Note: There were only 16 institutions eligible for nomination 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 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.

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