FHSU Athletics
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State Men's Basketball is among the receiving votes list of the NABC Preseason Top 25 Poll, released on Tuesday (Oct. 27). The Tigers are coming off a 19-10 overall record in 2025-26, the 17th time the Tigers have reached at least 19 wins in a season under head coach Mark Johnson.
This is the fifth-straight year the Tigers either received votes or were ranked inside the NABC Top 25 to start a season. The FHSU men enter their 26th season under Johnson's guidance. He holds an overall record of 492-240.
Washburn and Central Missouri represent the MIAA in the top 25 to start the 2026-27 season. The Ichabods are ranked No. 2 in the nation, while the Mules are No. 19. Missouri Western and Missouri Southern join FHSU in the receiving votes list.
The Tigers will open their 2026-27 season in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Tigers will take on Southwest Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul on November 13-14.
Below is the NABC Preseason Top 25 Poll for 2026-27.
RANK SCHOOL 2025-2026 POINTS PREVIOUS
1 Nova Southeastern (7) 31-2 387 1
2 Washburn (3) 31-2 362 3
3 Gannon (6) 34-3 342 6
4 West Liberty 27-5 283 7
5 Dallas Baptist 29-7 276 15
6 Black Hills State 30-5 261 10
7 Lander 30-6 260 23
8 Cal State East Bay 33-1 228 2
9 Minnesota State 21-12 198 NR
10 West Alabama 27-6 185 17
11 Point Loma 27-6 183 19
12 Oklahoma Baptist 31-4 181 8
13 Palm Beach Atlantic 26-6 164 11
14 Walsh 29-4 162 9
15 Daemen 33-2 151 4
16 Eastern New Mexico 26-6 133 13
17 Grand Valley State 26-7 131 22
18 Anderson 29-3 129 5
19 Central Missouri 24-10 112 NR
20 McKendree 22-8 107 NR
21 Saint Martin's 26-6 100 18
22 St. Cloud State 26-7 95 25
23 Lubbock Christian 27-6 94 14
24 Fairmont State 26-6 70 12
25 Alabama Huntsville 23-10 56 NR
Receiving Votes: Cal State San Bernardino 54, Michigan Tech 51, Saint Michael's (Vt.) 44, Lake Superior State (Mich.) 41, Fayetteville State (N.C.) 37, Lake Erie (Ohio) 28, Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) 28, William Jewell (Mo.) 28, Minnesota Duluth 22, CSU Pueblo (Colo.) 20, Columbus State (Ga.) 18, Missouri Western 17, Bentley (Mass.) 16, Florida Southern 14, Morehouse (Ga.) 14, Indiana (Pa.) 12, Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) 11, Miles (Ala.) 10, Missouri Southern 10, St. Edward's (Texas) 10, Northern Michigan 9, Cal Poly Humboldt 8, Southern Nazarene (Okla.) 8, Catawba (N.C.) 7, Cal State Dominguez Hills 6, Westmont (Calif.) 6, Felician (N.J.) 5, Jefferson (Pa.) 4, Rockhurst (Mo.) 4, Charleston (W.Va.) 3, Shepherd (W.Va.) 2, Southern New Hampshire 2, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 1, Saint Anselm (N.H.) 1.