BABSON PARK, Mass.—Babson College graduate student Toni Thompson (Newbury Park, Calif.) was named to the D3hoops.com Preseason All-America fifth team on Thursday afternoon. 

A transfer from Occidental College, Thompson returned from injury to averaging 24.5 points, 11. 2 rebounds and 2.2 steals while shooting 42.5 percent in 26 starts last season. She recorded 17 double-doubles, scored 30 or more points seven times and reached double figures in scoring in all but one contest while leading the Tigers to their first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) championship and NCAA Tournament berth since 2011 last winter. 

In addition to the team success, Thompson capped the 2023-24 campaign by earning Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-America honorable mention honors and D3hoops.com Region X second-team laurels. 

The 2022 SCIAC Newcomer of the Year, Thompson averaged 20.1 points and 8.7 boards while shooting 46.8 percent from the floor during her rookie campaign before missing all of the 2022-23 season due to a knee injury. Over two seasons, she averaged 22.6 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.0 steals while shooting 44 percent in 45 games. 

Thompson joins a Babson program that reached its third consecutive New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament final last winter under first-year head coach Kate Barnosky. The Beavers, who are just two years removed from reaching the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, went 15-13 overall and 7-4 in league play last year and were picked to finish third when the conference released its preseason poll earlier this month. 

Babson is set to open its season against Swarthmore on November 8 and No. 1 NYU on November 9 at the Scholars Classic in New York City.