FHSU Athletics
INDIANAPOLIS – Fort Hays State Men's Basketball was unlisted in the latest edition of NCAA Region Rankings released on Wednesday. The Tigers went from No. 8 in the rankings to unlisted among the top 10, even though they went 1-0 since the last rankings came out. As noted before, the rankings can shift week-to-week as results of all teams around the region can affect the formulas.
With the Tigers dropping out, the math must be tight among the last three teams listed in the top 10. Arkansas-Fort Smith plunged all the way from No. 4 in the last rankings to right on the cutline at No. 8 now. Rogers State moved up two spots to No. 7. Harding moved up from No. 10 to No. 9 and Southern Nazarene is No. 10, which leaves FHSU right outside the top 10 as of now. The MIAA and GAC Tournaments can still shake up the rankings quite a bit this week.
The only known going into the MIAA and GAC Tournaments this week is Minnesota Duluth has obtained an automatic bid into the field of eight teams for the NCAA Central Regional. Minnesota Duluth is not among the top 10 teams in the NCAA Central Region rankings.
Fort Hays State will play Rogers State in the quarterfinals on Friday night in the MIAA Tournament. They could potentially play Central Missouri in the semifinals and any of the other region ranked teams from the MIAA in the final.
Fort Hays State grabbed the automatic bid from the MIAA last year by winning the 2025 MIAA Tournament. The Tigers may have to make a deep run again, or potentially win the tournament again to get into the NCAA Tournament for a third-straight year.
NCAA Central Region Rankings for March 4, 2026
Rank School Overall D2 Record In-Region Record
1 Washburn 26-1 22-1
2 Oklahoma Baptist 26-2 26-2
3 Central Missouri 22-8 19-6
4 St. Cloud State 23-5 23-5
5 Missouri Western 19-10 19-9
6 Ouachita Baptist 19-6 19-6
7 Rogers State 17-9 17-9
8 Arkansas-Fort Smith 17-8 17-8
9 Harding 19-7 19-7
10 Southern Nazarene 21-7 21-7