FHSU Athletics
INDIANAPOLIS – Fort Hays State Women's Soccer is among the 10 teams listed in the first set of NCAA Regional Rankings released on Wednesday. For the first release of region rankings, the NCAA lists its top 10 teams currently being considered for selection to the NCAA Tournament by region alphabetically. The list of 10 teams can change week-to-week as future results affect the formulas for consideration. Rankings will be assigned to the teams in the second and third editions in the weeks ahead.
Fort Hays State is in good shape at this point, sitting at 10-2-3 overall. The FHSU win over Southwestern College is removed from its record for region ranking purposes since results against NAIA or other NCAA level teams are not figured into the formula.
According to the report for the Central Region located at the bottom of the region rankings page on NCAA.com, Fort Hays State has the fifth-best In-Region RPI and sixth-best Division II Performance Indicator value in the Central Region. St. Cloud State owns the highest In-Region RPI and second-best Performance Indicator value, while Washburn owns the highest Performance Indicator value and second-best In-Region RPI. Fort Hays State is seeking back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, with previous appearances in 2012, 2016, and 2022.
Eight teams from the Central Region will be selected to compete in the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament following the conclusion of conference tournaments. The region consists of teams from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, and Great American Conference. Champions from each of the three conference tournaments within the region will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament.
The MIAA and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) each have five teams listed in the first release. Though the Great American Conference (GAC) does not have a school in the list of 10 right now, one of its members will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by virtue of winning their conference tournament. Fort Hays State is 2-2-2 against the teams currently listed among the 10 under consideration.
Region rankings released by United Soccer Coaches on a weekly basis up to this point have no bearing on NCAA Region Rankings. The NCAA Region Rankings are the only set of rankings used for national tournament consideration.
Below is the list of 10 teams currently being considered in the Central Region.
Team, Division II Record, In-Region Record
Augustana, 8-4-3, 8-4-3
Central Missouri, 12-3-1, 12-3-1
Emporia State, 7-5-4, 7-3-4
Fort Hays State, 10-2-3, 10-2-3
Minnesota Duluth, 6-5-5, 6-5-5
Minnesota State, 9-2-5, 9-2-5
Northern State, 6-3-5, 6-3-5
Northwest Missouri State, 7-4-5, 7-4-5
St. Cloud State, 12-3-1, 12-3-1
Washburn, 14-1-1, 14-1-1