Sun Devil WBB earns No. 14 ranking in annual WBCA Academic Top 25

TEMPE, Ariz. – Sun Devil Women's Basketball continued to be among the nation's top women's basketball programs in the classroom according to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) annual Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll, announced by the WBCA on Wednesday. With a team GPA of 3.625 for the 2021-22 academic year, former head coach Charli Turner Thorne's final Sun Devil squad finished 14th in the nation among Division I institutions. 
 
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 2021-22 season is the 27th in which the WBCA has compiled the honor rolls.
 
This year's release also marks the first year in which all teams which qualified for the top 25 rankings with the minimum 3.0 GPA also are recognized for their academic accomplishment.
 
"The WBCA family of coaches is committed to the student-athlete experience and celebrates these teams that have demonstrated excellence in the classroom," said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew. "This year's WBCA Academic Top 25 is a powerful list of teams and their head coaches who have winning cultures that prepare their student-athletes for success in life.
 
"We are also pleased this year to recognize all teams that achieved the minimum 3.0 combined GPA required for nomination. That alone is no small feat considering the rigors of playing college athletics."
 
Combined with its No. 17 placing last season, it's the second-straight season ASU has earned a spot on the WBCA's Academic Top 25 Honor Roll. In 2017, ASU's No. 5 finish in the 2016-17 rankings represented the second time in three seasons it was among the top 10 programs in the country after placing seventh for the 2014-15 academic year. 
 
For 40 years, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association has been 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 a diverse community of coaches to the 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.