Hattiesburg, Miss.- The William Carey Athletic department has released overall winning percentages for the 2023-2024 athletic year and tops all four year colleges in Mississippi. Based on winning percentages for each individual sport, William Carey University boasted a 68% total percentage for the entire athletic department.
For the 23-24 athletic year, WCU had the best overall win percentage for baseball, women's basketball, men's soccer, and women's soccer. The baseball team posted a 37-16 record en route to an SSAC Championship and back to back trips to the NAIA World Series for the first time in school history. The women's basketball team were crowned co-champions of the SSAC regular season after finishing 22-5, the best season since the early 1990's. The men's soccer team finished 16-5-1 in 2023 and reached the opening round of the NAIA tournament. The women's soccer team made it all the way to the national championship final before falling in penalty kicks to finish the season 24-1. Other notable records for the year were men's tennis (13-5), men's basketball (18-10), and softball (39-14).
In the SSAC, Carey won the Commissioner's Cup for the 8th consecutive year. The Crusaders won the overall cup along with the men's and women's divisions respectively. The last time Carey won all three divisions was during the 2018-2019 season. Carey walked away with the overall title this year, beating second place Loyola (La.) by over 25 percentage points (104.000 to 78.337). In the Men's division, Carey defeated second place Dalton State (Ga.) by over 14 percentage points (96.000 to 81.818). In the Women's Division, Carey defeated second place Loyola (La.) by over 13 percentage points (98.000 to 84.647).
Carey was also recognized as one of the top five NAIA athletic departments for the 2023-2024 season in the Learfield Cup. The Crusaders finished with 184.00 points for fall sports behind a runner-up finish from Women's Soccer and a 17th place finish from Men's Soccer. Winter sports picked up 220.00 points led by Women's Indoor Track & Field's runner-up finish at the NAIA National Championship. Men's Indoor Track & Field pulled in 80.00 more points with a fourth place finish. The winter total was rounded out with 50.00 more points courtesy of a 17th place finish from Women's Basketball. Carey solidified their top 5 finish with spring sports exploding for 391.00 points. Women's Track & Field led the way with another runner-up finish. Men's Track & Field followed with a sixth place finish and Baseball made it to the World Series, placing ninth in the NAIA. Men's tennis also finished ninth while Softball and Women's Golf placed eleventh overall each to round out the scoring.
For the 2024-2025 season, the Crusaders have picked up right where they left off from a season ago. The Crusader women's volleyball team posted a 29-11 overall record and their first ever trip to the NAIA Final Site. The 29 wins are a new school record. The men's soccer team finished 15-5-3 for the fall season reaching the NAIA Final Four for the second time in school history. The women's soccer team won the SSAC Tournament Championship and reached the NAIA Final Eight before finishing with a 20-2-1 overall record. Women's basketball is off to it's best start in school history, currently sporting a 14-0 record. The Crusader men's basketball team is also off to a hot start with a record of 12-4.
