Top 25 Ballot Breakdown: 2024-25 Preseason
I'm back with my first Top 25 ballot breakdown of the new season! Which teams made their way into my preseason ballot?
Welcome back to the first ballot breakdown of the 2024-25 season! For me at least, writing this up and submitting my first ballot yesterday made it officially feel like #d3hoops season again. After all, we’re just over two weeks away from tip-off!
If you’re a new reader, you might be asking, “What is a ballot breakdown?” Well, over the last couple years, as I’ll do again this season, I put together a write-up taking a look at each of the 25 teams I voted for on my ballot for the D3hoops.com Top 25. I’m honored to be in my third year as one of 25 voters for the poll, and take that responsibility seriously, aiming to be as accurate as possible with the 25 teams that I rank each week. With that, be sure to remember that I am only one of 25 voices impacting this poll, so my placement of a particular team in my ballot is not necessarily how the other 24 voters will view and rank that team!
Part of the role of this ballot breakdown is so you, as the fans/coaches/student-athletes/readers, can get a look at my thoughts on each team and why I voted for them within my ballot. Throughout the entire season, there are way more than just 25 teams worthy of being included, so I find these breakdowns to be beneficial as you can see why I have certain teams included over others. And for me personally, I enjoy sharing my perspective on these teams as one of the few Top 25 voters in the WBB poll who makes their ballot public. My notes on teams will often range in length, some longer and others shorter, based on the information I feel is necessary to include. As you’ll see with this ballot breakdown, the notes are a bit longer, especially as I got further down my ballot. But that likely won’t be the case during the regular season, when we’re voting every week.
Thank you for reading and I look forward to bringing these ballot breakdowns each week that I submit a Top 25 ballot for D3hoops during the entirety of the season.
Before I get to my preseason ballot, I want to highlight another D3-focused Substack that is doing a fantastic job promoting and spreading the word about this great level of college athletics: D3 Direct.
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Preseason Top 25 Ballot Breakdown
NYU: The Violets may have lost three starters from last year’s 31-0 national championship team. But they have reloaded, and I have no reason to doubt NYU’s ability to rise to the challenge again. We saw the depth of the roster throughout last year’s historic season, and with Natalie Bruns and Belle Pellecchia both returning as All-America caliber players, along with D1 transfers Kate Peek and Jamie Behar, NYU appears poised for another huge year.
Wartburg: The Knights went all the way to the Final Four last season, and there is a lot to like about Bob Amsberry’s squad in 2024-25. Three starters return, and five 5th-year seniors are on Wartburg’s roster, along with four 4th-year seniors. The 5th year senior group includes Jaedon Murphy (14.7 PPG, 42 blocks), Sara Faber (11.9 PPG) and Britney Young (3.0 APG), and in total, eight players who averaged at least 10 min/game return. Wartburg will be amongst the nation’s most senior-heavy teams in the coming season.
Christopher Newport: You can always count on CNU to be well-coached, highly-disciplined, and top-notch on the defensive end. Bill Broderick will have his team ready to go this season, and the Captains are in a good spot experience-wise. Four starters return, including leading scorer Hannah Kaloi, and 10 players on the roster played 10 min/game last year. Sydney Sherman, a quality transfer from Mary Washington, is also in the mix, and adds great value to CNU’s frontcourt.
UW-Oshkosh: Is this too high for the Titans? I don’t think so. The one thing we’ve come to expect from this program is consistency; 11 straight 20+ win seasons, nine NCAA Tournament appearances since 2013, and three WIAC regular season titles since 2019. When you combine that precedent with four returning starters, an impact D2 grad transfer in Alex Rondorf, and eight total players who averaged 10+ min/game for a 24-6 Sweet 16 team last season, it’s hard not to put Oshkosh high. They have the talent to compete with the best nationally. The Titans were my top-ranked WIAC team in the final 2023-24 poll, and open 2024-25 as my highest-ranked team from one of D3’s strongest leagues.
Johns Hopkins: The strides JHU made over the course of last season—Rodney Rogan’s first as head coach—were incredible, as the Blue Jays went 11-1 in the first two months, their only loss coming to NYU. They then went 19-1 in Centennial Conference play and took down Christopher Newport in the second round of the national tournament, reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1998. The bar has been set, and JHU is in position to set it even higher, returning seven players who started at least 10 games, including Michaela O’Neil (12.0 PPG) and Elisabeth Peebles (12.1 PPG). JHU’s strong bench should only aid in the Blue Jays’ success in the coming season.
Illinois Wesleyan: There was no question that the Titans would be in my Top 10, as I believe, similarly to last season, that this is a Final Four-caliber squad. Everyone from last year’s team is back, from Lauren Huber (15.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG) to Ava Bardic (13.9 PPG, 2.39 APG) to Sawyer White (3.9 steals/game). In total, all seven players who started at least one game in 2023-24 return, five of whom averaged double figures in scoring. The run-and-gun style that IWU runs is tough to contend with, and considering the level of experience in the main rotation, the Titans rightfully enter this season with high expectations.
Gettysburg: A second Centennial Conference team finds its way into my Top 10, and Gettysburg certainly deserves it, as the Bullets come off a big 24-4 season. Headlined by 2024 Centennial Conference POY Alayna Arnolie and All-Region guard Mackenzie Szlosek, Gettysburg is just as much in contention for the Centennial title as JHU. They’ll be seeking a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament this time around, after a first round exit this past season, and with five returning starters, there’s a favorable chance of that happening.
UW-Whitewater: There’s no doubt about it. Losing Aleah Grundahl is a significant loss for the Warhawks. There’s a reason why she was the first player in WIAC history to be named conference Player of the Year three times. But even with the immense void she leaves, UWW returns its other four starters: Kacie Carrollo, Katie Hildebrandt, Maggie Trautsch, and Bri McCurdy. That’s a solid group, particularly with the senior trio of Carrollo, Hildebrandt, and Trautsch, all of whom have shown they can score. Much of the offensive weight will be upon their shoulders, and how they respond to that will be key. It’s likely that UWW will need to change some things schematically without Grundahl, who averaged 20.4 PPG, so there’s definitely some variables at play with Whitewater heading into this season.
WashU: Even with an offseason coaching change, as Lisa Stone replaced Randi Henderson (who is now on staff at Iowa), the Bears’ roster didn’t really change from last season. That’s huge for WashU, who played its best basketball down the stretch of UAA play, winning nine of its last 10. Lexy Harris, one of the UAA’s breakout players as a freshman (16.1 PPG, 7.4 RPG) returns, as does fifth-year senior guard Jessica Brooks (16.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG), whose presence seemed to really make the team click when she returned to the lineup last December after an injury. Brenna Loftus, the only WashU player to start all 26 games a season ago, returns in a pivotal role as one of two upperclassmen in the starting lineup. Catherine Goodwin and Sidney Rogers, part of the freshman trio that included Harris, also contributed in big ways throughout last season, each averaging at least 26.0 min/game as Goodwin made 25 starts and Rogers recorded 16. Brooks’ return really elevates WashU into the Top 10 category for me, and I think with how well Harris, Goodwin, and Rogers played, having no prior collegiate experience, there is a higher ceiling for this team than what we saw last year. It’s common to see sizable jumps for players between their freshman and sophomore years, and if that happens here, WashU is going to be a very tough out.
Catholic: I wrote in some detail about Catholic’s stellar returning group in my Landmark Conference prediction the other day, and much of that explains why I put Catholic in my Top 10. This is a guard-heavy team, with three of its four returning starters being guards, and the only exception, Carly Mulvaney, officially listed as a guard/forward. But that is nothing new. Catholic started four guards last season and went 26-3, winning the Landmark. The fact that Mulvaney and Keegan Douglas, Catholic’s leading scorer at 13.4 PPG, both averaged 30 min/game gives me added confidence in the Cardinals, as there will be plenty of experience on the floor for Catholic this season. Kerry Flaherty, who made a significant impact as a transfer guard from Holy Cross in 2023-24, returns for a second season with the program, and should be one of the Landmark’s top outside shooters.
Bowdoin: My first (and only) NESCAC team comes in just outside the Top 10. Middlebury and Bates were not far off my ballot, and the NESCAC is going to be tough again in 2024-25. Bowdoin seems to be the early favorite, coming off a 28-3 season. The Polar Bears notably lose forward Jess Giorgio and point guard Megan Tan, both of whom started over 93% of Bowdoin’s games last season. But they have three starters back, and three very valuable contributors, led by reigning NESCAC Player of the Year, Sydney Jones. Jones, a dynamic scorer who averaged 15.9 PPG, was a huge part of the run to the Elite Eight. Carly Davey is also back after leading Bowdoin in min/game (32.2). While they lost a bit more than several of the other teams in my Top 15, the quality of the team’s top returners is very strong.
Scranton: It didn’t take me long to get to my second Landmark team. The Lady Royals have consistently been in the Top 25 mix year after year, and on the heels of an Elite Eight run last season, they certainly deserve to be in the Top 15 conversation. Kaci Kranson is the high scorer for this team, but beyond her, the Lady Royals bring back a trio of fifth-year players in forward Maddy Ryan and guards Maddie Hartnett and Allie Lynch. Bringing back that core, along with Kranson and Kaeli Romanowski (who was 5th in the Landmark in assists/game) is huge. The margin between Scranton and Catholic appears very thin, evidenced by the fact that I had them just two spots apart in this ballot.
DePauw: Admittedly, I was probably too critical of DePauw last season. They went 0-3 in their “big games” against Transylvania, Millikin, and WashU to start the year, and the latter two weren’t super competitive. But those weren’t bad losses, and to be honest, neither were their next five. Along with wins over UW-Oshkosh, Ohio Wesleyan, and Denison, DePauw had a pretty solid resume. Why does that matter? Four starters from that team are back and six total players who averaged above 15 min/game. They've been tested, and know how to compete against high-quality competition at this point. They’re balanced offensively, and play solid defense, an aspect we saw improve as last season progressed. A trio of juniors—guards Riley Mont and Lily Huntzinger and forward Diana Burgher—will be key pieces the puzzle in 2024-25, along with senior Ava Hassel, DePauw’s leading scorer and a back-to-back All-NCAC First Team honoree.
SUNY New Paltz: New Paltz made headlines with its 73-69 win over Christopher Newport last season, snapping the Captains’ 71-game regular season win streak. They proved it was no fluke, going 25-4 overall, 17-1 in the SUNYAC, and the early win over Vassar looked better and better as the season went on. New Paltz has four players in their fifth-year on the 2024-25 roster, much like Wartburg. That includes All-American guard/forward Brianna Fitzgerald (18.8 PPG) and standout guard Julia Sabatino (4.2 assists/game). The level of experience New Paltz has led me to put them higher in my ballot, in large part based on the positive attributes they showed throughout last season. They forced turnovers at a consistent rate on defense, turned those takeaways into points more often than not, moved the ball well offensively, and won the rebounding battle most nights. If everything clicks, and I expect it will, New Paltz is in a position to take even more of a step forward in the coming season.
Vassar: I may end up having Vassar higher than anyone else. We’ll see what the poll ends up looking like. The Brewers were unranked in the final poll last season and didn’t even receive a single vote in that ranking. However, this is a new year, and Vassar comes off a 25-3 season, with four starters back. I really think they’ll take another step forward, led by Tova Gelb, Sierra McDermed, and Julia Harvey, all three of whom were pretty impressive throughout last season. Vassar doesn’t have a ton of scoring depth, and that’s the one thing that concerns me. But if the Brewers maintain a strong defensive identity and that trio produces at a similarly high rate on the offensive end, another big year might just be in store.
Gustavus Adolphus: The Gusties were nearly unstoppable for much of last season, winning games by an average margin of 23.6 points. Their only losses as part of a 25-3 record came against teams that were either ranked or receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Top 25 at the time of the game. So despite a first round exit in the NCAA Tournament, I’m pretty confident we’re going to see the same level of consistency again in 2024-25. The entire starting five, plus their top two contributors off the bench, are all back. That includes three 5th-years—Emma Kniefel, Izzy Quick, and Syd Hauger—along with a trio of true seniors in Morgan Kelly, leading scorer Kylie Baranick, and Rachel Kawiecki.
Carroll: I feel I might have Carroll to far down on my ballot, but we’ll see. One of the breakout teams in the CCIW last season, Carroll gained momentum as the season went on, starting with an OT win over ninth-ranked Millikin. A strong offensive team, the Pioneers shot 47.9% on the year and were 37.8% from 3-point range. That won’t change in 2024-25 and in fact, Carroll’s offense could get even better. Their top three scorers—Olivia Rangel, Natalie Gricius, Emilie Wizner—all return, notable considering that trio accounted for 61% of the Pioneers’ 79.9 PPG. It’s an impressive group from an offensive standpoint, and along with Natalie Palzkill, Carroll brings back four starters. Illinois Wesleyan won’t be alone in its quest for the CCIW title, that’s for sure.
UW-Stout: The Blue Devils put together one of the most impressive runs in the second half of last season, losing five straight at the beginning of WIAC play, before winning seven of their final eight in one of the toughest conferences in D3. They then won three straight in the WIAC Tournament, clinching a bid to the NCAAs, where Stout made its first Sweet 16 appearance—and nearly knocked off No. 2 Transylvania—since 2006. A senior-laden returning group is highlighted by All-American guard Raegan Sorensen, who was simultaneously one of the league’s top scorers and defenders last season. In total, Stout has four players who started 30 games returning, along with Lexi Wagner, who transferred in mid-season and averaged 11.7 PPG. Like Carroll, I’m well aware that I may have Stout too far down on this ballot. While there is a bit of gap between by three WIAC teams, Stout is just as much in the WIAC title mix as anyone based on the way this season is shaping up.
Trine: The Thunder snuck into the final ranking last season at No. 25, after stunning fifth-ranked Gustavus Adolphus in the national tournament less than a week after taking down No. 9 Hope in the MIAA Tournament final. In all, Trine comes off a solid season, and for much of last year, they were in and out of my ballot. As I look at the roster, Abby Sanner is a significant departure, considering the impact she had as a 6-2 forward. But 5-10 guard/forward Erin Sherwood showed some good things in 30 games off the bench, putting up 16 points against Baldwin Wallace and nine rebounds against Stout. Sherwood should help minimize the effects of Sanner’s departure, and more than likely, Trine will be a guard-led team, with Sidney Wagner and Sierra Hinds as the go-to players. Wagner, a Preseason All-American last year, averaged 15.3 PPG, 3.1 APG, and 2.5 steals/game. With four starters and eight players who averaged at least 10 min/game returning, I moved the Thunder into my Top 20 and will re-evaluate in the Week 1 poll, once we’ve seen Trine against Wisconsin Lutheran and Baldwin Wallace.
Elizabethtown: The Blue Jays have a significant quantity of returning talent, and while they stumbled a bit last season due to a lack of depth at times in league play, ETown was competitive with Catholic and Scranton for much of the season in the Landmark title race. The information provided to us as voters indicates that the Blue Jays are in position to improve on that 19-8 season in a significant way, with Summer McNulty leading the charge after earning All-Region honors and putting up 15.2 PPG. I was a little more cautious with where I put ETown on my ballot in comparison to my other two Landmark teams, but certainly anticipate moving them up at some point, assuming everything clicks for ETown’s returning group.
Washington and Lee: Mary Schleusner is the name to know here, a National Player of the Year candidate after the incredible sophomore season she had. The junior forward averaged 23.9 PPG and 17.2 RPG for an Elite Eight team as the Generals put together a 29-3 campaign. My challenge with W&L’s for much of last season was that we hadn’t seen them face too much quality competition, especially as ODAC play unfolded. Obviously, the tournament run changed that, with wins over Vassar, Catholic, and Rhode Island College. Now, I put W&L back at No. 21, though I expect multiple voters will have them higher because of the tournament run and Schleusner’s presence on that team. The reason they’re not a Top 20 team for me right now is because I think Hanna Malik’s departure will have more of an effect than we might think. Malik was key for a variety of reasons, both in terms of distributing the ball and scoring it and you can’t easily replace a player of that caliber. That said, W&L has a solid backcourt, and Quinn McGuinness dished out 2.6 assists/game. With four starters back, the Generals will be tough to beat. I’ll be keeping a close eye on W&L, and obviously will be ready to move them up if their early season performance warrants it.
Emory: I went back and forth on Emory as I put together this ballot. Ultimately, I put the Eagles in, and their two transfers certainly had a role to play in that. Hanna Malik (from W&L) and McKenzi Carter (from Tulane) both make their Emory debuts as grad transfers this season, and with three starters coming back from last year’s 19-6 team, I think the Eagles have a chance to really make some waves in the UAA. Obviously, I have NYU and WashU fairly high, but Emory seems to be right there, especially if Malik and Carter can make immediate impacts. With Claire Brock’s departure, I think both Malik and Daniella Aronsky will be forced to step up offensively, as Aronsky is Emory’s top returning scorer (10.0 PPG in 23-24). In the post, Carter should be a valuable contributor, and while she didn’t see a ton of playing time at Tulane (4.3 min/game over 4 yrs), she was a 2,000-point scorer in high school. And from what I understand, she also shoots well from beyond the arc, which could give Emory an added advantage offensively.
Hope: After taking five new starters and turning it into a Sweet 16 run, Hope needs to be on the radar every year, regardless of the returning production. There’s a reason Brian Morehouse is one of the greatest coaches in college hoops and he certainly gets the most out of his teams. So I have no doubt that the Flying Dutch will be right there in the MIAA title conversation again, though I did keep Hope lower with just two starters back. Those two, Jada Garner and Sydney Vis, started all 30 games last season, and Vis really played well down the stretch, with three 20+ point performances in Hope’s final eight games, including 22 against DePauw. Garner and Vis should be the centerpieces of this team, but because Hope does well with its rotations, there will be multiple players alongside them with a fair amount of experience, just not as starters. Courtney Lee (18.1 MPG), Terin Maynard (17.8 MPG), Olivia Bellows (17.4 MPG), and Lauren Leach (16.4 MPG) should all be in the mix, and I honestly don’t think Hope will struggle with depth, though a lack of presence in the post could be a challenge they have to contend with. I feel good about Hope in my Top 25, though, and never really considered taking them out, even when I heard they’d only have two starters back.
UMass Dartmouth: The experience of Dartmouth’s returners was the primary factor in the Corsairs ending up with a spot on my preseason ballot. After a 24-5 season in which they were already very competitive, this is a program that returns with five players in their fifth season of college basketball along with a D1 transfer in guard Jane McCauley, who is in her sixth season after stops at Vermont and Canisius. Everyone is back, and that type of chemistry and cohesion is tough to quantify. The Corsairs have a high ceiling this year, and while I had at least five teams in contention for these final two spots on my ballot, the potential this returning group has was too significant for me to leave them outside my Top 25.
Chatham: Chatham is one of the more interesting stories from this past offseason. The PAC champ last year, Chatham was already set to bring back most of its roster from a 24-4 team. But then they started bringing in transfers, and it wasn’t just one or two. It ended up being 14, with several of those being grad transfers, something I’ve never seen before in D3. And 11 of those transfers came from D3 programs, many playing significant minutes at their previous program, like Leah Harkenrider (Alfred) and Lauren Keel (Roanoke). The talent, especially in the backcourt, on Chatham’s roster is pretty exceptional. Now the question because how well all these transfers can mesh with the returners. Developing that chemistry takes time and many of these transfers are coming from different systems and environments, so there’s bound to be a learning curve. On top of that, playing time will come at a premium, as there’s only so many minutes to go around. But if they’re all on the same page, Chatham has a chance to be really, really good. And it’s not just the transfers, either. Ashley Louden comes back after leading Chatham with 14.3 PPG, and Alyssa Laukus averaged 10.4 PPG and 5.6 RPG. Those two will be just as important as the incoming transfers. While Chatham hasn’t historically been a Top 25 team, and I understand some of the skepticism with so many newcomers, this is a team built to make a tournament run.
Nearly-Missed (A look at some of the teams under close consideration that were just outside my ballot)
Middlebury: The one-two punch of Alexa Mustafaj and Augusta Dixon might be the best in the NESCAC from an offensive standpoint. That duo should carry Middlebury again, and I think the Panthers have a good shot at contending with Bates and Bowdoin at the top of the league.
Bates: With what Elsa Daulerio and the Bobcats did last season, reaching the Sweet 16 and going 8-2 in NESCAC play, Bates wasn’t far off my ballot either. With only two starters back, I’m keeping Bates on my watch list, just outside of my Top 25, until the season begins.
Concordia Moorhead: We saw the Cobbers make strides last season, going 20-6, and beating Gustavus Adolphus during MIAC play. With four returning starters, Concordia is in a good position for another big year, and perhaps a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Whitman: Whitman very nearly made its way into my Top 25 and was just off the ballot at the end. The Blues bring back a strong senior trio of Korin Baker, Lindsay Drango, and Carly Martin, and are the early frontrunners in the NWC. Definitely a team to keep an eye on in Region 10.
Baldwin Wallace: The Yellow Jackets bring back three key seniors in Bella Vaillant, Emily Irwin, and Caely Ressler from a team that went 22-7, 16-2 in the OAC. Baldwin Wallace appears to be the favorite in the OAC entering the season.