FHSU Athletics
INDIANAPOLIS – For the first time since the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament moved to four super regions in 2019, Fort Hays State is a No. 1 seed. The Tigers will be making their 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament in just 15 years of existence as a program, and is in the field for the second-straight season. The Tigers enter the national tournament unbeaten at 17-0-3 overall.
As the No. 1 seed in Super Region 3, the Tigers will await the winner of the first-round No. 8 seed McKendree vs. No. 9 seed University of Indianapolis match that will be played at FHSU Soccer Stadium in Hays on Friday (Nov. 21) at 1 p.m. The second-round match between No. 1 seed Fort Hays State and Friday's winner will also be a 1 p.m. start at FHSU Soccer Stadium on Sunday (Nov. 23).
Fort Hays State will be hosting games in the current super region format for the first time. The last time the Tigers hosted NCAA Tournament games was in 2018, when they won the Central Regional final and then their national quarterfinal matches at FHSU Soccer Stadium to reach the national semifinals in Pittsburgh, Pa. This year, the national semifinals and championship match will take place in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Fort Hays State has played in three NCAA Tournaments under the current super region model. In 2019, the Tigers were the No. 8 seed, in 2021 they were the No. 6 seed, and in 2024 they were the No. 10 seed. The Tigers are 3-3 in the national tournament since the super regional model started in 2019, advancing to the national quarterfinals with a pair of wins in 2021 and the round of 32 last year with a first-round win.
Fort Hays State will be one of two teams from the GAC/MIAA playing in the national tournament. Rogers State is the No. 2 seed in the Super Region, making it the first time in GAC/MIAA history the conference has the top-two seeds in Super Regional 3.
The other second-round matchup on Fort Hays State's side of the 10-team Super Regional bracket will be No. 4 seed Rockhurst playing host to No. 5 seed Maryville. Fort Hays State's side of the bracket has four of the five GLVC teams to make the national tournament in it.
The FHSU Men's Soccer program has put together an impressive run in its young history. After falling just short of making the NCAA Tournament in 2011, the program's first year of existence, the Tigers went on a run of making the NCAA Tournament every season from 2012 to 2021 (9 seasons). They had the longest consecutive streak of tournaments made in the nation until it came to an end in 2022. They are back in the tournament for the second-straight year under second-year head coach Alex Nichols. The Tigers have won at least 11 matches overall in 12 of the 15 years of the program's existence. (11 was unattainable in the COVID shortened 2020-21 season).
If the Tigers advance past the first weekend of play in the national tournament, the Round of 16 is slated for Sunday, November 30. National quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday, December 6. With the Tigers being a No. 1 seed, they have home-field advantage throughout the tournament for any future matchups up until the national semifinals.
More information on the tournament will be released soon.