FHSU Athletics
INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA announced Fort Hays State as the No. 3 seed for Super Region 3 of the NCAA Tournament on Monday evening (Nov. 9) during the NCAA selection show. The Tigers will host No. 6 seed Lake Erie in the super region second round on Sunday (Nov. 15) at FHSU Soccer Stadium. This is Fort Hays State's 12th time qualifying for the NCAA Tournament in just the program's 16th year of existence.
Fort Hays State enters the tournament tied for the fourth-most wins in NCAA Division II this season with a record of 15-2-3 overall. This will be FHSU's fifth appearance in the national tournament since the NCAA moved to the current four, 10-team super region model in 2019. The Tigers were the No. 1 seed in the Super Region last year and advanced through their 10-team bracket to reach the national semifinals. It was Fort Hays State's second appearance in the national semifinals (2018 and 2025).
The winner of the super region quarterfinals match between Fort Hays State and Lake Erie will advance to the next weekend of play for the super region semifinals and championship matches. The highest seed remaining in the super region after the first weekend of play will earn the right to host the remainder of the super region portion of the tournament. Lincoln (Mo.) is the No. 1 seed in the super region and Saginaw Valley State (Mich.) is the No. 2 seed.
This is the second-straight year Fort Hays State will host for the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers won all three matches on their home pitch last year in the super region, defeating Indianapolis, Rockhurst, and Rogers State on the way to the national semifinals.
Fort Hays State has played in four 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, in 2024 they were the No. 10 seed, in 2025 they were the No. 1 seed, and this year they are the No. 3 seed. The Tigers are 6-4 in the national tournament since the super regional model started in 2019.
The FHSU Men's Soccer program has put together an impressive run in its still relatively 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 in the tournament for the third-straight year under third-year head coach Alex Nichols. The Tigers have won at least 11 matches overall in 13 of the 16 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 and national quarterfinals (super region semis and final) are slated for November 20 and 22. The national semifinals and national championship matches this year will be in Kansas City at CPKC Stadium, December 3 and 5.
More information on the tournament will be released soon.