Seward Men’s and Women’s Basketball to Host Opening Round of NJCAA Region 6 Tournament Saturday

LIBERAL, Kan. – It is officially postseason time in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference.

Both Seward basketball programs positioned themselves in fifth place in the 13-team league and are set to host the opening round of the NJCAA Region 6 Tournament on Saturday at The Greenhouse. The winner of the tournament gets an automatic berth into the NJCAA National Tournament. The women's national tournament runs from March 24-31 in Lake Charles, La., at McNeese State's Townsley Law Arena. The men's national tournament runs from March 21-28 in Hutchinson at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

2026 NJCAA Region 6 Women's Division 1 Bracket

2026 NJCAA Region 6 Men's Division 1 Bracket

The women are set to host Fort Hays Tech Northwest with a 4 p.m. tip, and the men's game will follow. Both games are free to attend. Brock Kappelmann will have the call on KSCB 1270 and the Seward County Sports Network will provide free video at SewardSaints.com. Live stats are available on the schedule page for each team. Once the tournament reaches the semifinal round, all ticketing and live streaming will be conducted through the KJCCC.

Seward earned the No. 5 seed, their highest finish in the Will Marchino era after finishing sixth the past two seasons. The Lady Saints (19-11, 14-10) host 12-seed Fort Hays Tech Northwest (2-28, 2-22) on Saturday at 4 p.m. in The Greenhouse. The winner advances to the quarterfinal round, where the No. 4-seed Coffeyville Red Ravens (22-8, 16-8) await.

The Seward women are 2-0 vs. the Tigers this season with a 69-43 win at home on Dec. 6th and a 81-41 triumph in Goodland on Feb. 8th. Seward's last game of the regular season was a 67-62 home loss to No. 9 nationally ranked and No. 2 seed in the Region 6 Tournament, Dodge City. Fort Hays Tech Northwest closed its regular season out with a 76-50 road loss at Hutchinson.

The fifth-seeded Seward men will host the No. 12 seed Colby Trojans after the women's game. The Saints (18-12, 13-11), led by first-year head coach Austin Downing, are back in the Region 6 Tournament after a remarkable turnaround as last years team missed the tournament, finishing 3-26 overall. The Saints matchup with Colby who finished 7-23 overall and 5-19 in league play. The winner advances to the quarterfinal round, where the No. 4-seeded Coffeyville Red Ravens (21-9, 15-9) await.

Seward and Colby split the two matchups this season, with both teams winning at home. Seward won 73-56 at home and fell 74-69 on Jan. 25th at Colby. The Saints wrapped up the regular season with a 75-74 loss to Dodge City at The Greenhouse. Colby closed out the regular season with an 82-65 loss at Butler, the No. 2 seed in the upcoming tournament.

It marks the first time the Seward men have hosted since the eventual Region 6 champion 2018-19 squad earned a bye in the opening round.