The Central Region is made up of teams from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the Great American Conference. Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the postseason conference tournaments, with the final five seeds handed out on an at-large basis.
The Tigers (24-2, 16-1 MIAA) are 20-2 against NCAA Division II teams on the year – with all matchups coming against regional opponents. FHSU is one of five teams listed in the rankings, joining Pittsburg State (No. 2), Emporia State (No. 3), Central Missouri (No. 9) and Missouri Southern (No. 10). Three teams from the NSIC are listed in the poll, with Wayne State (No. 4), Northern State (No. 6) and Minnesota State-Mankato (No. 8) representing the conference. Harding (No. 5) and Arkansas Tech (No. 8) are the GAC teams listed in the rankings.
Changes in this week’s poll saw Emporia State and Wayne State switch spots at third and fourth, respectively, while Harding moved up to No. 5 and Arkansas Tech slipped two spots to seventh. Additionally, Northern State moved up to sixth and Minnesota State-Mankato dropped to eighth. Augustana fell out of the rankings, replaced by Missouri Southern.
FHSU has wrapped up at least a share of the MIAA Regular Season Championship and holds a two-game lead over Pitt State with two games remaining. FHSU is one of three teams (PSU and ESU as well) to lock up a first round bye in the MIAA Tournament, held March 5-8. The top four teams in the conference standings guarantee themselves a spot in the MIAA quarterfinals in Kansas City, Mo.
FHSU is on the road this weekend to close the regular season, taking on Central Oklahoma this Thursday and Northeastern State on Saturday.
The complete NCAA Central Region Rankings for Feb. 25
| Rank | School | DII Record | In-Region Record |
| 1 | Fort Hays State | 20-2 | 20-2 |
| 2 | Pittsburg State | 24-4 | 22-4 |
| 3 | Emporia State | 20-4 | 20-4 |
| 4 | Wayne State (Neb.) | 22-4 | 22-4 |
| 5 | Harding | 19-5 | 19-5 |
| 6 | Northern State | 20-6 | 20-6 |
| 7 | Arkansas Tech | 18-5 | 16-4 |
| 8 | Minnesota State – Mankato | 19-8 | 18-8 |
| 9 | Central Missouri | 17-8 | 15-8 |
| 10 | Missouri Southern | 16-6 | 16-6 |