Once again, Yellow Jackets women's basketball is making an impressive name for itself both in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and nationally as the wins keep coming and the team pushes forward to postseason success.
Ranked No. 8 nationally, Baldwin Wallace women's basketball is looking strong on the court. On Feb. 4, the team defeated Mount Union to win its 30th-straight regular season Ohio Athletic Conference game, a streak dating back to February 17, 2024.
The game also boosted the team's 15-game winning streak and gave the Yellow Jackets a season record of 19-2, with 12-0 in the OAC.
At the forefront of the team's success is head coach Cheri Harrer – lauded as the winningest coach, male or female, in OAC basketball history, sixth among active Division III coaches and 49th all-time of all NCAA coaches at any level.
This year marks her 36th season as BW head women's basketball coach. In that time, she has led the Yellow Jackets to 12 Ohio Athletic Conference Regular Season Championships (including eight outright), nine OAC Tournament titles, 19 NCAA Division III National Tournament appearances, eight NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances and four NCAA Elite 8 appearances.
On March 20, 2017, Harrer was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame. On January 11, 2025, her wins tallied 700 – with the number still ticking upward.
In July, BW earned another top recognition. For the 13th time in program history – and the fifth time in the last six seasons – the women's basketball team received the prestigious Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Team Award.
The WBCA Academic Top 25 annually recognizes women's basketball programs across NCAA Divisions I, II and III, as well as NAIA* and two-year colleges, that achieve the highest combined team grade point averages.
BW finished the 2024-25 year tied for ninth nationally with an impressive 3.797 team GPA. The Yellow Jackets were the only OAC team represented in the Top 25, one of just two teams from Ohio and one of four teams from NCAA Region 7.
Also impressive last year was the team's season and postseason success. Harrer and the team finished with a program-best 29–2 overall record. In addition, the Yellow Jackets earned their 12th OAC regular-season title and ninth OAC Tournament championship. They went on to make their 19th NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. The postseason run included the program's eighth Sweet 16 and fourth Elite Eight finishes.
*National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
