unpopular opinion I reckon but I just had to get it off my chest.
Probably not nearly as unpopular as you might think.
You mention some things that are quite true and have already been mentioned by others.
Building a VN with so many LIs is Sisyphean effort. It's not for nothing that some of the more successful VNs (I don't know all of them, so it's possible I'm being rather subjective there) have a main cast of LIs that is usually in single digits, and possibly occasional side LIs. And even those try to evolve, and the better ones manage to do so visually. Here, however, you see rather the opposite: the quality decreases and the time for progress grows to a level like I have seen so far in plots of a sandbox story, where things have to be considered and coded for all possible constellations.
I think it would have been easier if BD would have concentrated on a certain number of LI until WVM would have been finished and then ask Patreons which ladies from a selection of X should become LIs.
I think ladies with primary focus in such a scenario could have been Jamie, Shauna, Liz, Bailey, Harper, Natalie, Stacy, Jasmine, Zoe and maybe Katie (with the old design) and Kimmy the focus, with following storylines:
Jamie and the conflict with her mother.
Shauna and whatever is going on with the parents.
Bailey and the situation around Rainn.
Harper with the pressure to finally deliver a successful season.
Helping Natalie overcome Harper's trauma.
Rebuilding the old friendship with Stacy
Showing Jasmine what a real relationship feels like
Finding and fixing Zoe and the source of her commitment anxiety
Katie and the mystery surrounding Ethan's father and her parents' passing. And that the students and faculty don't trust her because of her brother and uncle
Kimmy the sports rivalry she has toward Ethan, find out what kind of problem her cousin has with him, and help the two establish a friendly sports rivalry that spurs them both to high performance.