Baker Selected as Host Site for NAIA Men’s Basketball First & Second Rounds

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In the midst of a historic men's basketball season, Baker University was named one of the 16 host sites for the 2025 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship First & Second Rounds, presented by Ballogy, as announced by the national office on Thursday morning.

Coming in at No. 10 in yesterday's final national rankings, the Wildcats will welcome three other teams to the Collins Center for the first two rounds of the national tournament, which are scheduled for March 14-15. The final 64-team bracket will be revealed on Thursday, March 6 at 7 p.m. on the NAIA Network.

It will be the program's seventh NAIA postseason appearance and third straight after reaching the playoffs in 2022 and 2023. BU earned its first-ever victory in the tournament last year after a 74-71 win over SAGU in Waxahachie, Texas.

This season, the Wildcats have already set the program's most wins in a season with a 26-3 overall record and clinched their first Heart of America Conference title in over 35 years after going 22-2 in league play.

BU advanced to its third straight conference semifinal game after a 72-54 victory over Missouri Valley last night in the quarterfinals of the Heart Conference Tournament, earning head coach Sean Dooley's 200th career win.

Boasting one of the nation's deepest teams, the Wildcats' roster features five different players who average double figures in scoring with Noah Rigatuso (15.8), Quentin Harvey (13.5), Ty Henry (12.1), Ahmed Mahgoub (11.7) and Kaimen Lennox (10.5) all averaging double-digit points per game.

As the top seed, Baker will host No. 4 seed MidAmerica Nazarene in the Heart Semifinals on Saturday, March 1 at 7 p.m. in the Collins Center. The Wildcats swept the Pioneers in the regular season series with double-digit victories both on the road (84-72) and at home (69-55).

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