• The preseason No. 2-ranked Washburn Ichabods return to the court this weekend for two games against NCAA Regional qualifiers last season including a rematch of the 2025 NCAA Central Regional final this weekend in Pittsburg, Kan. at the Central Regional Challenge.
• The Ichabods will face MSU Moorhead on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. in John Lance Arena and then take on Winona State the following day at 5 p.m.
• 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 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.
• 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.
  •  Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard recorded his first win as the Washburn head coach against Winona State on Nov. 12, 2017 in an 84-75 win over the Warriors in St. Joseph, Mo.
•  In Washburn's 101-53 win over Augusta in the season opener on Nov. 1, 2025, Ichabod newcomer Jeremiah Jones had eight steals, one shy of the school record and he followed that performance up with  seven against Dallas Baptist setting a SCB Hall of Fame Classic Tournament record.
• Washburn also set a team record at the event with 103 rebounds in two games recording 53 against Augusta and 50 against Dallas Baptist.
• Following the conclusion of the HOF Classic, three Ichabods were named to the 10-person all-classic team. They were Jones, Jack Bachelor and Dillon Claussen.
   WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
• is 169-79 in his ninth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 202-109 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 is 1-1 against MSU Moorhead and is 2-0 against Winona State.
   
MSU MOORHEAD HEAD COACH JASON KEMP ...
• was named the 15th head men's basketball coach in Minnesota State Moorhead history on May 1, 2025. The 2025-26 season will be Kemp's first as head coach in Moorhead.
• Kemp most recently was an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn. While on the Golden Gopher staff, Kemp helped guide the program to an NIT second round berth in 2024. Kemp was instrumental in the development of several key players for the Gophers, including forward Dawson Garcia. Under Kemp's tutelage, Garcia was a two-time All-Big Ten selection, including earning second team honors in 2024-25.
• is 0-0 against the Ichabods.
 
WINONA STATE HEAD COACH TODD EISNER ...
• Overall Record (10 years): 158-118
• Career Head Coaching Record (27 years): 574-284
• Two 20-win season tenures at WSU in 2023-2024 (21-10) and 2024-25 (22-11)
• Made the 2025 Central Region semifinals for the first time since 2014
• Finished 7th in final NCAA DII Central Region ranking in 2023-2024
• is 0-1 against the Ichabods.
  • The Dragons fell 101-69 in an exhibition game against North Dakota State on Oct. 23.
• The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) has announced the preseason coaches' poll for men's basketball. Senior forward Sam Hastreiter was named Minnesota State Moorhead's 'player to watch' while the Dragons were selected to finish seventh. Moorhead was picked second in the NSIC North Division poll.  The Dragons claimed the seventh spot with 138 points in a poll that was topped by Southwest Minnesota State with 219 points and 11 first-place votes. St. Cloud State (2), Minnesota State (1), Concordia-St. Paul (1) and Augustana (1) earned the other first-place nods. In the divisional poll, Moorhead was selected second behind 43 points and two first-place votes.
• Hastreiter played and started in all 34 games for the Dragons last season, averaging 7.2 points per game with 46 made three-pointers. He would shoot an effective 42.2 percent from both the field and three-point range. Hastreiter was also solid on the boards, snaring 140 rebounds for a 4.1 per game clip. The Lincoln, Neb., native scored in double figures on 14 occasions during the season, including a season-best 19 points against Winona State on February 21.
  • The Ichabods and Dragon are tied 1-1 in two all-time match ups.
• Washburn won the last meeting in the NCAA Central Regional Championship on March 18, 2025 in a 93-65 win to advance to the NCAA Elite Eight.
• The other meeting between the Ichabods and the Dragons came in a 79-77 loss to the Dragons on Nov. 12, 2023 in Kansas City at the Central Regional Challenge in Municipal Auditorium.
  • The NSIC released the 2025-26 Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll, and the Warriors were picked to finish ninth in the league with 115 points, coming in just behind Sioux Falls (120 points) and right in front of Wayne State (101 points).
New this year, the NSIC is split into two eight team divisions (North and South). Winona State was picked to finish seventh in the South Division. SMSU was tabbed first overall in the NSIC and the South Division with Minnesota Duluth picked to finish first in the North Division.
Ryan Heise joins the Winona State squad following a strong freshman 2024-25 campaign for Upper Iowa University. The former Lake City, Minnesota standout averaged 7.4 points per game to go along with his 3.6 rebounds per contest last year for Upper Iowa. He played in all 30 games with 18.1 minutes a game in his redshirt freshman season for the Peacocks.
• Winona State opened the season with an 79-49 win over Saint Mary's in an exhibition game on Nov. 2.
 
 SERIES HISTORY WITH WINONA STATE
•  The Ichabods lead the all-time series 3-0 over the Warriors.
• Brett Ballard's first win on the Ichabod bench came against Winona State 84-75 in St. Joseph, Mo.
• The Ichabods won the last meeting 67-54 on Nov. 9, 2019 in Kansas City.
• The other win in the series came during the 1937-38 season in a 37-36 win at the NAIA Tournament in Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium.
  (Nov. 2, 2025) LAKELAND, Fla. — The No. 2 ranked Washburn men's basketball wrapped up their Florida trip to the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, rallying from a first-half deficit of 11 points to top No. 2 Dallas Baptist 89–77 on Sunday afternoon at Jenkins Field House.
Down 43–41 at the half, the Ichabods flipped the script with a dominant second period, shooting 50 percent from the floor and 46 percent from three while outscoring DBU 48–34 to secure the upset victory.
Dillon Claussen powered the attack inside, with career-highs of 23-point, 12-rebound double-double while shooting a scorching 9-of-11 from the field to record his second straight double double to start the season. His putback finish with 1:17 left pushed the lead back to double digits as Washburn closed out the final minutes with poise.
Jack Bachelor added 15 points and a team-best seven assists, drilling three triples — including a pair that helped spark the second-half run.
Jeremiah Jones was everywhere defensively and added 13 points, six rebounds and seven steals. Jones had eight steals on Saturday in the season opener.
Bryson Smith added 12 points, including a key three during the run, while going a perfect 5-of-5 at the stripe. Brady Christiansen gave the Ichabods another lift with 11 points and four assists, knocking down a momentum-swinging corner three at the 9:51 mark to extend the advantage.
Washburn dominated on the glass with a 50–29 rebounding edge and a 44–28 advantage inside in points in the paint, and they were plus 22 fast-break points to keep DBU chasing. The Ichabods also converted 17 points off Patriot turnovers.
DBU was led by TJ Thomas' 19 points, but the Patriots shot just 36.4 percent after halftime as Washburn's defensive pressure tightened.
Following the conclusion of the HOF Classic, three Ichabods were named to the 10-person all-classic team. They were Jones, Bachelor and Claussen.
For their two games in Florida, the Ichabods broke two event records - Jeremiah Jones 15 total steals was an event record as were the 103 total rebounds by the Ichabods in two games.
  • The Ichabods led the NCAA D2 ranks in cumulative attendance last 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 1,710-1,137-2 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 712-328 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.
  • 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.