Eight names to know

More news about: Babson | Bowdoin | Coe | New York University | Transylvania | UW-Whitewater | Washington and Lee | Washington U.
Nov 03, 2024

 

By Gordon Mann, D3hoops.com

If you're new to Division III women's basketball, it can be overwhelming.

Over the next five months, hundreds of teams, spread from coast to coast, will play thousands of games. We cover this wide, wonderful world at a national level through our Top 25, our conference standings, and eventually our postseason coverage. Zoom in from that national perspective, and you'll find the best parts of any season season are the thousands of people who play and coach basketball at this level.

We can't share all of their stories, but here are eight names to know for the 2024-25 season.

Natalie Bruns, New York University forward

The last time we saw Natalie Bruns, she was celebrating a national championship with her NYU teamates and head coach Meg Barber.
 Photo by Doug Sasse, d3photography.com
 


Natalie Bruns had a storybook senior season for the Violets.

She was the best player on one of the most talented teams in Division III women’s basketball history. She was the consensus Player of the Year every way imaginable – in her conference, her region, the nation, and the NCAA Tournament. And the Violets had an undefeated run to the NCAA title.

What a way to finish her career ... except it’s not over yet.

Bruns has an extra year of athletic eligibility because COVID wiped out her freshman season (2020-21), and she’ll use that year while doing graduate studies at NYU’s School of Engineering.

Bruns played more like a Point Forward last season so fellow All-American Morgan Morrison could play center as a more traditional back-to-the-basket. With Morrison gone, it’ll be interesting to see if Bruns changes her game again or if the Violets have another star ready to bloom in the post. NYU has plenty of firepower in the backcourt with All-American Belle Pellecchia and All-American-in-waiting Caroline Peper both back.

NYU opens with a pair of NEWMAC foes (MIT and Babson) and will also face Tufts, Nazareth and Middlebury before getting into bruising UAA play.

Caydee Kirkham, Coe College guard

Coe College athletics photo
 

With several top players using their extra year of eligibility, it’s become even harder to crack our All-American list. We thought it would be fun to try to pick someone who makes the jump to that ultra elite level, while also taking their team to heights not recently reached.

A reigning conference MVP does not usually have to worry about being overshadowed. But when she splits the conference’s top award three ways and the other two players were also post-season All-Americans, that could provide extra motivation for the next season.

That’s the story of Coe guard Caydee Kirkham, who shared ARC MVP honors with Wartburg’s Jaedon Murphy and Loras’ Sami Martin. Those two players also enjoyed NCAA Tournament runs, with Murphy reaching the national semifinals.

But this isn’t about them! It’s about Kirkham who led Coe to a 22-6 record last season, led the ARC in scoring, and just missed setting the program’s single-season scoring record. She also shot an eye-popping 46 percent from three and 52 percent from the field.

Last season was the Kohawks’ first with at least 20 wins since 2012. That was also the last season that Coe made the NCAA Tournament and the last time Coe had a player win conference MVP. That person is now Coe’s head coach – Kayla Waskow.

Under Waskow, the Kohawks have quietly improved from eight wins in 2022 to 18 in 2023 to 22 last season. If that trend continues, Kirkham and the Kohawks will be playing in the spotlights of the NCAA Tournament.

Hannah Varel, Transylvania University head coach

Dasia Thornton (left) is gone, but Hannah Varel will try to keep the Pioneers on the path toward title contention.
 

When New York University defeated Transylvania in the national semifinals last season, it ended two runs.

It ended the Pioneers’ 64-game winning streak that included a perfect run through the 2022-23 season. We didn’t know it at the time, but it also marked the end of Juli Fulks’ run as a Division III head coach. After 20 seasons and 400 wins between Lewis and Clark and Transylvania, Fulks made the jump to Division I as the new head coach at Marshall.

The Pioneers did not have to look far for her replacement. Fulks’ assistant Hannah Varel was named to the job a few days after Fulks announced her departure. Varel was an integral part of the Pioneers’ rise to national prominence and the WBCA Division III Assistant Coach of the Year last season.

Like Fulks whose professional experience extended beyond basketball, Varel worked as a CPA at PricewaterhouseCoopers before entering collegiate coaching as an assistant at Hanover. She’ll be responsible for ensuring that the Pioneers’ success continues, even without Fulks, All-American Dasia Thornton and HCAC Defensive Player of the Year Kennedi Stacy.

We’ve seen programs, such as FDU-Florham and Howard Payne, rise to dominance under one coach and then fade back into the Division III landscape when he or she departs. And while the Pioneers were picked first in the HCAC preseason poll, Mount St. Joseph finished just one point behind and had more first place votes.

Will the Pioneers stay on the path to national title contention? The nonconference schedule that includes a trip to California, two games at WashU’s tournament and a home game with DePauw should give us an early indication.

Kacie Carollo, UW-Whitewater guard

Photo by Doug Sasse, d3photography.com
 


In 2022, UW-Whitewater and head coach Keri Carollo advanced to the national title game when Carollo’s daughter Kacie drained two pressure-packed free throws that iced the Warhawks 55-51 win over Amherst.

Two days later, Hope defeated UW-Whitewater for the national championship and the Carollo family watched Flying Dutch head coach Brian Morehouse celebrate the title with his daughter-player Meg Morehouse.

UW-Whitewater and the Carollos have had lots of success since finishing as 2022 national runners-up. The Warhawks reached the Sweet 16 in 2023 and the Elite 8 last season, and Kacie Carollo was named All-American at the end of both seasons.

But time flies when you’re having fun, and Kacie is now entering her senior season with one more chance to win a national championship with her head coach/mother Keri and assistant coach/father Joe Carollo.

The Warhawks were the only team in our Top 25 to receive a No. 1 vote besides NYU, and they return 6-2 senior forward Katie Hildebrandt, who averaged just under 10 points a game with 29 starts last season. But UW-Whitewater also lost two big contributors to those Tournament teams. Multi-time All-American Aleah Grundahl has graduated and long-time assistant Kirsten Hammer moved south to take the head coaching job at Millikin.

One thing remains the same – the WIAC looks like one of  the deepest conferences in the country. Three WIAC teams made our Top 15 with consistently excellent UW-Oshkosh ranked 8th and rising UW-Stout ranked 13th.  

If the Carollo connection does lead to a championship, the Warhawks will have to battle through a bruising non-conference schedule that has No. 10 Illinois Wesleyan, No. 21 Carroll, and No. 24 DePauw, and that’s just in the first month! Throw in the four games with Oshkosh and Stout and the Warhawks will play at least seven games against teams ranked in our preseason poll.

Lisa Stone, Washington U. head coach


When Randi Henderson left WashU for an assistant job at her alma mater Division I Iowa, the University turned to former legendary head coach Nancy Fahey to lead the search committee to find her replacement. And then that committee turned to one of Fahey’s long-time acquaintances, Lisa Stone, to lead the Bears’ program forward.

Before winning 356 games in Division I between Wisconsin, Drake and St. Louis University, Stone led UW-Eau Claire to 11 NCAA Tournament berths, a national semifinalist finish in 1994, and a memorable showdown against Fahey’s Bears in 2000.

That season the Blugolds and Bears met in the Sectional Semifinals of the 2000 NCAA Tournament, with the Bears riding a 66-game winning streak. That was Division III women’s basketball’s first 1-versus-2 matchup in the NCAA Tournament, and Fahey’s Bears prevailed 81-63 on their way to a third straight national championship.

“It was a battle against a well-coached and talented regional opponent Eau Claire.  I had known Lisa Stone since college, so it was a special game in many ways.   You knew it was going to be a battle from the tip-off,” Fahey recalled years later.

Stone went on to success at the Division I level where she was named the Coach of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference, Big 10 and Atlantic 10. She returns to Division III where she’ll have last year’s National Rookie of the Year Lexy Harris in the post and two-time First Team All-UAA selection Jessica Brooks, who returns as a graduate student.

Mary Schleusner, Washington and Lee University center

Photo by Steve LaBonte, d3photography.com
 

Schleusner has slotted into our recent All-American teams as a center, but the Generals’ roster might have a better designation for the extremely talented rising junior.

Schleusner returns to W&L after posting one of the most impressive sophomore campaigns that we’ve seen. Schleusner set a new NCAA Tournament record with 104 points in just four games and also broke the Tournament record for rebounds in a single game twice, first by grabbing 29 versus Vassar and then grabbing 33 against Rhode Island College two games later.

Schleusner powered the Generals to their first ever appearance in the Sectional round of the NCAA Tournament, and W&L should be the favorite again in the ODAC. Schleusner also has a chance to win the scoring and rebounding title this season. She finished 7th in scoring and 1st in rebounding last year.

The Generals will look different this year since head coach Christine Clancy stepped away and was replaced by Brittney Kemp, who was the UEC Coach of the Year two seasons ago at St. Mary’s (Md.). W&L also lost Second Team All-Region guard Hanna Malik who transferred to Emory for graduate studies.

The Generals will start the season at home against USA South Athletic Conference champs Southern Virginia, and then head to Emory for a reunion matchup with Malik. The Generals ring in the new year by playing MIAC contender Concordia-Moorhead at Transylvania and then potentially face the Pioneers the next day.

Sidney Jones, Bowdoin College guard

Bowdoin athletics photo
 

If you’ve only been following Division III basketball for a couple years, you may not remember when three NESCAC teams  -- Amherst, Bowdoin and Tufts -- dominated this level of basketball.

At least one of the three made the national semifinals every year from 2009 through 2020. When Amherst won back-to-back championships in 2017 and 2018, the Mammoths had to beat Tufts and Bowdoin in the title games.

When COVID-19 wiped out the last two weekends of the 2020 NCAA Tournament, those three teams plus conference mate Williams accounted for a quarter of the remaining 16 teams. The NESCAC did not play in 2021 and, while Amherst made the 2022 Final Four, the conference has not returned to that level of dominance.

Entering this season, Bowdoin has the best chance to end the NESCAC’s modest drought. The Polar Bears, who lost to Smith in the Elite 8 last season, return three starters including the Region’s top player Sidney Jones.

Jones, who is a mathematics and computer science major, filled the stat sheet last season with 15.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game. Then she took her basketball and quant skills to the Boston Celtics where she worked as an Analysis Intern during the offseason.

Bowdoin will spend most of this season in New England, including the home opener against Skidmore. The Polar Bears will only play three games outside of New England but they’re all against quality opponents. Bowdoin faces NCAA Tournament hopefuls Denison, Emory and New Jersey City over the holidays.

Toni Thompson, Babson College guard

The last time we saw Toni Thompson, she was leading Occidental to the SCIAC tournament title.
Photo by Ryan Coleman, d3photography.com
 

Most of the splashy offseason transfer news involved decorated players leaving Division III.

The list of Division III All-Stars who will play Division I ball while pursuing graduate studies this season includes Elyce Knudsen (Millikin to Illinois State), Damaris Rodriguez (New Jersey City to Monmouth, NJ), Julia Blanck (Skidmore to Vermont), and Arieona Rosborough (Mary Hardin-Baylor to Tarleton State).

But one All-Region player who specializes in going coast-to-coast on the court will do so in real life, and remain in Division III.

After leading the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in scoring and rebounding last year, Toni Thompson transferred from Occidental to Boston-based Babson where she’ll play for the Beavers while attending graduate school.

Thompson’s versatility was on full display at the 2023 D3hoops.com Classic when she took home Most Outstanding Player honors. She helped lead Occidental to the SCIAC tournament title and an NCAA Tournament bid, and added first-team All-Conference and second-team All-Region accolades to her resume.

Thompson will join a Babson team that took a step back last season after reaching the 2023 Elite 8. The Beavers were still solid in 2023-24, finishing 15-13 and reaching the NEWMAC title game. They should contend for the conference title again this season as Thompson is a great complement to All-Conference guard Katelyn Mollica who returns to Babson Park for her senior season.

Babson will play defending national champions NYU in the second game of the season and then face NCAA Tournament participants Bates, Webster and Springfield before entering conference play.