• The preseason No. 2-ranked 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 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. DBU was ranked No. 3 in the NABC preseason poll.
• The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team was ranked No. 2 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches / NCAA Division II Preseason Poll released Oct. 28 by the coaching organization.
• The No. 2 preseason ranking is the highest for the Ichabods since being picked No. 2 in the 2012-13 preseason poll.
• The Ichabods will return to action after the two games in Florida Nov. 14-15 at the Central Region Challenge at Pittsburg State where the Ichabods will face the MSU Moorhead Dragons in a rematch of the 2025 NCAA Central Regional Championship. On day two, the Ichabods will face their fourth NCAA regional qualifying team in as many games as they will take on Winona State. Washburn will get its first home game of the season in the newly renovated Lee Arena on Nov. 19 hosting Rockhurst at 7 p.m.
• 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.
• The Ichabods have recorded 31, 20-win seasons in program history and five under Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard in his eight seasons receiving four NCAA postseason berths coaching the 2024-25 squad to only the program's second 30-win season in school history.
• The 2025-26 season marks the 121st season of Ichabod basketball.
  •  The Washburn Ichabods were picked atop the MIAA Preseason Coaches and Media polls released Oct. 6 by the league office. In the MIAA Coaches Poll, Washburn received 13 of 14 first-place votes, tallying 169 points, finishing ahead of Rogers State which had one first-place vote and 141 total points. In the MIAA media poll, the Ichabods received 23 of 25 first-place votes from the media for 346 total points. Fort Hays State had one first-place vote and 297 points, and Rogers State had a first-place vote and 286 total points.
•  The Ichabods are making their first appearance in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.
• The MIAA have had Central Oklahoma (2023), Emporia State (2023), Missouri Western (2018, 2019, 2021), Northwest Missouri (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022) all play in the event with a combined record of 13-5.
  •  #0 - Sam Ungashick - has started 30 of 55 career games as an Ichabod averaging 8.1 ppg for his career … a career 34 percent shooter from 3-point range hitting 57 of 170 attempts.
•  #1 - Brady Christiansen - has played in 93 career games making 31 starts averaging 6.6 ppg and 6.2 rpg … ranks 11th in career total rebounds in program history with 577 … sits 35th on Washburn's all-time 3-pointer chart
•  #2 - Tyson Ruud - a two-year member of the Ichabods appearing in 14 games …last season he played in 14 games scoring a season-high seven points against Newman on Jan. 18 adding three rebounds and two blocks in 14 minutes.
•  #3 - Bryson Smith - averaged 11.4 ppg with a team-high 131 assists with 3.5 rpg for Northeastern State starting all 29 games … also added 51 steals … averaged 14.8 points per game at Dallas College North Lake where there claimed a the NJCAA Men's Basketball National Championship.
•  #4 - Dillon Claussen - has played in 34 games averaging 7.4 ppg with 3.9 rpg adding 25 blocks and 15 steals during his freshman season at Washburn … tied a career-high 17 points against Lenoir-Rhyne in the NCAA National Quarterfinal on 7 of 7 shooting.
•  #5 - Kade Cook - appeared in 24 games as a freshman off the bench scoring 28 points.
•  #10 - Isaiah Saams-Hoy - played in and started all 28 games at Alaska Fairbanks in 2024-25 ... led the team in points (455), points per game (16.3), assists (99), steals (44) and blocks (29).
•  #11 - Wyatt Lewis - sat out last season at Washburn as a redshirt.
•  #12 - Kaden Ballard - As a high school senior last season he scored 11.7 ppg with 4.6 rpg and 2.7 apg hitting 45 3-pointers en route to second-team all-league honors and honorable mention 6A all-state honors
•  #13 - Cole Parker - a two-year member of the Ichabod basketball program …  appeared in 17 games recording a 3-pointer against Harding in the NCAA regional quarterfinals last season.
•  #14 - Jack Bachelor - has started 45 of 64 career games as an Ichabod averaging 12. 6 ppg. … ranks third all-time at Washburn in assist average at 4.8 apg and fourth in career free throw percentage at .828 and seventh in career assists with 304 … a two-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll … started all 34 games averaging 13.6 ppg earning NABC second-team all-district honors, first-team all-MIAA honors and was an all-MIAA defensive team pick last season.
•  #15 - Tayvin Zephier-Murphy  - as a prep senior he averaged 16.5 ppg and 5.2 rpg with 1.3 apg earning Class A first-team all-state, all-Nebraska second team and all-metro first-team honors.
•  #20 - Tyler Salmon - his senior year he was named honorable mention 6A all-state and second team all-league helping team to a second 6A state tile as he averaged 12.6 ppg and 5.0 rpg leading the KC Metro area hitting 46.6 percent of his 3-point attempts.
•  #21 - Amalachi Wilkins - named to the KSHSAA all-state top 15 and a first-team 6A all-state selection as well as first-team all-league after averaging 10.6 ppg and 9.4 rpg adding 2.7 bkpg.
•  #22 - Jeremiah Jones - led Mary (S.D.) in scoring in 2024-25 averaging 11.9 ppg recording 85 steals, ranking third in steals per game at 2.74 and fifth in total steals setting school record mark and had eight steals in a single game setting another school record.
•  #23 - Marcus Glock - a transfer from Northwest Missouri where he started 19 of 28 games averaging 9.1 ppg with 2.5 rpg hitting a team-high 51 3-pointers shooting 42 percent from deep
 
  • The 2024-25 Ichabods became the second team in program history to reach the 30-win mark joining the 1986-87 NAIA National Championship team who were 35-4.
• Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard won his 200th career game as a coach against the Bears in the NCAA National Quarterfinals.
• The Ichabods played in their third NCAA National Semifinals game going 1-2 overall.
• The 34 starts through the NCAA National Quarterfinals by Bachelor, Orr, Keegan and Hanna are eighth on the single-season chart … the Ichabod single season record is 39.
• The 279 3-pointers made this season is third on the Ichabod single-season chart … the school record is 293 shared by the 2020-21 and 2018-19 teams.
• The 782 3-point attempts is the most on the Ichabod single season chart, passing the 2021-22 who attempted 778.
• The Ichabods led the NCAA D2 ranks in cumulative attendance this season with 35,633  and also led the nation in average attendance at 2,229 per game.
• Washburn has a 16-game home court winning streak which is tied for the fifth-longest in the D2 ranks.
 
 COACHES
Washburn Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard
• is 167-79 in his ninth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 200-109 overall in his 11th year as a head coach.
• has led the Ichabods to five NCAA postseason appearances in eight seasons at Washburn as well as the 2021 MIAA Tournament Championship and the 2025 MIAA Regular season title.
• was named the Washburn Ichabod men's basketball head coach on April 6, 2017 after spending the 2014-15 to 2016-17 seasons as an assistant coach with the Wake Forest and Tulsa basketball programs after working under head coach Danny Manning 2012-17 seasons.
• he helped Wake Forest to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2009-10 season following the 2016-17 season.
• prior to taking over the head coaching position at Baker, Ballard spent seven years on Bill Self's staff at Kansas, his alma mater.
• he played two years for the Jayhawks under head coach Roy Williams from 2000-02 after transferring from Hutchinson Community College in his hometown of Hutchinson, Kan. In his two seasons as a Jayhawk, the team reached the 2001 NCAA Sweet Sixteen and appeared in the 2002 NCAA Final Four in Atlanta.
• he earned his bachelor's degree in secondary education from Kansas in 2003 earning an Academic All-Big 12 selection as a senior for his efforts in the classroom.
• he has never coached Augusta or Dallas Baptist.
   
Augusta head coach Dip Metress ...
• enters his 22nd season in 2025-26 at the helm of the Augusta men's basketball program and continues to bring his team into national and regional recognition while never having a losing season.
• he has a 455-169 (.729) record after 21 seasons in Augusta and a 589-262 (.692) overall record entering his 30th season as an NCAA head coach. THe Jaguars were names All-Conference and Demitri Gardner was named an All-American.
• continues to succeed in wins, recruits, and postseason appearances. He was named the fifth head coach in program history on May 10, 2004, and wasted little time in rebuilding the Jaguars. He won 19 games in his first season and led the Jaguars to victories over three nationally-ranked opponents.
• in 2024-2025, Metress saw the Jaguars return to the NCAA tournament after a third place finish in the league.
• is 0-0 against the Ichabods.
 
Dallas Baptist head coach dr. blake flickner ...
• is in his 20th season as the Head Men's Basketball Coach at Dallas Baptist University
• has compiled a 380–216 record, guiding the Patriots to the NCAA Division II Tournament nine times, including eight of the past ten seasons.
• Under Flickner's leadership, DBU reached new heights in 2025, advancing to the NCAA Division II National Semifinals after capturing the South Central Regional Championship and sweeping both the Lone Star Conference regular-season and tournament titles.
• His teams have also claimed three Lone Star Conference Division championships, two Heartland Conference regular-season titles, and two Heartland Tournament crowns.
• is 0-0 against the Ichabods.
  • The Jaguars are coming off a 19-11 season and an NCAA Southeast Regional berth which they lost to Lenior-Rhyne in the opening game 94-79.
• Elìas Pàlsson, a 6-6 guard from Iceland, is the teams leading scorer returning at 7.4 ppg, which was third on the team last season.
• Also back is Evan Joyner, who scored 6.5 ppg with 4.0 rpg starting 15 games and Luis Nonfon who recorded 4.6 rpg with 2.7 ppg.
  • The Ichabods have never faced Augusta in basketball.
  • DBU was picked just behind the Ichabods at No. 3 in the NABC / NCAA D2 preseason poll.
• The DBU Men's Basketball team was selected as the preseason favorite to capture the Lone Star Conference title in 2025-26, according to the league's annual preseason poll released Monday. The poll, voted on by LSC head coaches, sports information directors, and select media members, placed the Patriots atop the poll with 850 total points and 42 of the possible 51 first-place votes.
• The Patriots posted a 34-5 overall record and went 19-3 in conference play last season, claiming the program's first-ever LSC regular season championship, LSC Tournament title, and NCAA Division II South Central Regional crown. DBU's postseason run culminated in the national semifinals of the NCAA Division II Tournament, where they finished the year ranked No. 4 in the nation.
• The Patriots return a veteran roster featuring 12 lettermen from last year's squad, including LSC Defensive Player of the Year Xavion Brown and LSC Sixth Man of the Year Trevor Frank.
  • The Ichabods have never faced the Patriots in basketball.
  (March 28, 2025) EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The No. 5-ranked Washburn Ichabods historic season came to an end to the top-ranked Nova Southeastern Sharks in the NCAA National semifinals in a 94-68 win on Thursday in Evansville, Ind. Washburn, who won the MIAA regular season title and the NCAA Central Regional in front of three nights of a packed house with a 30-4 record.
The Ichabods scored the first bucket of the game on a layup by Andrew Orr, but a hot-shooting Shark squad, who finished the opening half connecting on 19 of 33 shots for a 57 percent clip including 7 of 13 from deep as Nova Southeastern (35-1) took a 53-29 lead into the break.
In the second half, the Ichabods improved to 50 percent from the field hitting 15 of 30 shots but Washburn could not cut into the Shark lead as the Ichabods were outscored 41-39 in the half.
Jacob Hanna led the Ichabods with 15 points and Orr tallied 13 on 6 of 9 shooting with a team-high eight rebounds. Jack Bachelor finished with 11.
Ryker Cisarik led the Sharks with 28 points and the NCAA D2 Player of the Year MJ Iraldi scored 25.
Washburn finished at 46 percent from the field going 26 of 57 from the field. The Sharks finished 34 of 69 for a 49 percent clip hitting 12 of 26 3-point attempts.
For only the third time this season, the Ichabods were topped on the glass at 39-32.  Washburn outscored the Sharks 40 to 36 in the paint and 12 to 2 in fast break points.
  • The Ichabods led the NCAA D2 ranks in cumulative attendance this season with 35,633  and also led the nation in average attendance at 2,229 per game.
• Washburn has a 16-game home court winning streak which is tied for the fifth-longest fin the D2 ranks. • The Ichabods are 1,707-1,136-2 all-time in the 121st year in the program's history.
• Washburn is the seventh-winningest program in NCAA Division II history by victories.
• Washburn is 710-328 since joining the conference and the NCAA.
• The Ichabods have recorded 31 20-win seasons and they have two 30-win seasons after going 35-4 during the 1986-87 NAIA Championship season and after the 2024-25 season's 30-4 record.
• Washburn has won 22 conference championships including 11 MIAA titles.
• Washburn has received 16 NCAA Tournament bids going to four Elite Eight's appearing in the 2001 NCAA National Championship game.
  • The Ichabods are 515-104 (.831) all-time in Lee Arena.
• The 2025-26 season marks the 41st season of play in Lee Arena.
• The Ichabods are 39-1 all-time in home openers.
• The Ichabods recorded a school-best 28-game winning streak from Nov. 19, 1993 to Feb. 8, 1995 in Lee Arena.
  • Following the two games in Lakeland, Fla. the Ichabods will return to action Nov. 14-15 at the Central Region Challenge at Pittsburg State where the Ichabods will face the MSU Moorhead Dragons in a rematch of the 2025 NCAA Central Regional Championship. On day two, the Ichabods will face their fourth NCAA regional qualifying team in as many games as they will take on Winona State. Washburn will get its first home game of the season in the newly renovated Lee Arena on Nov. 19 hosting Rockhurst at 7 p.m.