Your Complete List of Women’s Division 3 Basketball Colleges

Potential women’s basketball recruits with strong academic backgrounds and a desire for a well-rounded college experience should explore a Division 3 women’s basketball colleges list. About 1.6 percent of all high-school women’s basketball players go on to compete at some of the best Division 3 basketball schools in the country—so what exactly makes D3 women’s basketball such a popular option?

Division 3 women’s basketball scholarships provide the ultimate sports-life balance. While programs are still competitive, they offer a less demanding time commitment, especially during the off season, and allow students to have a more traditional college experience. Basketball recruits can also explore other extracurricular interests or take up an intramural sport to maintain their athleticism during the off-season, study abroad, intern or work on-campus and more. The added flexibility and free time also comes in handy when it comes to keeping up with demanding coursework, as the best Division 3 women’s basketball schools are also some of the most academically selective schools in the country.

Student-athletes often overlook D3 women’s basketball schools simply because they don’t offer athletic scholarships. However, athletes with excellent academic standing—high GPA and ACT/SAT scores—shouldn’t write off Division 3 basketball colleges just yet. Schools at this level often provide robust financial aid packages to incoming student-athletes, including a combination of financial aid and merit-based scholarships, bringing down overall college costs significantly from their advertised, “sticker price.” Additionally, a significantly less demanding athletic schedule also means more time to take on a potential paid internship, part-time campus job, or partake in a work-study program to get some hands-on experience. Get more information about college basketball recruiting rankings.

How many D3 women’s basketball colleges are there? 

If you’re a high school student-athlete interested in pursuing basketball at the next level, but also want a more balanced college experience, you’re in luck. There are more than 430 D3 women’s basketball colleges across the country. Not only does this make Division 3 women’s basketball colleges the largest NCAA division level offering the sport—with 439 total member colleges—it also makes it the largest division level among all 4-year colleges. Fortunately for recruits who excel both athletically and academically, this means there are plenty of opportunities to land a roster spot on one of these basketball teams. Get more information about AAU girls basketball.

Division 3 women’s basketball rankings and best Division 3 women’s basketball schools

Several organizations offer NCAA Division 3 women’s basketball rankings, including the NCAA and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Here are the best division 3 women’s basketball schools, according to the NCSA Power Rankings:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology – MIT
2. Johns Hopkins University
3. University of Chicago
4. Emory University
5. Tufts University
6. Washington University in St. Louis
7. Amherst College
8. Williams College
9. Carnegie Mellon University
10. University of Rochester

These top ten Division 3 women’s basketball colleges are just some, not all, of the best Division 3 women’s basketball schools in the country. When exploring your options, it’s important to look at opportunities at every division level, or for those set on competing D3, evaluating more—if not all—of the programs found on a Division 3 women’s basketball colleges list. Remember to base your own target lists on overall athletic, academic, social and financial fit, and not just on whether they appear on Division 3 basketball rankings lists.