In the second set of NCAA Division II Midwest Regional rankings released on Wednesday (Feb. 25) afternoon, Ashland University's men's basketball team is in the No. 7 slot.
The last two regular-season games of 2025-26 hold a lot of importance for the Eagles. They will play host to first-place and No. 15 Walsh on Thursday (Feb. 26) at 7:30 p.m., then go to Findlay on Saturday (Feb. 28) at 3 p.m., to wrap up Great Midwest Athletic Conference regular-season play for the winter.
Ashland is looking to clinch a home-court Great Midwest tournament quarterfinal game on March 3, the Eagles can tie Walsh for the regular-season title with two wins and two Cavalier losses, and one more victory would give AU its first 20-win season since 2022-23.
Thursday's home game also is Military and First Responder Appreciation Night and a Morgan's Message game. More details are in the press release
HERE.
Regional rankings were released in alphabetical order on Feb. 18, and will be released in rank order again on March 4. The NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament selection show will be March 8 at 11 p.m. on NCAA.com.
Ashland men's basketball has played in 14 previous NCAA postseasons (1968-71, 1976-78, 1988, 1990-91, 2016, 2019, 2021 and 2023), as well as six previous NAIA playoffs (1960-63, 1965 and 1967).
The Eagles were named the 1968-69 national champions by both the Associated Press and United Press International.
A 64-team tournament (eight teams in each of eight regions), the D-II postseason will begin on March 13, and Ashland's conference and NCAA postseason road looks like this:
- The eight-team 2026 Great Midwest Tournament will be March 3 and 7-8 (site(s) to be determined).
- The eight-team 2026 NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament will be March 14-15 and 17 (site to be determined).
- The 2026 NCAA Division II Elite Eight and Final Four will be in Pittsburgh, Pa., on March 25 and 27, and the national championship will be in Indianapolis, Ind., on April 5.
In the Midwest Region, automatic qualifiers come from the winners of the Great Midwest, Great Lakes Valley Conference and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The other five teams are chosen as at-large entries. There are 37 teams in the Midwest Region eligible for postseason play – 15 from the GLVC, 12 from the Great Midwest, and 10 from the GLIAC.
2026 NCAA DIVISION II MIDWEST REGION MEN'S BASKETBALL RANKINGS (FIRST RANKINGS WERE ALPHABETICAL, UC = UNDER CONSIDERATION)
| TEAM |
SECOND RANKING |
FIRST RANKING |
| Michigan Tech |
1 |
UC |
| Rockhurst |
2 |
UC |
| Grand Valley State |
3 |
UC |
| Northern Michigan |
4 |
UC |
| Walsh |
5 |
UC |
| Lake Erie |
6 |
UC |
| ASHLAND UNIVERSITY |
7 |
UC |
| William Jewell |
8 |
UC |
| McKendree |
9 |
UC |
| Missouri S&T |
10 |
UC |
