NAPERVILLE – A preseason poll submitted by College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) women's basketball head coaches selected reigning co-champion Illinois Wesleyan as the league’s favorite for the 2024-25 campaign, according to a Thursday announcement from the conference office.
2024-25 CCIW Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
| Team (First-place votes) |
Points |
| 1. Illinois Wesleyan (7) |
63 |
| 2. Carroll (2) |
58 |
| T3. Millikin |
42 |
| T3. North Central |
42 |
| T5. Augustana |
30 |
| T5. Carthage |
30 |
| 7. Elmhurst |
28 |
| 8. Wheaton |
22 |
| 9. North Park |
8 |
In ballots collected from nine head coaches earlier this month, the Titans notched seven first-place votes and 63 points overall to claim the top spot. IWU went 23-6 last season with a 14-2 league record. The Titans advanced to the CCIW Tournament title game and ultimately the second round of the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
Thursday’s announcement marks the first time Illinois Wesleyan has been the preseason CCIW women’s basketball favorite since the 2017-18 season.
Carroll – which achieved a pair of firsts last winter with a share of the league’s regular-season championship and the CCIW Tournament crown – was placed second in the 2024-25 poll. The Pioneers had the other two first-place nods and compiled 58 points in the poll. CU also won a school-record 23 games and went to the national postseason for the first time since 2007.
There was a tie for third place in the preseason poll. Millikin, which won an NCAA Tournament game for the third consecutive year last season, was placed alongside North Central with 42 points apiece. The Cardinals tied for fourth place in the league standings a year ago and are looking to climb the league ladder for the second consecutive season.
Augustana and Carthage tied for fifth position with 30 points each. The Vikings were a CCIW Tournament semifinalist last season and have won three of their last five CCIW Tournament games.
The final three spots in Thursday’s poll went to Elmhurst, Wheaton and North Park.
The 2024-25 regular season begins Friday, Nov. 8 with four CCIW teams in action. The league schedule, in which all teams play the traditional 16-game slate – tips off on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
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The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, Ill.), Carroll University (Waukesha, Wis.), Carthage College (Kenosha, Wis.), Elmhurst University (Elmhurst, Ill.), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, Ill.), Millikin University (Decatur, Ill.), North Central College (Naperville, Ill.), North Park University (Chicago, Ill.) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, Ill.).