For the first time in three years, Ashland University's men's basketball team will play in the NCAA Division II postseason – and won't have to travel far to do so.
As announced by the NCAA on Sunday (March 8) night, the Eagles (20-10) are the No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region, and will begin the 2026 regional tournament on Saturday (March 14) vs. No. 2 seed Grand Valley State (25-6) at Walsh in North Canton, Ohio.
Ashland was the No. 3 seed in the 2026 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament, and lost to Lake Erie in the semifinals.
The three other regional quarterfinal match-ups include No. 1 seed Walsh (27-3) vs. No. 8 seed William Jewell (22-9), No. 4 seed Rockhurst (23-6) against No. 5 seed Northern Michigan (27-6), and No. 3 seed Michigan Tech (26-6) vs. No. 6 seed Lake Erie (23-8).
This will be the 15th NCAA postseason for Ashland men's basketball (1968-71, 1976-78, 1988, 1990-91, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2026), to go with six previous NAIA playoff appearances (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 Saturday, and Ashland's NCAA postseason road looks like this:
- The eight-team 2026 NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament will be Saturday, Sunday (March 15) and March 17 at Walsh.
- 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.
