Men’s Basketball to Host First and Second Round NCAA Tournament Action
The Wesleyan men's basketball team earned an at-large bid into the 2026 NCAA Division III Tournament, as announced by the NCAA on Monday afternoon. The Cardinals (21-6) are making their sixth all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and are set to host First and Second Round action for the fourth time (all since 2018).
MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – The Wesleyan men's basketball team earned an at-large bid into the 2026 NCAA Division III Tournament, as announced by the NCAA on Monday afternoon. The Cardinals (21-6) are making their sixth all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament and are set to host First and Second Round action for the fourth time (all since 2018).
Ticket Information
There is no online presale for tickets. All tickets are available 90 minutes before the tip-off of the first game on each round of the competition. Ticket sales in Daniels Lobby (inside the Freeman Athletic Center in the lobby overlooking Silloway Gymnasium) begin at 2:15 PM on Friday and 4:45 PM on Saturday. Fans can use card or cash to purchase tickets. The Friday tickets are all-session, meaning fans can watch both First Round game if they wish.
Prices are:
$15 | adults
$10 | children (ages 3 and above) / students / seniors (65+)
**Free **| children ages 2 and under
Silloway Gym serves as the location for NCAA Tournament First Round action on Friday with games between Wesleyan and Lehman (6:15 PM) and NYU (17-8) vs. Gettysburg (18-9), as well as the Second Round game between the two winning teams on Saturday at 6:15 PM.
Wesleyan has the luxury of hosting NCAA Tournament games during the opening weekend following another sensational season that saw the Cardinals go 19-5 in the regular season, earning the #1 seed in the NESCAC Tournament for the second straight year and third time in the past five seasons, and finishing as the NESCAC runner-up. Wesleyan went 13-0 at home before being knocked off by Trinty in the NESCAC title game.
This is the team's 11
th consecutive winning season dating back to 2014-15, the second-longest such streak in the team's 123-year history. Having graduated a pair of 1,000-point scorers in Nicky Johson '25 and
Shane Regan '25 from last year's Final Four team, Wesleyan's 2025-26 squad features several returners in bigger roles while still holding true to its identity that brought so much success last season in rebounding and defense.
Through 27 games, Wesleyan ranks fifth nationally in rebounding margin (+9.7), while the Cardinals sport the 21
st best field goal percentage defense (39.7) and 29
th best scoring defense (66.4) in the nation. The Cardinals cash in on free throws, hitting 77.7 percent for the season which ranks 10
th nationally, while the Cardinals commit the 25
th fewest fouls per game (14.1).
Wesleyan features a pair of All-NESCAC First Team selections as the guard position including
Zach Wolinski '28 and
Sam Pohlman '26. Wolinski has grown immensely in his sophomore year after spending most of his freshman season as a role player. The two-time NESCAC Player of the Year selection leads the team and ranks 3
rd in the NESCAC in scoring, averaging 18.2 points per game. He averages the most minutes played of any player in the NESCAC (33.9) and is shooting at a 46.4 percent clip overall, 36.2 percent from three, and 85.7 percent from the line. Wolinski has scored in double figures in all but one game this season and recently poured in 32 and 33 points in consecutive games on the same weekend against Bowdoin and Colby.
Pohlman played behind the program's all-time assist leader in
Nicky Johnson for his first three years on campus and has blossomed into a big-time performer in his first year as a regular starter for the Cardinals. Pohlman leads the NESCAC and ranks sixth nationally averaging 6.4 assists per game while he also puts in 12.4 PPG and grabs 5.6 rebounds per contest. He has 10+ assists three times in the past six games including a career-high 15 assists (the most by a Cardinal in at least 30 seasons) against Bates.
Oscar Edelman '28 is a dual threat from both the interior and from beyond the three-point line as the sophomore averages 9.8 points per game with 5.9 rebounds per game in just 23.7 minutes.
Fritz Hauser '26 is a four-year starter at forward and enjoying the best year of his career in 2025-26, averaging career-highs in points (9.2), rebounds (5.3), field goal percentage (41.9), three-point percentage (36.4), and free throw percentage (76.3) while he recently drained eight three-pointers in a 30-point performance against Bates.
Ben Lyttle '27 recently posted three straight games with 10+ points including double-doubles in back-to-back-to-back games. He leads the team in rebounding (7.2 per game) and shoots 35.3 percent from three on the year. Other key contributors off the bench include
Jackson Cormier '26 (5.6 PPG, 50.5 FG%),
Jaalan Watson '29 (5.2 PPG, 43.8 3FG%), and
Josh Cameron 2'7 (2.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG).
Wesleyan has never played Lehman while the Cardinals haven't faced NYU since the 2009-10 season. Gettysburg is a common opponent, with the Cardinals having faced the Bullets twice in the past calendar year including an 82-60 Second Round win over the Bullets in Middletown in last year's NCAA Tournament. The two sides then met again early on in this season, with Wesleyan prevailing in a 59-56 win in Salisbury, Maryland.