KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State Men's Basketball is among the receiving votes list of the NABC Preseason Top 25 Poll, released on Tuesday (Oct. 27). The Tigers are coming off a 19-10 overall record in 2025-26, the 17
th time the Tigers have reached at least 19 wins in a season under head coach
Mark Johnson.
This is the fifth-straight year the Tigers either received votes or were ranked inside the NABC Top 25 to start a season. The FHSU men enter their 26
th season under Johnson's guidance. He holds an overall record of 492-240.
Washburn and Central Missouri represent the MIAA in the top 25 to start the 2026-27 season. The Ichabods are ranked No. 2 in the nation, while the Mules are No. 19. Missouri Western and Missouri Southern join FHSU in the receiving votes list.
The Tigers will open their 2026-27 season in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Tigers will take on Southwest Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul on November 13-14.
Below is the NABC Preseason Top 25 Poll for 2026-27.
| RANK |
SCHOOL |
2025-2026 |
POINTS |
PREVIOUS |
| 1 |
Nova Southeastern (7) |
31-2 |
387 |
1 |
| 2 |
Washburn (3) |
31-2 |
362 |
3 |
| 3 |
Gannon (6) |
34-3 |
342 |
6 |
| 4 |
West Liberty |
27-5 |
283 |
7 |
| 5 |
Dallas Baptist |
29-7 |
276 |
15 |
| 6 |
Black Hills State |
30-5 |
261 |
10 |
| 7 |
Lander |
30-6 |
260 |
23 |
| 8 |
Cal State East Bay |
33-1 |
228 |
2 |
| 9 |
Minnesota State |
21-12 |
198 |
NR |
| 10 |
West Alabama |
27-6 |
185 |
17 |
| 11 |
Point Loma |
27-6 |
183 |
19 |
| 12 |
Oklahoma Baptist |
31-4 |
181 |
8 |
| 13 |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
26-6 |
164 |
11 |
| 14 |
Walsh |
29-4 |
162 |
9 |
| 15 |
Daemen |
33-2 |
151 |
4 |
| 16 |
Eastern New Mexico |
26-6 |
133 |
13 |
| 17 |
Grand Valley State |
26-7 |
131 |
22 |
| 18 |
Anderson |
29-3 |
129 |
5 |
| 19 |
Central Missouri |
24-10 |
112 |
NR |
| 20 |
McKendree |
22-8 |
107 |
NR |
| 21 |
Saint Martin's |
26-6 |
100 |
18 |
| 22 |
St. Cloud State |
26-7 |
95 |
25 |
| 23 |
Lubbock Christian |
27-6 |
94 |
14 |
| 24 |
Fairmont State |
26-6 |
70 |
12 |
| 25 |
Alabama Huntsville |
23-10 |
56 |
NR |
Receiving Votes: Cal State San Bernardino 54, Michigan Tech 51, Saint Michael's (Vt.) 44, Lake Superior State (Mich.) 41, Fayetteville State (N.C.) 37, Lake Erie (Ohio) 28, Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) 28, William Jewell (Mo.) 28, Minnesota Duluth 22, CSU Pueblo (Colo.) 20, Columbus State (Ga.) 18, Missouri Western 17, Bentley (Mass.) 16, Florida Southern 14, Morehouse (Ga.) 14, Indiana (Pa.) 12, Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) 11, Miles (Ala.) 10, Missouri Southern 10, St. Edward's (Texas) 10, Northern Michigan 9, Cal Poly Humboldt 8, Southern Nazarene (Okla.) 8, Catawba (N.C.) 7, Cal State Dominguez Hills 6, Westmont (Calif.) 6, Felician (N.J.) 5, Jefferson (Pa.) 4, Rockhurst (Mo.) 4, Charleston (W.Va.) 3, Shepherd (W.Va.) 2, Southern New Hampshire 2,
Fort Hays State (Kan.) 1, Saint Anselm (N.H.) 1.
