WCAC in Women's College Basketball

 So, this season (2022-2023), there are at least 59 D1 men's college basketball players that had spent time at WCAC schools.  What about in the women's game?

We took some 10-year olds to a girls' high school basketball game this weekend and their first major impression was "these kids move fast!"  The speed at which high school basketball is played in the WCAC is still something, after almost an entire season of watching up close, I find remarkable.  It may be that there are other high school leagues that match it, but night in and night out, an extraordinary level of athleticism is required to win games in the WCAC.

Mining data from rosters for women's college basketball teams is more difficult than with the men's, likely due to the differential in resources dedicated to the two sports.  Nevertheless, at a minimum, there are 45 D1 women's college basketball players that had spent time at a WCAC school for the 2022-2023 season.  This is a lot less than I expected, given the number of players in men's basketball with ties to the WCAC.  

To be sure, the DMV seems to also be over-represented in D1 programs compared to other regions of the country, but unlike in the men's game there are many more players at that level coming out of public high schools and private schools outside of the WCAC.  A review of rosters indicates that the most prolific school at turning out D1 women's basketball players in the area has been the New Hope Academy, and Riverdale Baptist has turned out a fair share as well.

Nine of the WCAC schools are represented on D1 rosters, led by St. John's College and Bishop McNamara with 10 each.  Eight D1 players came from St. Paul VI, while six are from Our Lady Of Good Counsel, four from Bishop O'Connell, three from Bishop Ireton, two from Elizabeth Seton, and one each from St. Mary's Ryken and Archbishop Carroll.  I could find no D1 player with a tie to the Academy of the Holy Cross.

The 45 players with WCAC ties played in 20 different conferences.  Eight played in the ACC, five in the Colonial, three apiece in the Ivy League, the SEC, the American Athletic Conference, and the America East.  The Big Ten, Conference USA, MEAC, Metro Atlantic, Northeast, and Sunbelt conferences each have two WCAC players, while the PAC-12, Big East, Mountain West, A10, Big South, Patriot, SWAC, and ASUN each have one WCAC player.

Of all of the teams in D1, Elon boasts the most from the WCAC (3), while NC State, Columbia, UCF, and Maine have two from the WCAC.  The other schools with WCAC players are: Maryland, Northwestern, UConn, USC, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss, Cornell, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, University of North Carolina, Boston College, Appalachian State, Drexel, James Madison, Loyola (Maryland), Binghamton, Rice, Campbell, St. Bonaventure, Utah State, Central Connecticut, Stony Brook, Coppin State, Wichita State, Manhattan, Stetson, Mount St. Mary's, Western Kentucky, North Carolina Central, Wagner, and Texas Southern.