Three of the four college basketball teams in Sioux County have now punched their postseason tickets after the NAIA announced the brackets for the 2026 men’s and women’s national basketball championships Thursday night.
The Dordt Defender women earned the No. 1 seed in the 16-team Cramer quadrant of the NAIA Women’s Basketball Championship and will host Simpson (California) in the opening round Friday, March 13th, at 5:30 p.m. at the De Witt Gym in Sioux Center.
The second first-round game in the quadrant will feature Rocky Mountain (Montana) against Southern Oregon at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The winners will meet Saturday, March 14th at 3:00 p.m., with the victor advancing to the 16-team final site in Sioux City.
The national championship final rounds will be played March 19th through March 24th at the Tyson Events Center.
Dordt is one of six Great Plains Athletic Conference teams to qualify for the 64-team women’s tournament field announced Thursday.
The Northwestern women also received an at-large bid into the national tournament. The No. 14-seeded Raiders will face No. 3 seed Tennessee Southern in the opening round Friday, March 13th, in Spring Arbor, Michigan.
The other first-round matchup at the Spring Arbor site will feature No. 6 seed Spring Arbor hosting No. 11 seed Indiana Tech, with the winners advancing to the site championship game.
On the men’s side, the No. 20-ranked Northwestern Red Raiders will host a first- and second-round site in Orange City after finishing the season 26-5 and capturing the GPAC Tournament championship.
The No. 4-seeded Raiders will face No. 13 seed Taylor (Indiana) in the opening round Friday, March 13th, at 5:30 p.m. at the Bultman Center.
The second game that evening will feature William Penn (Iowa) against defending national champion College of Idaho at 7:30 p.m.
The winners of those games will meet Saturday, March 14th at 7:00 p.m., with the winner advancing to the NAIA Men’s Basketball Championship final site in Kansas City.
