KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team has been ranked No. 2 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches / NCAA Division II Preseason Poll released today by the coaching organization. The Washburn Ichabods will open the 121st season of men's basketball with a pair of games at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland, Fla. hosted by Florida Southern starting the season with Augusta (Ga.) on Saturday, Nov. 1 and then take on preseason No. 3 Dallas Baptist the following day. Both Augusta and Dallas Baptist were NCAA Regional teams last season and DBU, like the Ichabods, reached the NCAA Final Four in Evansville.

The No. 2 preseason ranking is the highest for the Ichabods since being picked No. 2 in the 2012-13 preseason poll.

The Ichabods are coming off one of the best seasons in program history with an NCAA Final Four appearance, an NCAA Central Regional Championship and an MIAA regular season title with a 30-4 overall record after going 17-2 in MIAA play. Washburn was ranked No. 1 in the nation last season for five consecutive weeks finishing tied for fourth in the 2025 NABC final poll after spending the entire season ranked in the top 10.

NABC Division II Coaches Poll (Oct. 28, 2025 – Pre-Season Poll)

            Record Points  Previous          Season Opener
1. Nova Southeastern, Fla. (15) 36-1     399      2          Nov. 14 vs. #6 Alabama Huntsville
2. Washburn, Kan.        30-4     326      5          Nov. 1 vs. Augusta
3. DBU, Texas  34-5     325      4          Nov. 1 vs. #13 Michigan Tech
4. Daemen, N.Y. (1)      28-1     291      1          Nov. 1 vs. #19 Lenoir-Rhyne
5. Fairmont State, W.Va.           27-5     274      11        Nov. 14 vs. Bloomsburg
6. Alabama Huntsville    32-2     272      3          Nov. 14 at #1 Nova Southeastern
7. Point Loma, Calif.      29-6     258      9          Nov. 14 vs. #12 Cal State Dominguez Hills
8. Missouri S&T 25-6     240      12        Nov. 16 at Kentucky Wesleyan
9. Southwest Minnesota State    21-9     229      NR       Nov. 15 at Fort Hays State
10. Colorado School of Mines    29-5     214      7          Nov. 7 vs. Central Missouri
11. West Liberty, W.Va. 30-5     199      6          Nov. 14 vs. Clarion
12. Cal State Dominguez Hills    30-6     190      14        Nov. 14 vs. #7 Point Loma
13. Michigan Tech         24-8     144      23        Nov. 1 vs. #3 DBU
14. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn.       25-6     130      13        Nov. 14 vs. North Georgia
15. Florida Southern      26-9     126      18        Nov. 1 vs. Alaska Anchorage
16. Columbus State, Ga.           27-5     117      8          Nov. 14 vs. Southern Wesleyan
17. Black Hills State, S.D.          18-12   110      NR       Nov. 16 vs. Sul Ross State
18. Central Washington 22-10   97        NR       Oct. 31 vs. Cal State San Bernardino
19. Lenoir-Rhyne, N.C.  29-6     94        10        Nov. 1 vs. #4 Daemen
20. Southern Nazarene, Okla.    22-7     91        NR       Nov. 14 vs. Jamestown
21. Virginia State           22-9     76        NR       Nov. 14 vs. Shepherd
22. Gannon, Pa.            27-7     71        22        Nov. 14 at Bowie State
23. Findlay, Ohio           24-5     68        NR       Nov. 14 at Quincy
24. Bentley, Mass.         18-10   67        NR       Nov. 14 vs. Dominican (N.Y.)
25. Lubbock Christian, Texas     25-9     56        21        Nov. 1 vs. UVa-Wise

Others receiving votes: St. Cloud State (Minn.) 52, UNC Pembroke (N.C.) 49, St. Mary's (Texas) 46, Lake Superior State (Mich.) 45, Valdosta State (Ga.) 42, USCA (S.C.) 39, MSU Moorhead (Minn.) 37, Assumption (Mass.) 36, Rogers State (Okla.) 35, Miles (Ala.) 27, Lincoln (Mo.) 25, Minnesota Duluth 25, Adelphi (N.Y.) 24, Minnesota State 22, Northern Michigan 22, Chico State (Calif.) 21, Clark Atlanta (Ga.) 20, North Georgia 20, Catawba (N.C.) 15, Tampa (Fla.) 15, Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) 12, Central Oklahoma 11, Dominican (N.Y.) 10, St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.) 10, Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 9. Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) 9, Fayetteville State (N.C.) 8, Cal State San Bernardino 7, Missouri-St. Louis 7, West Texas A&M 7, Cal Poly Pomona 6, Ferris State (Mich.) 6, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 6, Oklahoma Baptist 6, Colorado Mesa 2, Montana State Billings 1, Montevallo (Ala.) 1, Pace (N.Y.) 1.