FHSU Athletics
INDIANAPOLIS – Fort Hays State Women's Soccer held steady in the final release of NCAA Central Region Rankings, released on Wednesday. The Tigers are No. 6 in the rankings for the second straight week. The list of 10 teams can change week-to-week as results affect the formulas used to produce region rankings. This is the final set of rankings prior to selections being made for the NCAA Tournament on Monday.
Fort Hays State remains good shape at this point, sitting at 12-3-3 overall in the eyes of the NCAA. 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.
The top four in the region rankings this week remained the same, but making a jump from No. 7 to No. 5 this week is Emporia State. FHSU remained in the No. 6 position, while previous No. 5 ranked Augustana plummeted to No. 8 after losing its last three matches. Moving up from No. 8 to No. 7 this week is Northern State, but NSU's NSIC Tournament opening round loss was not figured into this set of rankings.
The MIAA Tournament champion will be one of four teams inside the top six of the region rankings (Washburn, Central Missouri, Fort Hays State, and Emporia State). The NSIC has only one team from the top eight of the region rankings remaining in its conference tournament, that being No. 2 ranked St. Cloud State, which hosts the remainder of the tournament. It is a given that the GAC Tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and the GAC does not have any teams in the region rankings. Eight teams from the region will be selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament.
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 sixth-best In-Region RPI in the Central Region. Washburn owns the highest In-Region RPI and continues to rank No. 1 in the region. 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.
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. The NCAA selection show for women's soccer will take place on Monday evening at 5:30 p.m. CT.
NCAA Central Region rankings for November 8, 2023
RANK D2 Record In-Region Record
1. Washburn 16-2-1 16-2-1
2. St. Cloud State 13-3-2 13-3-2
3. Minnesota State Mankato 11-2-5 11-2-5
4. Central Missouri 14-3-2 14-3-2
5. Emporia State 10-5-4 10-3-4
6. Fort Hays State 12-3-3 12-3-3
7. Northern State 9-3-5 9-3-5
8. Augustana (South Dakota) 9-6-3 9-6-3
9. Bemidji State 9-3-6 9-3-6
10. Minnesota Duluth 6-6-6 6-6-6