Way-Too-Early Top 30: Ranking No. 1 to No. 5
Welcome back to the final edition of this Way-Too-Early Top 30, taking a look at the season ahead as we progress through the summer months. I’ve been releasing these in five-team segments, all of which are linked below, and we’re down to the last five teams. As I’ve said before, this is just a preliminary look at the 2024-25 season based on my analysis and what I know of the way rosters are shaping up for the year ahead. There is almost always factors that I’m not yet aware of at this point in the year, whether it be transfers that haven’t yet been announced, or potential fifth-year returners. But at the very least, I think this is a fun way to start previewing the season ahead. There are so many teams in the mix for national recognition this year. So without further ado, here’s my Top 5 (as of right now) entering the 2024-25 season…
» Previous editions of the 2024 Way-Too-Early Top 30
5. Illinois Wesleyan (2023-24 record: 23-6)
The Titans put together an impressive resume last season, and by the time we reached mid-season, it seemed that IWU was destined for the Final Four. Wartburg ended up getting the better of them in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament, and in that case it felt like an unfortunate instance of two very accomplished teams being stuck in the same pod. As it turned out, Wartburg reached the Final Four, so IWU’s three-point loss to the Knights can’t be faulted too much. Regardless, IWU picked up wins over Puget Sound and WashU in November (along with close losses to Hope and UW-Whitewater), and won back-to-back CCIW matchups against Carroll and Wheaton, who were both receiving Top 25 votes, in early December. A 73-63 win on the road at then-No. 11 UChicago helped boost IWU’s national standing as the true depth of the roster was fully visible. Despite injuries to starters Ava Bardic and Lauren Huber at different points in the first two months, IWU battled through, continuing to win in a tough league. The Titans ended up going 2-0 against Carroll in the regular season, and hosted the CCIW Tournament, with an impressive 14-2 league record.
Looking ahead at the season to come, the Titans have all the makings of being a Final Four team, returning essentially their entire rotation from 2023-24. It is going to be a year that has to count. The senior class will be large and talented, with that group having one last chance to bring a title back to Bloomington in their college careers. That includes Huber, a Jostens Trophy Finalist, Mallory Powers, a D3hoops.com All-Region honoree, and last year’s CCIW leader in assist-to-turnover ratio Kate Palmer. Not to mention incoming juniors Sawyer White (who led the league in steals with 3.9/game) and Bardic (who shot 34% from 3-point range in her first season as a Titan in 2023-24). This is a team poised for a tremendous season, especially as bringing back the entire rotation means a good portion of the chemistry and cohesion on the court will be present from the first day of practice. Oftentimes, that situation yields itself to a fast start once the regular season tips off, and I expect that to be the case with IWU as well. Huber will certainly be in that CCIW Player of the Year mix, coming off a season in which she put together some remarkable performances, including a 27-point, 16-rebound game at Hope, and a 21-point, 14-rebound showing in the NCAA Tournament against Wartburg. In all three of her seasons at IWU, the 5-8 guard has averaged at least 12.0 PPG and 6.2 RPG. Powers, one of two Titans to start all 29 games in 2023-24, tallied a team-best 88 assists (3.03 APG) while shooting 35.2% from beyond the arc, and is one of several long-range shooting threats that head coach Mia Smith has in the rotation. In fact, four different players—Powers, Bardic, Palmer, and Laura Mahlum—converted on at least 25 3-pointers a season ago as IWU shot .350 from 3-point range in CCIW play. Caite Knutson, who made 19 starts last season at forward, is another returning senior whose presence on the court will be key, after she averaged 10.3 PPG and shot 56.7%.
Watching this team last season, this was a group that meshed extremely well, each having their own role and executing that role remarkably. There is a level of balance needed to compete at a high-level, both offensively and defensively, and IWU had that in 2023-24. Five different Titans averaged at least 10.3 PPG and six different Titans had at least 3.1 RPG. Bardic, a transfer from UIS, fit into the mix very well, and ended up being one of IWU’s biggest contributors in the backcourt. Known for playing up-tempo, IWU is able to run-and-gun efficiently, which certainly will contribute to their success again in 2024-25. The Titans led the CCIW in both assist-to-turnover ratio and turnover margin last season, a testament to their discipline and controlled pace. We’ll see more of that again in 2024-25, and just as it was last year, all signs point towards the CCIW slate being a real challenge once again. The battle for the top spot in that league will be interesting, as Carroll and IWU appear to be the frontrunners as of now. Ultimately, I think the Titans are in great position to succeed, and there is every reason to believe a deep tournament run is in store for this exceptional group.
4. UW-Oshkosh (2023-24 record: 24-6)
In what is always a tight WIAC title race, it seems head coach Brad Fischer always has his Titans in the mix. As it turned out last season, it was Oshkosh who prevailed in winning the league’s regular season crown, and made a run to the Sweet 16, before falling to eventual national runner-up Smith, 61-59. Oshkosh’s exceptional defensive performance (which has been a staple of Fischer’s program) throughout last season showed up time and time again in key WIAC matchups, such as in the 63-58 win at No. 17 UW-Stout (when Oshkosh was unranked) and the 57-46 victory on the road at No. 5 UW-Whitewater. The Titans allowed just 50.6 PPG last season, the lowest in the WIAC by a sizable margin. And notably, Oshkosh opened its season by going 9-2, with all 11 non-conference games played on the road or at a neutral site. Talk about having a road warrior mentality!
This season, Oshkosh seems poised for potentially an even stronger year, aided by a significant amount of returning production and a handful of impactful newcomers. This is a team built for success, when you consider that Kayce Vaile, Sarah Hardwick, and Bridget Froehlke, will all be back, amongst others. Vaile led the team in rebounding, at 8.2 RPG, along with an efficient shooting approach that saw the senior forward average 10.5 PPG and shoot 51.4% from the floor. Her defensive contributions were especially noteworthy, including her 44 blocks (1.5/game), which ranked second the WIAC. Hardwick has been in the starting lineup practically since she stepped onto Oshkosh’s campus as a true freshman in 2022-23, and I think big things will be in store for the junior forward from Green Bay in 2024-25. She averaged 6.0 PPG and 4.4 RPG last season, adding significantly to Oshkosh’s paint presence. Froehlke made 21 starts and averaged 26.6 MPG in her first full season as a starter last year, stepping up time and time again from beyond the arc. The 5-8 guard shot 81-of-216 from 3-point range, and put her sharpshooting on display in the second round win over Trine. She scored 25 points, converting on seven of eight 3-point attempts.
Of course, that trio is only part of Oshkosh’s formula for success. Kate Huml, a junior guard who averaged 21.0 minutes/game last season, will return as a key part of the rotation and Avery Poole, who made 15 starts, should be back as well. Allison Forney, who was a consistent presence off the bench before an injury in early February, adds to the returning depth. And sophomore guard Mallory Hoitink, after averaging 5.6 PPG in 10.6 minutes/game in her first season at the collegiate level, should step up even more. Her shooting translated well to the college level last season, highlighted by her 20-point performance against DePauw and 14 points in the Sweet 16 game against Smith.
The Titans also bring in a solid recruiting class that includes Sammi Beyer, who was an accomplished high school player (WBCA All-State First Team as a senior) and began her career at Division I St. Thomas last season. Additionally, Alex Rondorf, a three-time Second Team All-GLIAC honoree at D2 Michigan Tech, could end up being one of the most impactful transfers we’ve seen in the WIAC in recent years. She joins the program after six seasons at Michigan Tech, where she played in 105 games, making 81 starts. Over the course of her career, Rondorf averaged 25.3 minutes/game, and tallied at least 8.0 PPG in each of the last four seasons. She is also a talented rebounder who averaged 7.1 RPG over the last two years. And defensively? Rondorf should fit right in with the WIAC’s top defensive team, considering she was twice named to the GLIAC’s All-Defensive Team.
All the pieces are there for Oshkosh, and while playing in the WIAC is no easy task, the Titans will be ready. Having this amount of quality depth doesn’t happen every year, but it has lined up almost perfectly for Oshkosh heading into 2024-25, with rising juniors, fifth-year seniors, and potentially a few newcomers ready to lead the way.
3. Wartburg (2023-24 record: 29-3)
The Knights’ run to the Final Four last season came after Wartburg battled through the regular season with seemingly little resistance, posting a perfect 16-0 record in the American Rivers Conference and a 23-2 overall mark. A 64-56 win at home over then-No. 15/20 Loras was Wartburg’s first marquee win of the year, and a 49-point win over a DePauw squad that ended up hosting in the NCAA Tournament certainly added to the resume in non-conference play. Both of Wartburg’s regular season losses ended up fairly one-sided and came within an 11-day span, as Whitman and WashU got the better of the Knights. But once January rolled around, Wartburg didn’t lose again until March 14, when Smith edged the Knights, 61-54, in overtime in the national semifinals. It was an impressive run led by an experienced core of upperclassmen who never seemed to let the moment get too big. Whether it was the 53-50 OT win over Dubuque on Jan. 3 or the 54-53 buzzer-beating victory to beat Bates in the Sweet 16, the Knights had an unmistakable poise, especially late in games. In moments when it mattered most, whether it be coming up with a defensive stop or getting a shot to fall, Wartburg never ceased to exit the timeout huddle with notable confidence. I believe that intangible quality was critical in their success, going 11-1 in games decided by nine points or fewer.
While Macy Harris, who hit the game-winner against Bates, and Taylor Runchey, who made 32 starts last season, have graduated and are moving on, Wartburg returns a significant amount of its core from last year’s incredible tournament run. That returning group includes Jaedon Murphy, Sara Faber, and Britney Young, both of whom made at least 30 starts for the Knights in 2023-24. Murphy, whose 14.7 PPG led the team and ranked fourth in the ARC, enters her fifth year in the program after receiving All-America honors from D3hoops.com (she was Wartburg’s first D3hoops All-American since 2020). A 6-0 senior forward, Murphy will be one of the top returning forwards in Region 9 this season, with a tremendous skill set and plenty of range on her shot as a scoring threat both inside and beyond the arc. Faber was just behind Murphy in scoring last season, averaging 11.9 PPG, and she brings a solid defensive prowess to the lineup, having tallied 53 steals last year. Young actually led Wartburg in minutes last season, at 29.1/game as the Knights’ top 3-point shooter (66-of-191), leading the ARC in 3-pointers made.
Lauren Woeste is back as well for a fifth year, and the 6-1 forward will be yet another critical piece to the puzzle. She averaged 21.1 minutes/game off the bench last season, and was No. 1 in the league in field goal percentage, taking smart, high-percentage shots as she went 102-of-160 from the field. Her 56 offensive rebounds were also a team-high, and Woeste gives Wartburg great post presence.
Maggie Wilkins is another playmaker on this roster to keep an eye on. She suffered a season-ending injury in Wartburg’s second game of last year, an unfortunate situation after a solid 2022-23 campaign. But Wilkins will be back, and there is no doubt she’ll contribute to the Knights’ success. A high-level guard who dished out 2.2 assists/game two seasons ago, she is yet another senior who will lead this charge into 2024-25.
Not only does Wartburg have plenty of returning talent, but for the most part, it is seniors (or fifth-year seniors), the majority of whom keyed the Knights’ postseason run this past spring. That level of experience is invaluable, as they should have five fifth-year seniors on the roster, players who have learned time and time again what it takes to win at the collegiate level. This makes Wartburg a relatively easy Top 5 pick for me. The non-conference schedule features matchups against Mary Hardin-Baylor and Wisconsin Lutheran (both NCAA Tournament teams last year), and the ARC isn’t an easy league to win in, either, especially as Loras looks to have a very strong season of their own. Who knows? Maybe we’ll see Wartburg make its first back-to-back Final Four appearances in program history come March.
2. Christopher Newport (2023-24 record: 27-2)
CNU put together yet another fairly dominant regular season in 2023-24, coming off its run to the 2023 national title game. It seems you can always count on the Captains to schedule tough, and win plenty of those games in the process, as CNU took down Emory, Elizabethtown, and Whitman in the first two months of the season. While SUNY New Paltz snapped CNU’s lengthy regular-season win streak in one of the biggest upsets of the year (in my opinion, of course!)The Captains entered the NCAA Tournament at 26-1. Johns Hopkins brought an end to their tournament run prematurely in the second round in a back-and-forth, 77-75 game, but it doesn’t take away from the season CNU put together, especially considering the Captains were forced to navigate through multiple injuries and some inexperience in the main rotation.
Because of the defensive style CNU runs, with its up-tempo, high-pressure nature, depth is a critical component to the Captains’ success. I believe it is one of the primary reasons they are in this conversation nearly every year. CNU is defensive-driven, and head coach Bill Broderick certainly has a defensive scheme that seems to wear down opposing offenses for a full 40 minutes. They score in bunches, without a doubt, but when CNU’s defense is at its best, they don’t necessarily need a ton of shots to fall. And as for the depth, the Captains have had plenty of starpower in recent years, but they play a level of team basketball that isn’t reliant on one or two individual players. After all, nine different players started at least six games last season and 15 averaged double-digit minutes. From the looks of it, the majority of those contributors, both in the starting lineup and off the bench, will be back this upcoming season.
Forward Hannah Kaloi, who made her season debut on Dec. 2 and played in 18 games, will return as a senior after averaging team-highs in minutes (21.2/game) and points (12.1 PPG). Gabbi San Diego, whose play at point guard has been so critical for CNU over the last couple of seasons, is set for her fifth year with the Captains coming off a year in which her 2.79 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked eighth in the country. Guard Camille Malagar, one of only two players who started all 27 games last season, adds to the strength in the backcourt as she enters her third season in Newport News. Malagar shot 50.2% from the field and averaged 10.6 PPG in 2023-24. Look for McKenna Snively to have a significant impact as well, as the junior guard made steady improvement over her first two years in the program. One of only three CNU players to have seen action in all 29 contests last season, Snively had a career-best six rebounds against JHU in the NCAA Tournament and scored 13 in a Top 25 win over Elizabethtown. And forward Hannah Orloff, who played in just six games last year before suffering an injury, returns as a senior ready to make an impact. In the fourth game of last season against Bridgewater, Orloff posted a 12-point, 14-rebound double-double, and in 2022-23, she averaged 5.9 PPG and 4.9 RPG in just 15.5 minutes/game. Depth certainly won’t be a problem for the Captains.
Even looking beyond the top five or six, there will be plenty of options off the bench, which only furthers my confidence that CNU will once again be in national title contention. Hailey Kellogg, a junior guard, totaled 65 assists and 29 steals in 28 games last season, starting nine of them. Sophomore forward Elizabeth Creed had 38 offensive rebounds in just 11.0 minutes/game and shot 50.6% from the floor. Mia Wilson had 6.4 PPG in 13.8 minutes/game as a freshman guard last year. Alexia Lindsey, who averaged 11.9 minutes/game, actually led the team in steals (55) in 2023-24, including five steals in eight minutes against SUNY New Paltz!
I really like the way the roster is coming together for CNU. As I’ve mentioned before, returning production isn’t a full-proof way of projecting a team’s level of success for the coming season, but it is often a good indicator of what may lay ahead. Having quality experience and a cohesive rotation, especially for a program that runs its defense in the way CNU does, is so important. It certainly seems like the Captains will be able to hit the ground running when the 2024-25 campaign tips off, and I can’t wait to watch it unfold. I know Broderick put together a tough schedule, with several teams that reached the 2024 NCAA Tournament and some of whom may be Preseason Top 25 squads. With the Final Four in Salem, Virginia, CNU possesses a real chance at playing on D3 WBB’s biggest stage in its home state. The Captains have made three Final Four appearances since 2011, but none of those have been played in Virginia. It’ll definitely be a storyline to keep an eye on as CNU ventures into 2024-25, seeking its ninth consecutive 20-win season.
1. NYU (2023-24 record: 31-0)
What we saw from NYU last season doesn’t happen every year. Sure, the addition of 2023 First Team All-Americans Megan Bauman and Morgan Morrison helped generate some preseason hype, leading multiple Top 25 voters to put the Violets at No. 1 to start the year. That’s where I had them in my preseason ballot, and they never moved from that spot, as NYU navigated a solid non-conference schedule with relative ease (outside of a near-upset against Whittier the day before Thanksgiving) and then battled through the UAA slate in dominant fashion. It didn’t matter who the Violets played…every game was decided by double digits. That continued into the NCAA Tournament, with an average margin of victory of 21 points…let that sink in. All that said, it should be noted that NYU going undefeated wasn’t anything new for a national champ on the women’s side, considering nine of the last 10 title winners posted flawless records en route to cutting down the nets. Hope in 2022 was the only exception…the Flying Dutch went 32-1.
But how does that translate in 2024-25? Will NYU be just as strong? While we don’t fully know—they do lose three starters in Morrison, Bauman, and Erica Miller—all indications point towards the Violets being the favorite once again. One of the more notable things about last year’s team was the depth present on the roster, as multiple non-starters in the rotation certainly had the capability to be starting for other nationally-ranked programs. So while NYU may be losing a few starters (which would ordinarily make me rethink putting them at No. 1), 2024 D3hoops.com National Player of the Year Natalie Bruns should be back as a fifth-year senior, as will guard Belle Pellecchia, a D3hoops.com All-American last season. Then there’s Caroline Peper, a 6-0 guard who averaged 19.8 minutes per game in 30 contests a year ago, providing exceptional production off the bench. She averaged 9.5 PPG as NYU’s fourth-leading scorer. Mary Kate Fahey made the most of her minutes on the floor last season, and will return as a senior guard, likely to see a bit more action this time around. Fahey’s 3-point range was notable, as she shot 25-of-62 (40.3%) from beyond the arc in just 9.8 minutes/game. Look for 5-9 guard Eden Williamson to be another potential contributor, as she averaged 15.1 minutes/game as a freshman last year, giving the Violets quality minutes while shooting 52.3% from the field. Not to mention the fact that NYU added a Division I transfer in Kate Peek, who previously played two years at Fairfield. As a true freshman in 2022-23, Peek averaged 6.0 PPG in 14.2 minutes/game, shooting 33-of-80 from the field. There is no question Peek will be a valuable asset to NYU’s backcourt and will be yet another 3-point shooter that opposing defenses have to worry about. There will be a second D-I transfer on the roster as well, as Lehigh’s Jamie Behar will join the Violets as a grad transfer. Behar played in 96 games over four years at Lehigh, shooting 41.1% from the field while averaging 4.5 PPG. A 6-1 guard/forward, Behar is versatile and will be yet another offensive threat in addition to her defensive skill set.
NYU looks to have the same level of depth on the roster again in 2024-25, and the Violets have a real chance at back-to-back titles, a feat last accomplished by Amherst in 2018. The last UAA program to do so was WashU in 2001. I’m incredibly excited to see how this year unfolds for the Violets, who will play a talented Babson squad on the opening weekend of the season. That matchup, which will be played at the second annual Scholar’s Classic in NYC, should give us a good indication of where NYU is at. Ultimately, I will never automatically put a team No. 1 in the preseason poll because they won it all the season prior. It’s a new season, a new team, with new goals and challenges. But using what we saw last year, I’m not sure I could put anyone else at No. 1. All five teams I’ve written about today are 100% in the mix for that spot, and I could probably make a good case for any of those five to be in the top spot in this ranking. But for now, NYU will remain in the top spot.
There you have it…my entire Way-Too-Early Top 30 has been released. We’ll see how it stacks up against my actual Preseason Top 25 once October arrives. For now, I’ll be getting back to doing Q&A interviews with coaches around the country, as well as taking a look at some of the 2024-25 schedules that have been released. We’ve got a ton of high-level non-conference matchups to look forward to in the first couple months of the season, and overall, I’m happy to see the trend of teams scheduling well in non-conference continue. The introduction of NPI to the scheduling equation—considering NPI has a few significant differences from the old system—will certainly change the way some teams have to schedule in order to put themselves in good position for an at-large bid. However, quality schedules in non-conference will still be extremely important, and even without the potential for “RRO wins” moving forwards, I hope we continue to see coaches seeking out cross-region games. That’s one of the ways to keep D-III more national as opposed to it becoming regional.
I know this was a longer post, but considering it was my Top 5, I wanted to go more in-depth on these teams. So if you’re still reading, thank you for the support and for keeping up with my coverage through the summer months. Before we know it, another season will be tipping off! Have a great start to your week!
lets get the season started!!!!!!