Sondra Fan and Anaya Simmons Named to WBCA Collegiate All-Star Team

ATLANTA, Ga. — Adding to their long list of accolades, Christopher Newport graduate student Sondra Fan and senior Anaya Simmons were each recognized by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) as NCAA Division III Collegiate All-Stars as part of the National Semifinals banquet on Friday night. CNU was the only program to feature more than one player named to the Collegiate All-Star Team in the 2022-23 season. 

The WBCA officially announced the NCAA Division III senior women’s basketball players selected as members of the 2023 Women’s Collegiate All-Star Team on Saturday. The all-stars were chosen by a committee composed of head women’s basketball coaches at NCAA Division III programs, all of whom are members of the WBCA.

Simmons and Fan were also each named WBCA All-Americans earlier in the week with Simmons collecting first team accolades and Fan being named an Honorable Mention selection. Both record-breaking players for the Captains have helped lead the top-ranked program in the nation into the NCAA Division III Final Four, which will be played in Hartford, Conn. on Saturday evening. 

One of the most efficient scorers in NCAA Division III history, Simmons became just the fourth player ever to lead the nation in field-goal percentage in back-to-back seasons. She shot 68.5 percent from the field this season, leading Division III by over 5.5 percentage points. That mark ranks in the top-ten all-time in Division III and is currently the third-highest shooting percentage by any women’s basketball player in the NCAA, including Division I, II, and III. 

Over the course of her career, the Williamsburg, Va. native shattered the Christopher Newport and Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference records for efficiency, by knocking down 63.3 percent of the shots in her career. She ranks seventh all-time in Division III and was an integral part of the program’s success over the last three seasons. This year, she finished her career with over 1,000 points and 500 rebounds while averaging a career-high 13.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. She was named the Region VI Player of the Year, a first team All-Region and first team All-Conference selection. 

Fan had an equally impressive resume throughout her career as a 2022 first team All-American and one of the most dangerous three-point threats in the country over the last…