INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA announced the selections to the 2026 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship Tournament on Sunday evening, with Northwest Nazarene men's basketball earning a spot in the West Regional.

The Nighthawks (18-10, 12-6 GNAC) coming in as the six-seed will face the Pacific West Conference champions and three-seed Point Loma (25-5, 18-4 PacWest), in the opening round on March 13th. The one-seed Cal State East Bay (30-0, 22-0 CCAA) will host the regional tournament on their home court, Pioneer Gym, in Hayward, California. 

NNU earned the at-large bid following another strong season. The Nighthawks finished the regular season 18-10 overall with a 12-6 GNAC record and entered the GNAC Championship Tournament as the No. 3 seed. Northwest Nazarene fell in the quarterfinal round to Alaska Fairbanks before earning the NCAA postseason berth.

The other selections in the West Regional include two seed Saint Martin's (25-5), four seed Alaska Anchorage (21-10), five seed Cal State Dominguez Hills (22-8), seven seed Hawaii Pacific (18-11), and eight seed Cal Poly Humboldt (17-14). 

The Nighthawks will be making their fourth appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament. NNU's deepest postseason run came during the 2020–21 season, when the Nighthawks earned an at-large bid and advanced to the Sweet 16 after winning two games in the regional.

Northwest Nazarene also appeared in the 2022–23 NCAA Tournament, earning the GNAC's automatic bid after capturing the conference tournament title for the first time in program history.

The Nighthawks returned to the NCAA Tournament in 2024–25, earning an at-large bid after finishing second in the GNAC. NNU faced No. 2 seed Cal State Dominguez Hills in the opening round, falling to the Toros in the first game of the regional.

A full preview of the regional matchup will be posted on nnusports.com later this week.