Pirates' WBB Recognized by WBCA for Academic Excellence

Ventura College continues to have the most recognized academic achieving collegiate women's basketball program in the country as the Pirates have been named to the Women's Basketball Coaches Association National academic Honor Roll for the 19th time in the past 20 years. VC posted an overall grade point average of 3.337 for the 2022-23 academic year, placing sixth on the national organization's Team Honor Roll.

This year's ranking is the 13th in the Top-10 for the Pirates on the WBCA's Academic Honor Roll in the past two decades.

VC was led in the classroom by sophomore all-state forward Kylie Gallick who was named one of three Scholar Athletes at the Annual Hall of Fame Induction and Student Athlete Recognition banquet. She became just the fifth player in program history to graduate with a perfect 4.0 GPA in earning the Athletic Department's top academic honor. Freshman Dani Henley also posted a perfect 4.0 GPA for the year while sophomore Sofia Torres-Reyes and freshmen Alexis Howery, Alina Olivo and Tiernan Phillips posted GPAs above 3.5 to qualify for Academic All-State recognition.

The Pirates had a 3.418 GPA in the fall and a 3.240 mark in the spring, the program's  14th and 15th consecutive terms above a 3.0 team GPA. They have also had above a 3.0 GPA collectively in 31 of the past 34 semesters dating back to the Fall of 2006.

Ventura is the only two-year college in the country to be recognized for academic honors by the WBCA in 19 of the past 20 years. Minnesota West Community and Technical College has achieved the award 12 times and Lincoln College (IL) 11 since 2004. Northwest College (WY) and Seward County (KS) have each made the list nine times over that span.  Solano Community College, this year's No. 2-ranked team had made thsi list five times in 20 years and Cypress College four times as the only other California community colleges to be recognized by the WBCA for academic excellence in the past 20 years. In all levels, four-year NAIA school Northwestern College (IA) is the only team that has been recognized as often as VC since 2004.

"The WBCA is pleased to recognize those women's basketball programs that have committed themselves to excellence on the court and in the classroom," said WBCA Executive Director Danielle Donehew.  "The teams we honor this year strive to achieve all-around success and we commend their efforts. Congratulations!"

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 2022-23 season is the 28th in which the WBCA has compiled the honor rolls.

A team's GPA is calculated by dividing the total number of quality points (A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0) earned by the total number of academic hours attempted by all team members in the academic terms (semesters or quarters) that the season spans. Weighted grades are converted to a 4.0 scale. The GPAs are rounded to the nearest thousandth of a point. Teams are nominated for the honor by the WBCA member head coach. A team must have a 3.000 or better GPA to be nominated.

About the Women's Basketball Coaches Association

Founded in 1981, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association is the professional association for coaches of women's and girls' basketball at all levels of competition. 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.

See WBCA Press Release