ATLANTA — The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) placed four student-athletes on the 2026 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) NCAA Division III Coaches’ All-America teams announced Thursday. Carroll senior Natalie Gricius was named to the First Team, while Illinois Wesleyan seniors Ava Bardic and Sawyer White and Elmhurst junior Kristin Bukata each received Honorable Mention recognition.
 
Gricius became the first student-athlete in Carroll history to earn WBCA Coaches’ All-America status and was one of 10 players nationally selected to the First Team. The senior forward added the honor to a season that also included All-Region Player of the Year recognition and selection to the 2026 WBCA Women’s Collegiate All-Star Game. During the 2025-26 campaign, Gricius established Carroll’s single-season scoring record and became the third player in program history to surpass 1,500 career points and 500 rebounds.
 
Illinois Wesleyan was represented by Bardic and White, marking the first time since 2018 that the program produced multiple WBCA All-America honorees in the same season. Bardic finished the year with 561 total points, averaging 19.3 points per game to rank 12th in NCAA Division III, while her season scoring total stands as the third-highest single-season mark in program history. A unanimous First Team All-CCIW selection, Bardic is also scheduled to compete in the WBCA Women’s Collegiate All-Star Game.
 
White turned in a career-best season on the defensive end, recording 111 steals to break Illinois Wesleyan’s career record and move into second place in CCIW history. She also led the Titans in assists with 128 and blocks with 21, while ranking sixth nationally in steals. White and Bardic helped lead Illinois Wesleyan to a 23-6 overall record, a share of the CCIW regular-season championship and the 2026 CCIW Tournament title.
 
Bukata rounded out the conference’s honorees after earning WBCA All-America Honorable Mention recognition. A unanimous First Team All-CCIW selection, the junior led all of NCAA Division III in assists per game at 7.4 and ranked third in the conference in scoring at 17.4 points per game. Earlier this season, Bukata became the 13th player in Elmhurst history to reach 1,000 career points and concluded her junior year as the program’s career leader in assists with 344.