Ashland University's women's basketball team is used to winning – but doing so in late July is something new.
 
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) released its 2023-24 Academic Top 25 Team Honor Rolls on Wednesday (July 24) morning, and not only did the Eagles sport the highest team grade-point average last academic year in NCAA Division II at 3.875, but at all levels of NCAA, NAIA and two-year colleges, as well.
 
Ashland's team GPA nudged out NCAA Division I Youngstown State (3.868) and Western Illinois (3.866) for the top mark in all of 2023-24 women's college basketball.
 
"I'm really proud of the girls," said Ashland head coach Kari Pickens. "We recruit student-athletes first and foremost, but they have to put in the work. They are really diligent about taking their school seriously, and I'm really proud of them.
 
"Also, a lot of credit to Coach J (associate head coach Jenna Kotas). She oversees our academics within our program, and she makes sure the girls are staying on top of things. It shows a lot about our program's culture and the type of student-athletes we try to bring in, that they would work that hard to do that."
 
Ashland's women now have earned WBCA Team Honor Roll recognition 16 times. They also did so in 2022-23 (fourth), 2021-22 (sixth), 2019-20 (second), 2017-18 (sixth), 2015-16 (tied for 14th), 2014-15 (tied for seventh), 2013-14 (ninth), 2012-13 (11th), 2011-12 (18th), 2010-11 (tied for 17th), 2009-10 (fifth), 2008-09 (third), 2007-08 (15th), 2002-03 (15th) and 2001-02 (12th).
 
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 2023-24 season is the 29th in which the WBCA has compiled the honor rolls.
 
In 2023-24, the Eagles finished 31-2 overall and 20-0 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference – winning both the league regular-season and tournament championships and reaching the Round of 32 in the D-II tournament.
 
Over the last 13 seasons (2011-12 to 2023-24), Ashland is 390-41 (.905) with three NCAA Division II national titles, two national runner-up finishes, three undefeated seasons, a D-II-record 73-game winning streak, a D-II-record 39-game road winning streak (current), eight 30-win seasons, 12 NCAA postseason qualifications, nine conference regular-season championships, 10 conference tournament titles, and a mark of 210-14 (.938) at home.
  

RANK	INSTITUTION	HEAD COACH	GPA
1	ASHLAND	KARI PICKENS	3.875
2	St. Cloud State	Lori Fish	3.847
3	Montana State Billings	Kevin Woodin	3.824
4	Texas Woman's	Beth Jillson	3.810
5	Westminster	Asami Morita	3.802
6	Lubbock Christian	Steve Gomez	3.801
7	Chaminade	Michael Edwards	3.794
8	Upper Iowa	Justin Maass	3.792
9	Henderson State	Jill Thomas	3.786
10	Tiffin	Joshua Mason	3.773
11	Eckerd	Paul Honsinger	3.770
12	West Liberty	Kyle Cooper	3.763
13	Fort Hays State	Talia Kahrs	3.755
14	Maryville	Brita Hand	3.724
15	St. Thomas Aquinas	Bill Cleary	3.719
16	Kutztown	Janet Malouf	3.718
17	Central Missouri	David Slifer	3.716
18	Pace	Carrie Seymour	3.713
19	Chestnut Hill	Reggie Hill	3.692
20	Embry-Riddle (FL)	Lisa Wilson	3.688
21	Lee	Marty Rowe	3.668
22	Post	Courtney Burns	3.665
23	Wingate	Ann Hancock	3.663
24	Southern New Hampshire	Karen Pinkos	3.650
25	Colorado Mesa	Taylor Wagner	3.646

 
Special Mention: Southwest Minnesota State, Tom Webb, 3.641; Rockhurst, Larry Park, 3.635; Point Loma Nazarene, Charity Elliott, 3.635; Northwestern Oklahoma State, Tasha Diesselhorst, 3.633; Emory & Henry, Jaclyn Dickens, 3.625; Missouri S&T, Kira Carter, 3.619; McKendree, Kari Kerkhoff, 3.618; Rollins, Glenn Wilkes, 3.611; Minnesota State, Emilee Thiesse, 3.603; Truman State, Theo Dean, 3.597; MSU Denver, Tanya Haave, 3.595; Seattle Pacific, Mike Simonson, 3.590; Michigan Tech, Samantha Clayton, 3.573; Montevallo, Olivia Chapman, 3.573; Union, Mark Campbell, 3.569; Northwest Nazarene, Steve Steele, 3.561; Franklin Pierce, Mark Swasey, 3.554; Findlay, Michele Durand, 3.554; Harding, Tim Kirby, 3.554; UW-Parkside, Jen Conely, 3.544; D'Youville, Alison Bouman, 3.538; Carson-Newman, Michael Mincey, 3.538; Frostburg State, Jenna Eckleberry, 3.534; Wayne State (MI), Carrie Lohr, 3.530; Pittsburg State, Amanda Davied, 3.518; Azusa Pacific, T.J. Hardeman, 3.516; UVA Wise, Jamie Cluesman, 3.514; Shorter, LaSheena Brooks, 3.514; Alaska Fairbanks, Amy Donovan, 3.514; Emporia State, Brian Ostermann, 3.509; Florida Tech, John Reynolds, 3.490; Hillsdale, Brianna Brennan, 3.457; Gannon, Cleve Wright, 3.452; Davenport, Shonda Sanders, 3.446; Quincy, Courtney Boyd, 3.438; Mercyhurst, Brooklyn Kohlheim, 3.418; Assumption, Kerry Phayre, 3.413; Kentucky State, Amani Williams, 3.408; Hawai'i Hilo, David Kaneshiro, 3.405; Tuskegee, Chiante Wester, 3.402; Daemen, Jenepher Banker, 3.399; Virginia Union, Tierra Terry, 3.378; CSU Monterey Bay, Sarah Hopkins-Chery, 3.369; CSU East Bay, Jenny Thigpin, 3.353; South Dakota Mines, Jeri Jacobson, 3.352; Dominican (CA), Tim LaKose, 3.346; Coker, Melissa DeVore, 3.337; Bentley, C White, 3.329; UNC Pembroke, John Haskins, 3.312; Lincoln, Janice Washington, 3.302; Tusculum, Roger Hodge, 3.266; Newman, Amy Briggs, 3.247; West Florida, Stephanie Yelton, 3.123; Academy of Art, Jesse Clark, 3.109; Converse, Samantha Davidson, 3.070; CSU San Bernardino, Casandra Renno, 3.055.