Women's Basketball Earns WBCA Academic Honors

ATLANTA – The Oklahoma Baptist women's basketball program earned one of the nation's top academic honors on Tuesday. The Bison were named as a special mention team on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WCBA) annual Academic Top 25 Honors. OBU's women's basketball team finished with an impressive 3.461 cumulative grade-point average during the 2025-26 campaign. 

The Bison are one of just teams from the Great American Conference to earn a spot on the list. Northwestern Oklahoma State (3.826) and Harding (3.776) also made the cut. OBU's honor is the second major academic achievement for the team this year after the Bison had four College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honorees back in March. 

The WBCA Academic Top 25 recognizes college women's basketball teams across the nation in their respective divisions that carry the highest combined GPAs inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season.

A team must have a combined GPA of 3.0 or better and be nominated by its head coach who must be a member of the WBCA to be recognized. The 2025-26 season is the 31st in which the WBCA has compiled the honor rolls. 

"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 ranked teams we honor this year across all five collegiate membership divisions strive to achieve all-around success and we commend their efforts. Congratulations!"
 

NCAA Division II WBCA Academic Top 25

Special Mention: Central Mo., Dave Slifer, 3.710; Post, Courtney Burns, 3.705; Texas Woman's, Beth Jillson, 3.703; Lee, Marty Rowe, 3.686; Mont. St. Billings, Kevin Woodin, 3.683; Northwest Mo. St., Austin Meyer, 3.680; Tampa, Tom Jessee, 3.678; Barry, Allison Bustamante, 3.674; Kutztown, Janet Malouf, 3.673; Cal Poly Pomona, Danelle Bishop, 3.669; Georgian Court, Jazz Perazic, 3.667; Ferris St., Kurt Westendorp, 3.661; Eckerd, Paul Honsinger, 3.661; Rockhurst, Larry Park, 3.655; Chaminade, J. Travis Brewster, 3.653; Ill. Springfield, Olivia Birt, 3.651; Carson-Newman, Mike Mincey, 3.643; Ashland, Kari Pickens, 3.640; UVA Wise, Jamie Cluesman, 3.638; Davenport, Shonda Sanders, 3.628; Winona St., Ana Wurtz, 3.628; Menlo, Shannon Spataro, 3.617; Truman St., Theo Dean, 3.616; Tex. A&M-Kingsville, Michael Madrid, 3.615; Black Hills St., Kelly Kruger, 3.597; Wis.-Parkside, Jen Conely, 3.596; West Liberty, Kyle Cooper, 3.591; Fairmont St., Stephanie Anderson, 3.587; Chestnut Hill, Megan Fox, 3.585; Pace, Carrie Seymour, 3.579; Saginaw Valley, Jenny Pruett, 3.577; D'Youville, Kelly Broderick, 3.572; Drury, Kaci Bailey, 3.568; St. Mary's (TX), Valerie Huizar, 3.551; Edinboro, Callie Wheeler, 3.549; USC Aiken, Brittany Batts, 3.546; Bentley, Carolyn White, 3.532; Wayne St. (MI), Carrie Lohr, 3.528; Bridgeport, James Howard, 3.521; Minnesota St., Emilee Thiesse, 3.513; Mary, Rick Neumann, 3.510; Shepherd, Julie Kaufman, 3.506; Cal St. East Bay, Jenny Thigpin, 3.482; Okla. Baptist, Bo Overton, 3.461; Kentucky St., Amani Williams, 3.460; Wingate, Ann Hancock, 3.422; Newman, Amy Briggs, 3.408; Mount Olive, Joey Higginbotham, 3.407; UC Merced, Kellie Bernard, 3.404; Assumption, Kerry Phayre, 3.403; Cal St. Monterey Bay, Sarah Hopkins-Chery, 3.363; Hillsdale, Brianna Brennan, 3.329; Cal State LA, Torino Johnson, 3.308; Union, Mark Campbell, 3.269; Emory & Henry, Jaclyn Dickens, 3.255; Cal St. San Marcos, Jana Pearson, 3.191; Valdosta St., Chandler Merkerson, 3.189; Augusta, Celeste Stewart, 3.039.

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 must be nominated for the honor by their head coach who must be a WBCA member. A team must have a 3.000 or better GPA to be nominated.

About the Women's Basketball Coaches Association

The Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. Founded in 1981, 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 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 WBCA.org for more details about the association.