WBCA announces 2020-21 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls

ATLANTA (July 13, 2021) – The University of Maine, Lubbock Christian University, Yeshiva University and Taylor University, Miles Community College and South Georgia Technical College sit atop their respective divisions in the 2020-21 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 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 2020-21 season is the 26th in which the WBCA has compiled the honor rolls.

Maine, coached by Amy Vachon, finished first among NCAA Division I members with a 3.900 cumulative team grade-point average. NCAA Division II national champion Lubbock Christian, coached by Steve Gomez, also claimed top academic honors in NCAA Division II with a 3.837 GPA. Yeshiva, coached by Bill Zatulskis, took top honors in NCAA Division III with a 3.876 GPA. Taylor, coached by Jody Martinez, was No. 1 in the NAIA division with a 3.777 GPA. Miles, coached by Taylor Harris, and South Georgia Tech, coached by James Frey, tied for top honors among two-year college members with 3.642 GPAs.

“Congratulations to each of the teams recognized in the 2020-21 WBCA Academic Top 25,” said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. “Their head coaches are to be commended for fostering an environment of excellence for their student-athletes both on the court and, more importantly, in the classroom; particularly with the additional stress this season caused by the uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic."

Here are the 2020-21 WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls by division. The head coach listed for each institution was its head coach during the 2020-21 season. Several teams that would have qualified for the top 25 in their respective divisions are not eligible to be ranked because they did not compete athletically during the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are recognized as special mentions.

NCAA Division I

Rank	Institution	Head Coach	GPA
1	University of Maine	Amy Vachon	3.900
2	Youngstown State University	John Barnes	3.874
3	Robert Morris University	Charlie Buscaglia	3.824
4	Marist College	Brian Giorgis	3.770
5	University of North Dakota	Mallory Bernhard	3.766
6	Eastern Illinois University	Matt Bollant	3.752
7	Northern Illinois University	Lisa Carlsen	3.739
8	Southern Illinois University-Carbondale	Cindy Stein	3.716
9	Lipscomb University	Laura Sumski	3.702
10	South Dakota State University	Aaron Johnston	3.699
11	University of Nebraska Omaha	Carrie Banks	3.689
T12	Samford University	Carley Kuhns	3.672
T12	Portland State University	Chelsey Gregg	3.672
14	Lehigh University	Sue Troyan	3.670
15	University of Northern Iowa	Tanya Warren	3.663
16	Kent State University	Todd Starkey	3.655
17	Arizona State University	Charli Turner Thorne	3.645
18	Western Illinois University	JD Gravina	3.644
19	Davidson College	Gayle Fulks	3.634
20	Washington State University	Kamie Ethridge	3.629
21	Iona College	Billi Chambers	3.622
22	Houston Baptist University	Donna Finnie	3.621
23	University of Minnesota	Lindsay Whalen	3.593
T24	Rice University	Tina Langley	3.583
T24	Seattle University	Suzy Barcomb	3.583

Special Mention: Yale University, Allison Guth, 3.790; Harvard University, Kathy Delaney-Smith, 3.669.

NCAA Division II

Rank	Institution	Head Coach	GPA
1	Lubbock Christian University	Steve Gomez	3.783
2	Ursuline College	Shannon Sword	3.780
3	Fort Hays State University	Tony Hobson	3.764
4	Minnesota State University Moorhead	Karla Nelson	3.750
5	William Jewell College	Jill Slominski	3.748
T6	Mercyhurst University	Brooklyn Kohlheim	3.721
T6	Tiffin University	Miriam Justinger	3.721
T6	Southwest Minnesota State University	Tom Webb	3.721
9	Lindenwood University	Katie Falco	3.718
10	Trevecca Nazarene University	Chad Hibdon	3.711
11	University of Montevallo	Gary Van Atta	3.710
12	Minnesota State University, Mankato	Emilee Thiesse	3.688
13	Michigan Technological University	Samantha Hoyt	3.685
T14	Saginaw Valley State University	Jennifer Pruett	3.684
T14	University of Colorado Colorado Springs	Lynn Plett	3.684
16	Davenport University	Rick Albro	3.681
17	University of Mary	Rick Neumann	3.673
18	Chadron State College	Janet Raymer	3.662
19	Western Colorado University	Lora Westling	3.660
20	Winona State University	Scott Ballard	3.657
21	University of Nebraska Kearney	Carrie Eighmey	3.656
22	Truman State University	Theo Dean	3.650
23	Northwood University	Jeff Curtis	3.647
24	Kentucky Wesleyan College	Caleb & Nicole Nieman	3.646
25	Miles College	Phillip Wallace	3.639

Special Mention: Kutztown University, Janet Malouf, 3.852; Seton Hill, Mark Katarski, 3.837; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (FL), Lisa Wilson, 3.815; Pace University, Carrie Seymour, 3.764; East Stroudsburg University, Stephanie Del Preore, 3.743; Eckerd College, Paul Honsinger, 3.694; Southern New Hampshire University, Karen Pinkos, 3.692; University of the Sciences, Jackie Hartzell, 3.667.

NCAA Division III

Rank	Institution	Head Coach	GPA
1	Yeshiva University	Bill Zatulskis	3.876
2	Stevens Institute of Technology	Megan Haughey	3.815
3	Wartburg College	Bob Amsberry	3.806
4	Ithaca College	Dan Raymond	3.790
5	Gustavus Adolphus College	Laurie Kelly	3.785
6	Washington and Lee University	Christine Clancy	3.760
7	Martin Luther College	Dan Gawrisch	3.752
8	John Carroll University	Elizabeth Andrews	3.734
9	Marymount University	Ashlee Rogers	3.729
10	Millikin University	Olivia Lett	3.716
11	Husson University	Kissy Walker	3.709
12	Augsburg University	Ted Riverso	3.701
13	St. John Fisher College	Melissa Kuberka	3.694
14	Misericordia University	Jason Rhine	3.688
15	Wheaton College (IL)	Kent Madsen	3.684
18	Albion College	Doreen Carden	3.681
17	Edgewood College	Chaia Huff	3.674
T18	Wilkes University	Tara Macciocco	3.671
T18	Rhodes College	Rodney Rogan	3.671
20	Baldwin Wallace University	Cheri Harrer	3.663
21	William Smith College	Lindsay Sharman	3.662
22	University of Southern Maine	Samantha Norris	3.661
23	Hope College	Brian Morehouse	3.655
24	Westminster College	Rosanne Scott	3.654
25	Arcadia University	Rose Katz Gobeli	3.652

Special Mention: Johns Hopkins University, Katherine Bixby, 3.875; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Meghan O’Connell, 3.844; Vassar College, Lucia Robinson-Griggs, 3.830; Emerson College, William Gould, 3.817; Susquehanna University, Gabrielle Holko, 3.801; Penn State Harrisburg, Ross Patrick, 3.742; Pratt Institute, Wilfredo Rivera, 3.729; York College, Betsy Witman, 3.687; Chapman University, Carol Jue, 3.674; Springfield College, Naomi Graves, 3.668; Bard College, Casi Donelan, 3.668; New York University, Meg Barber, 3.652.

NAIA

Rank	Institution	Head Coach	GPA
1	Taylor University	Jody Martinez	3.777
2	The College of Idaho	Janis Beal	3.775
3	Northwestern College	Chris Yaw	3.768
4	Tabor College	Shawn Reed	3.743
5	Briar Cliff University	Brita Hand	3.733
6	Point Park University	Tony Grenek	3.715
7	St. Ambrose University	Krista Van Hauen	3.710
8	University of Providence	Bill Himmelberg	3.678
9	Graceland University	Uyen Tran	3.661
10	Hannibal-LaGrange University	Kelly Quigle	3.653
11	Oklahoma City University	Cynthia Tahah	3.651
12	Grace College	Dan Davis	3.642
13	Faulkner University	Reed Sutton	3.622
14	Vanguard University	Russ Davis	3.607
15	Carroll College	Rachelle Sayers	3.589
16	Mid-America Christian University	Hannah Moeller	3.580
17	Columbia College	Taylor Possail	3.558
18	Huntington University	Lori Culler	3.540
19	Olivet Nazarene University	Lauren Stamatis	3.537
20	John Brown University	Jeff Soderquist	3.523
21	Indiana Institute of Technology	Jessie Biggs	3.518
22	Clarke University	Courtney Boyd	3.513
23	University of Jamestown	Thad Sankey	3.512
24	Montana Technological University	Carly Sanon	3.499
25	Hope International University	Beck Flanagan	3.485

Special Mention: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (AZ), Michael Trujillo, 3.595; University of California Merced, Sarah Hopkins-Chery, 3.514.

Two-Year College*

Rank	Institution	Head Coach	GPA
T1	Miles Community College	Taylor Harris	3.642
T1	South Georgia Technical College	James Frey	3.642
3	Dawson Community College	Romeo Lagmay	3.542
4	Howard College	John Ishee	3.541
5	Kilgore College	Addie Lees	3.384
6	Highland Community College	Jordon O’Brien	3.327
7	Johnson County Community College	Ben Conrad	3.292
8	Neosho County Community College	JJ Davis	3.260
9	Kirkwood Community College	Kim Muhl	3.167
10	Jones College	Missy Bilderback	3.003

* There were only 10 institutions eligible for ranking in the two-year college division.

Special Mention: Ventura College, Ned Mircetic, 3.405; New Mexico Junior College, Austin Mefford, 3.216.

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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