ATLANTA, Ga. – Drake women's basketball received national recognition for their commitment to academic success, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced this morning.
Drake was one of two MVC programs to land in the 2024-25 WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll. The Bulldogs were joined by UNI at No. 25 in the rankings while Belmont, Bradley, Illinois State, and Missouri State all garnered special mentions.
The Bulldogs landed in eighth on the academic list with a cumulative team grade point average of 3.741.
"The WBCA is pleased to recognize those women's basketball programs that have committed themselves to excellence on the court and in the classroom," said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. "The 119 teams we honor this year strive to achieve all-around success and we commend their efforts. Congratulations!"
The entire Top 25 and list of special mentions is included.
| Rank |
Institution |
Head Coach |
GPA |
| 1 |
UW-Green Bay |
Kayla Karius |
3.862 |
| 2 |
Boise State |
Gordy Presnell |
3.803 |
| 3 |
Youngstown State |
Melissa Jackson |
3.781 |
| 4 |
Western Illinois |
JD Gravina |
3.775 |
| 5 |
South Dakota State |
Aaron Johnston |
3.760 |
| 6 |
Creighton |
Jim Flanery |
3.757 |
| 7 |
DePaul |
Jill Pizzotti |
3.750 |
| 8 |
Drake |
Allison Pohlman |
3.741 |
| 9 |
California Baptist |
Jarrod Olson |
3.733 |
| 10 |
Utah Valley |
Dan Nielson |
3.716 |
| 11 |
Davidson |
Gayle Fulks |
3.711 |
| 12 |
Saint Peter's |
Jennifer Leedham |
3.700 |
| 13 |
Tennessee Tech |
Kim Rosamond |
3.699 |
| 14 |
Montana State |
Tricia Binford |
3.694 |
| 15 |
Wyoming |
Heather Ezell |
3.692 |
| 16 |
Maine |
Amy Vachon |
3.691 |
| 17 |
Cleveland State |
Chris Kielsmeier |
3.685 |
| 18 |
Northern Kentucky |
Jeff Hans |
3.678 |
| 19 |
Kent State |
Todd Starkey |
3.669 |
| T20 |
Manhattan |
Heather Vulin |
3.667 |
| T20 |
UW-Milwaukee |
Kyle Rechlicz |
3.667 |
| 22 |
Iowa State |
Bill Fennelly |
3.658 |
| 23 |
Lafayette |
Kia Damon-Olson |
3.630 |
| 24 |
Purdue Fort Wayne |
Maria Marchesano |
3.624 |
| 25 |
Northern Iowa |
Tanya Warren |
3.621 |
Special Mention: East Tennessee State, Brenda Mock Brown, 3.616; Lehigh, Addie Micir, 3.615; Portland, Michael Meek, 3.605; Quinnipiac, Tricia Fabbri, 3.602; Eastern Michigan, Sahar Nusseibeh, 3.597; Illinois, Shauna Green, 3.597; Georgia State, Gene Hill, 3.587; Northern Illinois, Lisa Carlson, 3.585; Marist, Erin Doughty, 3.584; South Florida, Jose Fernandez, 3.584; Stonehill College , Trisha Brown, 3.583; NJIT, Mike Lane, 3.581; Illinois State, Kristen Gillespie, 3.581; Nebraska, Amy Williams, 3.579; Cincinnati, Katrina Merriweather, 3.576; West Georgia, Joanna Reitz, 3.571; Fairleigh Dickinson, Stephanie Gaitley, 3.541; Belmont, Bart Brooks, 3.540; Northern Colorado, Kristen Mattio, 3.536; North Carolina, Courtney Banghart, 3.532; Eastern Illinois, Marqus Mcglothan, 3.530; Michigan State, Robyn Fralick, 3.530; Indiana, Teri Moren, 3.528; Portland State, Chelsey Gregg, 3.528; Albany, Colleen Mullen, 3.525; Minnesota, Dawn Plitzuweit, 3.521; Abilene Christian, Julie Goodenough, 3.511; Colorado State, Ryun Williams, 3.511; Kentucky, Kenny Brooks, 3.504; Saint Joseph's, Cindy Griffin, 3.503; Iowa, Jan Jensen, 3.495; Richmond, Aaron Roussell, 3.492; SIUE, Samantha Quigley Smith, 3.489; Drexel, Amy Mallon, 3.489; California, Charmin Smith, 3.462; Duke, Kara Lawson, 3.456; Merrimack, Kelly Morrone, 3.454; UAB, Randy Norton, 3.447; Sacramento State, Aaron Kallhoff, 3.447; Pennsylvania, Michael Mclaughlin, 3.446; South Carolina, Dawn Staley, 3.438; Alabama, Kristy Curry, 3.432; Missouri, Robin Pingeton, 3.431; Robert Morris, Chandler McCabe, 3.431; Northwestern, Joe McKeown, 3.427; Miami, Tricia Cullop, 3.426; Missouri State, Beth Cunningham, 3.426; Denver, Doshia Woods, 3.425; Texas A&M, Joni Taylor, 3.422; Bradley, Kate Popovec-Goss, 3.398; UNC Greensboro, Trina Patterson, 3.395; Liberty, Carey Green, 3.394; Fairfield, Carly Thibault-Dudonis, 3.392; Lipscomb, Lauren Sumski, 3.377; Texas Tech, Krista Gerlich, 3.376; Florida State, Brooke Wyckoff, 3.375; Temple, Diane Richardson, 3.373; Texas, Vic Schaefer, 3.372; Longwood , Erika Lang-Montgomery, 3.369; Vanderbilt, Shea Ralph, 3.367; Hofstra, Danielle Santos, 3.366; Colorado, Jr Payne, 3.366; Louisville, Jeff Walz, 3.363; Virginia Tech, Megan Duffy, 3.360; UNC Asheville, Tynesha Lewis, 3.358; USC, Lindsay Gottlieb, 3.348; Marquette, Cara Consuegra, 3.345; Hawaii, Laura Beeman, 3.343; Yale, Dalila Eshe, 3.338; Oklahoma, Jennie Baranczyk, 3.334; Tennessee, Kim Caldwell, 3.323; Kansas State, Jeff Mittie, 3.317; Notre Dame, Niele Ivey, 3.314; Elon, Charlotte Smith, 3.271; Ohio State, Kevin Mcguff, 3.263; Oklahoma State, Jacie Hoyt, 3.254; West Virginia, Mark Kellogg, 3.242; Akron, Ryan Gensler, 3.225; Seton Hall, Anthony Bozzella, 3.205; UNLV, Lindy La Rocque, 3.201; BYU, Lee Cummard, 3.189; Oregon, Kelly Graves, 3.168; Georgia Tech, Nell Fortner, 3.162; Baylor, Nicki Collen, 3.133; North Texas, Jason Burton, 3.128; Connecticut, Geno Auriemma, 3.061; Tulsa, Angie Nelp, 3.047; Troy, Chanda Rigby, 3.046; Georgetown, Darnell Haney, 3.008; Navy, Tim Taylor, 3.005.
