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 |
