FHSU Athletics
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State is ranked No. 19 in the NABC Top 25 Poll as it enters the NCAA Division II National Tournament this weekend in Mankato, Minn. The Tigers will be participating in the Central Regional, hosted by the region's top-ranked team Minnesota State. The Tigers hold a record of 23-7 and make their eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Mark Johnson. This is the seventh-straight week the Tigers have been in the NABC Top 25.
Fort Hays State will be making its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2016. The Tigers have won at least 21 games each of the last three seasons. They have reached 23 wins for the sixth time under Mark Johnson.
The Tigers are coming off a loss to Pittsburg State in the MIAA Tournament Semifinals this past Saturday in Kansas City. The Tigers' regular season resume was strong enough this year to get into the NCAA Central Regional as one of five at-large bids, after being left out of the field each of the last two years despite strong bodies of work in both 2021-22 and 2022-23.
Fort Hays State and Northwest Missouri State continue to represent the MIAA in the Top 25 of the NABC poll. NWMSU is No. 4 once again this week, holding its ground after winning the MIAA Tournament title to go with its regular season title. With its hot streak to get into the national tournament, Pittsburg State moved up in the receiving votes list this week.
The Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament will feature five NABC Top 25 ranked teams. Tournament host Minnesota State is the No. 2 ranked team in the country, followed by Northwest Missouri State at No. 4, Minnesota Duluth at No. 10, MSU Moorhead at No. 11, and Fort Hays State at No. 19. The South Central Regional is the only other regional in the NCAA Tournament that will have the same amount of top 25 teams competing. The Atlantic and Southeast regions each have four top 25 teams. Those four regions out of eight total combine for 18 of the NABC Top 25 teams nationally.
Below is the latest NABC Top 25 Poll.
Rank Team Record Points Prev
1 Nova Southeastern (Fla.) (15) 27-2 399 1
2 Minnesota State 29-2 381 2
3 Gannon, Pa. 29-2 358 3
4 Northwest Missouri State (1) 27-4 355 4
5 Fort Lewis, Colo. 28-3 337 6
6 Colorado Mesa 27-4 295 5
7 Charleston, W.Va. 27-4 275 12
8 California, Pa. 27-4 274 8
9 West Texas A&M 26-4 271 7
10 Minnesota Duluth 25-6 227 9
11 MSU Moorhead, Minn. 24-5 219 11
12 Dallas Baptist, Texas 24-5 213 10
13 West Georgia 26-5 200 18
14 North Georgia 25-6 180 20
15 St. Thomas Aquinas, N.Y. 25-5 178 15
16 West Liberty, W.Va. 25-6 167 13
17 Cal State LA 24-7 124 NR
18 USC Aiken, S.C. 23-6 111 17
19 Fort Hays State, Kan. 23-7 96 16
20 Cal State San Bernardino 23-7 82 19
21 Indianapolis, Ind. 22-8 78 23
22 Walsh, Ohio 24-5 63 24
23 Colorado School of Mines 24-8 52 21
24 UNC Pembroke, N.C. 23-6 45 NR
25 Catawba, N.C. 22-5 43 NR
Receiving Votes: Saint Michael's (Vt.) 39, East Stroudsburg (Pa.) 34, Emmanuel (Ga.) 21, Pittsburg State (Kan.) 13, Eastern New Mexico 12, Benedict (S.C.) 11, Upper Iowa 9, Ferris State (Mich.) 8, Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) 8, Concord (W.Va.) 6, Florida Southern 5, Cal State Dominguez Hills 4, Daemen (N.Y.) 4, Kentucky Wesleyan 4, Minot State (N.C.) 3, Montana State-Billings 3, William Jewell (Mo.) 3, Lubbock Christian (Texas) 2, Winona State (Minn.) 2.