NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Extending a run of now nine consecutive years, the Christopher Newport women's basketball team will start the 2025-26 season ranked in the top-20 according to the D3hoops.com Preseason Poll released on Friday. The Captains are ranked No. 20 in the preseason rankings, marking the 11th time in 13 seasons that CNU starts the season in the top-20 under head coach
Bill Broderick.
The Captains are coming off a season in which they closed the year ranked No. 14 in the WBCA Coaches' Poll and No. 18 in the D3hoops.com Top 25. CNU finished out the season with a 26-2 overall record an extended a nine-year postseason appearance streak under Broderick. Along the way, the Captains captured a sixth consecutive conference championship after hoisting the Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference trophy.
CNU ranked second nationally in bench scoring (43.5 ppg) and were among the highest-scoring offenses in the nation with 78.3 points per game ranking 12th in Division III. Additionally, the Captains stout defense continued to frustrate opponents with 16.3 steals per game, ranking fifth in the country, and 30.6 turnovers forced per game, ranking fourth.
Heading into the season, the Captains will need to replace over 50 percent of its scoring and rebounding from last year's squad after the exit of a large senior class, but the voters have an impressive history of success to lean on as they have selected Christopher Newport to compete among the nation's elite again in 2025-26. The Captains last started a season unranked in 2015-16 and have paid off the voters' faith with nine NCAA Tournament appearances and seven consecutive trips to the sectional round in that span.
This season, the Captains feature a pair of seniors in
Hailey Kellogg and
McKenna Snively along with a strong contingent of five juniors to round out the upperclassmen. The juniors are
Elizabeth Creed,
Caitlin Crump,
Jessica Dornak,
Mia Wilson, and newcomer
Kendra Rigo.
Kellogg started 13 games and played a team-high 20.3 minutes per game last season while ranking second on the team in assists with 65. Snively ranked third on the team in three-pointers made with 26 and was a hard-nosed defender for the Captains in a strong third year. The juniors were paced by
Elizabeth Creed, who started 18 minutes and ranked third on the team in scoring (7.4 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.7 rpg). Crump, Dornak, and Wilson each saw action in 20+ games while helping add to the vital depth of the fast-paced CNU system. Rigo is a transfer from New Jersey City University where she started all 27 games and averaged 8.8 points per game.
The underclassmen are eager to make an impact including returners
Madison McKenzie and
Sarah Pritz who were a big part of the rotation in 2024-25. Eight more newcomers, including Division I transfers
Atiana Williams (James Madison) and
Noelle Cabiness (Le Moyne), are set to add depth to the CNU roster. Among them are six freshmen in
Kaycee Doughty (Ashland, Va.),
Hazel Grepps (South Riding, Va.),
Sydney Richardson (Chesterfield, Va.),
Lily Soller (Cresco, Pa.),
Denniyah Tanner (North Chicago, Ill.), and
Sydney Worsham (Richmond, Va.).
Christopher Newport will return to the hardwood on the road as the Captains will travel to the Fred Raizk Memorial Classic at Wilmington College (Ohio) from November 8-9. CNU will take on Wittenberg University in the opeer before also facing UC Santa Cruz. The Captains will stay on the road for the duration of November before playing their first home game on Tuesday, December 2 against Marymount University at 6:00 p.m.
CNU is scheduled to face three teams receiving votes in the preseason national rankings including No. 8 Johns Hopkins (Nov. 16). The Captains will also take on Bridgewater (Nov 15) and WashU (Dec. 30); both are receiving votes in the preseason top 25.
D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25 Rankings- Christopher Newport
2025-26 -- No. 20
2024-25 -- No. 9
2023-24 -- No. 3
2022-23 -- No. 6
2021-22 -- No. 20
2019-20 -- No. 15
2018-19 -- No. 20
2017-18 -- No. 2
2016-17 -- No. 15
2015-16 -- unranked
2014-15 -- No. 18
2013-14 -- No. 3
2012-13 -- unranked
D3hoops.com women's Top 25, 2025-26 preseason
Entering 2025-26 season
Others receiving votes: Coe 85; Washington and Jefferson 72; Washington U. 67; Bridgewater 60; Trine 57; UW-Stout 54; Wartburg 47; Colby 42; Gustavus Adolphus 38; Whitman 38; Colorado College 34; Ohio Wesleyan 24; Merchant Marine 22; Elizabethtown 20; Hamilton 10; Messiah 10; UW-Whitewater 8; UW-River Falls 7; East Texas Baptist 6; Texas Lutheran 6; Widener 6; McMurry 5; McDaniel 1; Transylvania 1
The D3hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly. Points are awarded on a 25-24-23-22-etc. basis.
