• The No. 2-ranked Washburn Ichabods will open the 2026-27 season with a pair of games at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland, Fla. hosted by Florida Southern on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8 with a pair of top 15 battles beginning with No. 11 Point Loma followed by a match up with No. 4 West Liberty … both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. CST tips.
• Washburn posted a 31-4 record during the 2025-26 season, winning the MIAA regular season championship and the conference tournament as well, and finished No. 3 in the final NABC Top 25 Coaches Poll.
• Point Loma was picked No. 1 in the PacWest Preseason Poll, as the five-time defending conference champions look to reclaim their crown in 2026-27 and enter the season ranked No. 11 in the NABC Preseason Poll.
• The Sea Lions were 27-6 going 18-4 in the Pac West reaching the NCAA West Regional Championship game before falling 73-58 to Cal State East Bay.
• West Liberty begins the 2026-27 season ranked No. 4 in the NABC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Last season, the Hilltoppers finished 27-5 overall and 18-2 in MEC play, captured the MEC Championship and earned its 17th consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament appearance … the Hilltoppers advanced to the NCAA Atlantic Regional before falling to Virginia Union, 52-46, in the opening round.
• West Liberty earned 11 of the 12 possible first-place votes in the MEC's preseason coaches poll picking up the top spot in the rankings.
• Washburn is making a return trip to the SCB HOF Classic going 2-0 with wins over Augusta (101-53) and a No. 3-ranked Dallas Baptist squad (89-77).
• Fellow MIAA school Central Missouri is joining the Ichabods at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic.
• The week, the SCB Hall of Fame Classic will include nine top 25 teams including six in the top 10 … #2 Washburn, #3 Gannon, #4 West Liberty, #6 Black Hills State, #7 Lander, #8 Cal State East Bay, #11 Point Loma, #12 Oklahoma Baptist and #19 Central Missouri … the Ichabods will host Oklahoma Baptist in a Thanksgiving Saturday game in Topeka on Nov. 27 and then face Central Missouri at least twice in the regular season in conference play on Dec. 12 and Jan. 30.
• The Ichabods have gone 61-6 the last two seasons with two MIAA regular season championships, an MIAA Tournament Championships and an NCAA Central Regional Championship.
• The Ichabods have recorded 32, 20-win seasons in program history and six under Ichabod head coach Brett Ballard in his 10 seasons receiving four NCAA postseason berths coaching the to back to back 30-win seasons including two of the three 30-win seasons in program history.
• The 2026-28 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. Washburn received 12 of 14 first-place votes and 168 points in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, finishing ahead of Central Missouri, which earned one first-place vote and 154 points. Missouri Western was selected third with 123 points, followed by Missouri Southern, which also received a first-place vote, at 120 points. The Ichabods were an even more decisive choice among members of the media, collecting all 30 first-place votes and 392 points in the MIAA Preseason Media Poll.
  The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball team enters the 2026-27 season with a new-look roster, a veteran backcourt and expectations that remain high following one of the most successful back-to-back season runs in program history collecting 61 wins over the last two seasons.
Washburn went 31-2 overall and 18-1 in MIAA play in 2025-26, winning the MIAA regular-season championship for the second year in a row and the MIAA Tournament championship before seeing its season come to an end with a 64-62 loss to Minnesota Duluth in the NCAA Central Region quarterfinals. The Ichabods finished the season ranked third in the final NABC top 25 poll and has established a standard that the 2026-27 squad will attempt to maintain.
Senior guard Jack Bachelor returns to lead the Ichabods after putting together one of the best seasons of his career. The Topeka native started all 33 games last season and averaged 15.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game. He knocked down 95 three-pointers while shooting 40.4 percent from beyond the arc and 79.8 percent at the free-throw line. Bachelor also led Washburn with 151 assists while committing just 50 turnovers, producing a 3.02-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. His 512 points were second on the team and his 95 three-pointers ranked third on the Ichabod single-season chart.
Bachelor enters his senior campaign as one of the most accomplished returning players in Division II. He has started 76 consecutive games and 78 of his 97 career games at Washburn, averaging 13.6 points per game for his career. He enters 2026-27 ranked 14th on the Ichabods' career scoring list with 1,319 points, sixth in career steals with 143 and seventh in career three-pointers with 207. His 455 career assists rank third in school history. He is a two-time first-team All-MIAA and two-time NABC All-District selection and was named the 2026 MIAA Tournament MVP.
Joining Bachelor in the backcourt is junior Marcus Glock, who emerged as one of Washburn's most dangerous perimeter shooters during his first season as an Ichabod. Glock averaged 7.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game while appearing in 32 games. He connected on 52 of 134 three-point attempts, shooting 38.8 percent from distance. Glock produced a career-high 21 points at Newman, including four three-pointers, and knocked down five of seven from beyond the arc against Pittsburg State on his way to 15 points. The Wahoo, Nebraska, product transferred to Washburn from Northwest Missouri State, where he had already established himself as a proven MIAA perimeter scorer.
Junior Tyson Ruud gives Washburn another experienced and versatile piece. The 6-foot-6 guard from Basehor, Kansas, averaged 8.2 points and 4.8 rebounds in 30 appearances last season while shooting 64.8 percent from the field. Ruud made four starts and finished the season with 24 blocked shots and 17 steals. He scored a career-high 17 points at Newman and recorded his first career double-double against Nebraska Kearney with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Ruud also finished the season with three consecutive double-figure scoring performances.
The Ichabods will look for additional production from junior Kade Cook, sophomore Amalachi Wilkins, sophomore Tyler Salmon, junior Cole Parker, sophomore Wyatt Lewis, sophomore Kaden Ballard and sophomore Tayvin Zephier-Murphy.
Cook, a 6-foot-7 forward from Gretna, Nebraska, has appeared in 45 career games and averaged 1.5 points and 1.1 rebounds per game during his first two seasons. He scored a career-high 10 points in the 2025-26 season opener against Augusta and twice recorded four rebounds in a game. A two-time MIAA Academic Honor Roll selection, Cook gives Washburn additional size and athleticism on the perimeter.
Wilkins provides another athletic option in the frontcourt. The 6-foot-8 Wichita Heights product averaged 3.9 points and 3.2 rebounds during the 2025-26 season, shooting 63.5 percent from the field. Salmon, a 6-foot-8 forward from Shawnee, averaged 1.5 points and 1.1 rebounds, while Lewis averaged 1.1 points. Parker averaged 0.9 points and 0.4 rebounds, Ballard averaged 0.4 points and 0.1 rebounds, and Zephier-Murphy also returns after seeing limited action last season.
While the Ichabods must replace several major contributors from last year's 31-win team, the returning group provides a foundation of experience. Bachelor, Glock and Ruud combined for 31.3 points per game in 2025-26, giving Washburn three proven scoring options who have already performed in the MIAA.
That returning experience will be particularly important as Washburn integrates five newcomers into the program.
Lucas Mercandino, a 6-foot-6 senior forward from Córdoba, Argentina, joins the Ichabods after playing at Lubbock Christian. His size and collegiate experience provide an important addition to the Washburn frontcourt.
Freshman Brody Owen comes to Washburn as a 6-foot-3 guard from Marquette High School in St. Louis, Missouri. Freshman Reece Riedel is a 6-foot-5 guard from Mill Valley High School in Shawnee, Kansas, providing another sizeable perimeter option.
Sophomore Carson Yale gives the Ichabods one of their biggest bodies at 6-foot-10 and 210 pounds. Yale, from Minot, North Dakota, comes to Washburn after playing at Minot State and will add size and depth to the frontcourt.
Freshman Cy Stucky rounds out the newcomers. The 6-foot-7, 225-pound forward from Maize South High School gives Washburn another physical presence around the basket.
  • 512: Total points scored last season by returning guard Jack Bachelor (15.5 PPG), making him the top returning offensive weapon.
• 151: Team-high assists dished out by Bachelor last year (4.6 APG).
• 61: Combined wins over the last two seasons (30–4 in 2024–25 and 31–2 in 2025–26).
• 3: Times in history the program has earned a No. 2 NABC preseason national ranking (2012–13, 2025–26, and 2026–27).
  WASHBURN ICHABOD HEAD COACH BRETT BALLARD ...
• is 198-81 in his tenth season as the Ichabods' head coach and 231-111 overall in his 12th 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.
• 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 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 0-1 against Point Loma facing them as Baker's head coach during the 2011-12 season and has never faced West Liberty.
 
POINT LOMA HEAD COACH JUSTIN DOWNER ...
• in his third season as PLNU Men's Basketball Head Coach, leading the school to three straight PacWest Conference championships, becoming just the second coach in PacWest history to win three consecutive conference titles and he enters the season with a 77-21 record.
• also has coached the Sea Lions to back-to-back PacWest Tournament championships and to two straight NCAA West Regional championship games.
• he is the first PacWest head coach to lead his team to consecutive conference regular season and tournament titles.
• prior to his one season as an assistant coach at Point Loma, Downer spent the previous three years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at NCAA Division I Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. There he helped recruit the highest-rated recruiting class in program history and coach the team to its first postseason win in seven years.
• before that, he served as an assistant coach at Vanguard University in the NAIA, as associate head coach at Riverside Poly High School and as the associate director of the Under Armour West Coast Elite club program.
• is 0-0 against the Ichabods.
 
WEST LIBERTY HEAD COACH  MICHAEL LAMBERTI ...
• returned to his alma mater in 2025 as the head coach after a standout career for the Hilltoppers from 2012 to 2016, Lamberti contributed to a remarkable 123-14 record during his tenure, including four conference championships and three NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearances.
• he enters the season with a 61-29 oveall record in his fourth season of coaching going 27-5 in his lone season with the Hilltoppers last season..
• is 0-0 against the Ichabods.
  • Point Loma was picked No. 1 in the PacWest Preseason Poll, as the five-time defending conference champions look to reclaim their crown in 2026-27 and enter the season ranked No. 11 in the NABC Preseason Poll.
• The Sea Lions were 27-6 going 18-4 in the Pac West reaching the NCAA West Regional Championship game before falling 73-58 to Cal State East Bay.
• Tyce Paulsen returns as a third-team all-PacWest pick after starting 36 games, averaging 10.4 points, 3.0 rebounds  and 1.4 assists in 26.9 minutes per game shooting 39.7 percent from the field, 34.9 percent from 3, and 80.0 percent at the line.
• The Sea Lions return nine players from last season's team, while adding four high-level transfers and three freshmen to this year's squad.
  • The season opener will be the first meeting between the two schools.
  • West Liberty begins the 2026-27 season ranked No. 4 in the NABC Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Last season, the Hilltoppers finished 27-5 overall and 18-2 in MEC play, captured the MEC Championship and earned its 17th consecutive NCAA Division II Tournament appearance … the Hilltoppers advanced to the NCAA Atlantic Regional before falling to Virginia Union, 52-46, in the opening round.
• West Liberty earned 11 of the 12 possible first-place votes in the MEC's preseason coaches poll picking up the top spot in the rankings.
• Senior forward Jamie Muldowney is the Hilltoppers' leading returning scorer this season after averaging 14.1 ppg and 6.7 rpg  … sophomore guard Myles Montgomery is averaged 13.8 ppg and Cameron Williams averaged 12.1 ppg as the top three scorers return for West Liberty from last season.
  • The two schools have never met.
  (March 14, 2026) TOPEKA, Kan. - The No. 3-ranked Washburn Ichabods saw their season come to an end Saturday evening as Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs held off a late push for a 64-62 win in the 2025-26 NCAA Central Regional at Lee Arena. The Ichabods end the season 31-2 winning the MIAA regular season and tournament championships.
Minnesota Duluth led 32-29 at halftime and survived a strong second-half surge by the Ichabods, who outscored the Bulldogs 33-32 over the final 20 minutes but could not overcome a cold shooting night from beyond the arc.
Washburn (31-2) was led by Bryson Smith with 15 points while adding five assists and two steals. Tyson Ruud scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and pulled down three rebounds. Brady Christiansen, Jack Bachelor, and Isaiah Saams-Hoy each finished with eight points for the Ichabods.
Washburn struggled from three-point range, finishing just 3-of-18 (16.7%) going 1 of 13 in the opening half, but found success in the paint where it outscored Minnesota Duluth 40-20. The Ichabods also forced several transition opportunities, holding a 13-5 edge in fast-break points.
Minnesota Duluth (22-11) placed three players in double figures, led by Matt Thompson and Caleb Siwek with 13 points each, while Noah Paulson added 12 points and six rebounds. The Bulldogs shot 47.8 percent from the field and knocked down 9-of-23 three-pointers, helping offset Washburn's advantage inside.
The Bulldogs built their largest lead of the game at 12 points midway through the second half, but Washburn responded with a 15-point run to take a three-point lead with just over nine minutes remaining. The Ichabods continued the rally to tie the score with 2:23 to play and take the lead on a traditional 3-point play, putting Washburn up 58-56.
The Bulldogs went up 62-59 with after a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left and cut the lead to one with eight seconds to play after Bachelor was fouled on a 3-point attempt. UMD hit two free throws with five seconds to play and Washburn's attempt on a rebound off an intentional miss went the way of the Bulldogs, finishing up the game.
Washburn finished the game shooting 42.6 percent (23-of-54) from the field and 13-of-21 at the free throw line, while Minnesota Duluth went 22-of-46 (47.8%) from the floor and 11-of-17 from the line.
  • The Ichabods are1,738-1,140-2 all-time in the 122nd year in the program's history.
• Washburn is the seventh-winningest program in NCAA Division II history by victories.
• Washburn is 739-329 since joining the conference and the NCAA.
• The Ichabods have recorded 32 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 23 conference championships including 12 MIAA titles.
• Washburn has received 17 NCAA Tournament bids going to four Elite Eight's appearing in the 2001 NCAA National Championship game.
  • The Ichabods are 528-104 (.831) all-time in Lee Arena.
• The 2025-26 season marks the 41st season of play in Lee Arena.
• The Ichabods are 40-1 all-time in home openers.
• The Ichabods have a current 29-game homecourt winning streak from the start of the 2024-25 season to their last win over Missouri Southern breaking the previous school-record 28-game winning streak from Nov. 19, 1993 to Feb. 8, 1995 in Lee Arena.
  • The Ichabods will return to the road facing MSU-Moorhead and No. 9-ranked Minnesota State on Nov. 13 and Nov. 14 respectively at the Central Regional Challenge in Kansas CIty's Municipal Auditorium.