Conference Predictions Day 8: The CCIW
We’ve reached the CCIW, one of the power leagues in the Midwest. And the league is coming off a historic year, having sent three teams to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996. That’s pretty incredible, as I figured it had been a while, but 28 years? Wow. Millikin, Carroll, and Illinois Wesleyan were all sent to different opening weekend pods, with both Millikin and IWU winning their first round matchups. The depth in the league was exceptional last season, and surprised me a little bit, considering the CCIW was a one-bid league just a year prior. We saw Elmhurst make the CCIW Tournament for the first time since 2019, North Central took down nationally-ranked Millikin, and Carroll set new program records for wins in a season (23) and the highest national ranking (13th), appearing for seven straight weeks in the D3hoops.com Top 25.
Looking ahead to this coming season, the CCIW promises to be entertaining again. It appears to be a two-team race for the title, and I have questions about Millikin and Elmhurst, both of whom had coaching changes. But overall, this is going to be an intriguing league to follow for several reasons. I’ll give my pick to win the regular season title along with some quick thoughts on the other teams I’ll be watching. Let’s get to it!
Pick to Win: Illinois Wesleyan
Carroll is going to be right there again, but I think Illinois Wesleyan has the firepower to make a run all the way to Salem. Just look at the roster. You’ve got four seniors and six juniors returning. All eight players who averaged more than 14.0 min/game last season are back. And those are returners from a team that went 23-6 overall and 14-2 in the CCIW. They swept Carroll in the regular season (though Carroll won in the CCIW title game).
I am extremely confident in IWU heading into this year. There is a short list of teams that I have this much confidence in, and IWU is right there. We saw how good they were last season, and the roster hasn’t changed. The chemistry is there and the goals are large with so many senior entering their final season at IWU. When you walk into the Shirk Center, the banners from the 2011 Final Four appearance and the 2012 National Championship are proudly displayed. The current team sees that every day, and there’s no doubt it’s a motivating factor.
Lauren Huber leads the Titans in 2024-25, as the versatile, do-it-all guard averaged 15.6 PPG and 8.1 RPG last season. She put up 21 points against Wartburg in the second round of the national tournament and just has an ability to make plays with the ball in her hands, whether that be scoring in tight space in the paint or placing a perfect pass to a teammate for an open look.
Ava Bardic was a huge addition last season as a D2 transfer, and immediately made the IWU backcourt better. Bardic shot it well from long-range and provided a lot of value to IWU defensively. Remember, the Titans play a run-and-gun style that keeps the pace high and emphasizes pressure defense to a high degree. Bardic fit into that style well last season.
Speaking of defense, Sawyer White not only led the CCIW but also ranked fifth in the country in steals, with 112. Mallory Powers dished out 88 assists in addition to contributing with 12.1 PPG as one of only two Titans to start all 29 games in 2023-24.
The other was Kate Palmer, a standout guard whose 29.8 min/game led the team. Palmer is another big scorer for IWU (offensive depth is certainly a strong suit for IWU) as she put up 11.6 PPG. But she is also especially good at reading opposing defenses and was third in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio, dishing out 85 assists against just 26 turnovers. That’s remarkable.
In the frontcourt, Caite Knutson is returning for her fifth year, and she was highly productive offensively last season, with 17 games of 10+ points. Laura Mahlum and Sara Balli each came off the bench often last season and provided quality minutes, and I expect they’ll contribute well as part of the rotation again in 2024-25.
For the other CCIW contenders…
Carroll is led by Olivia Rangel, a D3hoops.com All-American last season. She was one of the most impressive players in the CCIW and in Region 8 as a whole, becoming Carroll’s first All-America selection since 2011. A senior guard this season. Rangel is a prolific scorer (averaged 18.3 PPG), and is a big piece in the overall efficiency of Carroll’s offense. The Pioneers have three seniors on this year’s roster and a solid junior class led by starters Natalie Gricius and Emilie Wizner. Four of their five starters will be back, the only exception being forward Lauren Soyke (6.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG). Overall, Carroll was a team that went toe-to-toe with IWU and Millikin both last season, sweeping its season series with Millikin and winning the CCIW Tournament with a win over IWU. If anyone is going to challenge IWU for the league title, it’ll be Carroll. Besides Soyke, Carroll has its entire rotation back from 2023-24, so consistency and cohesion won’t be a problem.
Millikin is looking at a rebuilding year. At least on paper. New head coach Kirsten Hammer knows how to run a winning program, having been on staff at UW-Whitewater for the last five seasons. Millikin has done its fair share of winning recently too, but along with the coaching change, all-time leading scorer Elyce Knudsen—one of the best in D-III history—moved on to D1 Illinois State for her fifth year and standout forward Bailey Coffman graduated. Sophie Darden, Millikin’s second-leading scorer behind Knudsen also graduated. The Big Blue has a senior duo in Matayia Tellis and Emily Brenneisen, both of whom started last season. But they’ll need more depth than that to compete at the top of the league again in the season ahead.
North Central is the fourth team in the CCIW I’ll be paying close attention to. The Cardinals went 12-14 overall last season, but are in position for a big step forward. Megan McClure (11.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG in 2023-24) returns for her fifth year, and in total, five of the six players who averaged at least 17.0 min/game are returning. NCC is an underrated team, in my opinion, because of that returning production. We saw them beat Millikin and push IWU into OT last season, so I expect the Cardinals to be in the mix in the CCIW even more in 2024-25.
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Olivia Rangel, Carroll: With Rangel, Gricius, and Wizner, Carroll has a high-powered offensive trio. Rangel is expected to be the top returning scorer in the CCIW and shot 47.8% from the field last season, in addition to leading the league in assists (135).
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Sawyer White, Illinois Wesleyan: White’s ability to defend and force turnovers is crucial to IWU’s success on that end of the floor. While she is only a junior, White has 170 steals over her first two seasons, and has a great chance to become just the fifth player in program history with 200+ steals in her IWU career.
Picks so far → AMCC: PSU Behrend, A-R-C: Wartburg, ASC: ETBU, AEC: Marymount, Centennial: Johns Hopkins, CUNYAC: Baruch, C2C: Christopher Newport, CCIW: Illinois Wesleyan.
Up next: Collegiate Conference of the South (CCS)