FHSU Athletics
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State remained among the receiving votes section of the NABC Top 25 Poll for the fifth-straight week on Tuesday. The Tigers currently own a 13-5 overall record for the season and sit in second place in the MIAA standings.
Washburn remained the No. 1 team in the nation in both the NABC and D2CSC Top 25 Polls for a third-straight week. The Ichabods are off to a 19-0 start to the season, one of only two undefeated teams remaining in NCAA Division II. Fort Hays State is the only other MIAA program referenced in the latest NABC poll. The Tigers are the fifth-highest listed team among schools in the Central Region, with four currently in the Top 25 and one joining FHSU in the receiving votes section.
The Tigers get a chance to play the nation's top ranked team on Thursday in Topeka in the second meeting with the Ichabods this season. Washburn won the first meeting of the season in Hays 71-57 back on December 7.It has not been very long since FHSU last faced an NABC No. 1 ranked team. The last occurrence was against Northwest Missouri State during the 2022-23 season. All five previous occurrences of FHSU playing the NABC No. 1 ranked team in its NCAA Division II history have been on the road, picking up a win in one of the contests. That win was at No. 1 ranked Central Missouri during the 2009-10 season in Warrensburg when FHSU held the No. 13 ranking in the NABC Poll. Three of the five meetings against No. 1 teams on the road were at Northwest Missouri State, and the other was at Metro State (now MSU Denver) during the 2003-04 season.
Two of Fort Hays State's losses this season were to current NABC Top 25 ranked teams. The Tigers fell to Washburn back on December 7 when the Ichabods were ranked No. 3 and to Southwest Minnesota State (currently No. 13) in the season opener back on November 8. Southwest Minnesota State began the season receiving votes, while FHSU was ranked No. 16 in the preseason poll. FHSU also has a win over a current NABC Top 25 team in MSU Denver, which holds the No. 23 ranking this week.
Following its contest at No. 1 ranked Washburn on Thursday night, FHSU will also play at Central Missouri on Saturday to round out its weekly schedule.
NABC Top 25 Poll for January 28, 2025
Rank - School - Record - Points - Prev.
1 - Washburn, Kan. (15) - 19-0 - 399 - 1
2 - Daemen, N.Y. (1) - 18-0 - 382 - 2
3 - Nova Southeastern, Fla. - 17-1 - 370 - 3
4 - Alabama Huntsville - 17-1 - 353 - 4
5 - Missouri S&T - 16-1 - 332 - 9
6 - Valdosta State, Ga. - 16-2 - 294 - 11
7 - Fairmont State, W.Va. - 16-2 - 288 - 10
8 - Dallas Baptist, Texas - 19-3 - 266 - 12
9 - Findlay, Ohio - 17-2 - 259 - 5
10 - Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. - 14-3 - 232 - 6
11 - Lake Superior State, Mich. - 17-3 - 229 - 14
12 - Colorado School of Mines - 15-3 - 228 - 7
13 - Southwest Minnesota State - 17-3 - 211 - 14
14 - West Liberty, W.Va. - 15-3 - 199 - 16
15 - Ferris State, Mich. - 18-3 - 181 - 8
16 - Lenoir-Rhyne, N.C. - 16-3 - 163 - 18
17 - Columbus State, Ga. - 15-2 - 151 - 19
18 - Pace, N.Y. - 17-3 - 112 - 21
19 - Florida Southern - 17-4 - 104 - 20
20 0 Minot State, N.D. - 20-3 - 102 - 22
21 - Southern Nazarene, Okla. - 14-2 - 81 - 25
22 - Point Loma, Calif. - 18-4 - 58 - NR
23 - MSU Denver, Colo. - 14-4 - 48 - 13
24 - Chico State, Calif. - 15-3 - 45 - 17
25 - Saint Martin's, Wash. - 18-4 - 32 - NR
Receiving Votes: Gannon (Pa.) 13, Hillsdale (Mich.) 10, West Chester (Pa.) 10, Adelphi (N.Y.) 9, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 8, Midwestern State (Texas) 8, St. Mary's (Texas) 8, Cal State Dominguez Hills 7, Upper Iowa 2, USC Aiken (S.C.) 2, Winona State (Minn.) 2, Michigan Tech 1, Palm Beach Atlantic (Fla.) 1.