The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) women’s basketball team has secured a spot in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III Women’s Basketball Championships for the fifth consecutive year. The Knights, ranked third nationally, completed the 2025–26 season with a 22-3 record and went undefeated in Region XXI play at 14-0. Their regional dominance was capped by an 86-51 victory over Holyoke Community College on March 1, earning them one of eight automatic bids to the national tournament.
This year marks CCRI’s highest-ever seeding in the NJCAA tournament at No. 3 out of 12 teams, which also gives them a first-round bye. The team will face either No. 6 Northland or No. 11 Dallas-Richland in the quarterfinals on March 12 at Brownwood Coliseum in Texas. This is also the first time CCRI has been seeded among the top four teams and received a bye after previously being seeded seventh, ninth, sixth, and tenth.
“We are excited to have this opportunity to win another Region XXI championship and get back to the nationals,” said head coach Doug Haynes. “I’ve said all season we can compete with anyone in the nation and we are solid enough to cause some havoc in the nationals.”
The D-III tournament begins March 11 and concludes with the national championship game on March 14. All games will be streamed via the NJCAA Network.
Under Coach Haynes’ leadership, CCRI has won five straight regional championships and made five consecutive appearances at nationals, compiling a streak of 64 consecutive wins against regional opponents over his eight seasons as head coach. This year’s team finished third nationally in points per game (80.9), second in field-goal percentage (50.5), fifth in three-point shooting percentage (31.8), allowed just 44.8 points per game—the fewest nationwide—and ranked ninth overall for rebounding.
Key contributors include sophomores Genesis McNeill, Meleeya Robbins, and Natalyah Williams—all averaging double-digit scoring figures—with Williams leading at 12.6 points per game while shooting nearly 57 percent from the field and making more three-pointers than any teammate this season (28). McNeill posted a nation-leading field goal percentage among qualifying players (65.9%) along with a team-high average of 4.5 assists per game.
Freshman Ella Johnson added depth off the bench by hitting 24 three-pointers; freshman center Charlize Romero contributed with another 21 threes; Emily Moran played all games this season averaging seven points and four rebounds off the bench.
“The biggest key this year was no injuries, which is big around this time of the year,” Haynes said. “This team is well-balanced and an unselfish group that wants to prove that it can compete with the best. Our bench has been able to play a lot and get the experience that we need to make a run at the nationals.”
CCRI started its campaign with eleven straight wins before suffering losses against Monroe University—current Region XX champion—and Southern Maine Community College early in January, followed by another loss against Central Maine Community College on Valentine’s Day.
The program seeks its first national championship title for women’s basketball; only one other CCRI athletic program has achieved such success when women’s soccer won an NJCAA Division I national title in 2002.
The Knights’ roster features players from Rhode Island and Connecticut: Layla Perry (Central Falls), Ella Johnson (Exeter), Natalyah Williams (Norwich), Kellylyn Kozlin (West Warwick), Emma Harding (West Kingston), Parisa Monterio (Central Falls), Sydney Waitekus (Narragansett), Genesis McNeill (Providence), Meleeya Robbins (Groton), Qiana Sumner (Providence), Emily Moran (Warren) and Charlize Romero (Providence).
CCRI operates as New England’s largest community college as well as Rhode Island’s largest public college according to its official website. It maintains campuses across Warwick—including its main Knight Campus—Lincoln, Providence’s Liston Campus designed for urban access, Newport County, Westerly Education Center, plus online learning options as detailed by CCRI. The institution emphasizes affordable academic pathways focused on teaching excellence and student support to enhance Rhode Island’s economy. Rosemary Costigan serves as president—the sixth person and first alumna to hold that position according to CCRI.
