FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION DEPARTMENT
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State resumes its run in the NSCAA Division II Top 25 National Poll to open the 2016 season. After closing the 2015 season as the No. 14 ranked team in the nation, the Tigers start the 2016 campaign ranked No. 15 in the country.
Fort Hays State held a ranking as high as No. 11 last year as they went on to set a new program record for wins (13) in a season. The Tigers claimed their second consecutive Central Region Championship in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the national quarterfinals for the second straight year. It was the fourth consecutive year the Tigers were selected to the NCAA Tournament in just the fifth year of the program’s existence.
Head coach Brett Parker has guided the program to an overall record of 58-27-13 in five years at FHSU. The Tigers have won at least 11 matches in all five of years and have been in the NSCAA national rankings in each of the last four years.
The Tigers will get a big challenge the first week of regular season play when they play at Rockhurst University in a rematch of the 2015 national quarterfinal. FHSU fell just short of a final four appearance, eliminated on penalty kicks after the match ended in a 1-1 draw. Rockhurst opens this season at No. 3 in the nation. Just a couple weeks later, FHSU travels out to the west coast where it will meet preseason No. 11 Seattle Pacific during a two-match swing in the state of Washington.
Fort Hays State is the highest ranked team of the two MIAA schools represented in the preseason rankings. Upper Iowa, the MIAA regular season champion from last year, starts the year at No. 23 in the nation. FHSU defeated Upper Iowa in the Central Regional Championship of the NCAA Tournament last year.
Below is the Preseason Top 25 poll for 2016.
| Rank | School | Prev. | W-L-T |
| 1 | Pfeiffer University | 1 | 25-0-0 |
| 2 | University Of Charleston | 2 | 20-3-0 |
| 3 | Rockhurst University | 3 | 18-2-3 |
| 4 | Cal Poly Pomona | 4 | 17-3-3 |
| 5 | Palm Beach Atlantic University | 5 | 17-2-1 |
| 6 | Colorado School Of Mines | 6 | 18-1-3 |
| 7 | Midwestern State University | 7 | 17-1-1 |
| 8 | Southern New Hampshire University | 9 | 19-1-1 |
| 9 | LIU Post | 8 | 15-3-3 |
| 9 | Young Harris College | 10 | 17-4-0 |
| 11 | Seattle Pacific University | 11 | 14-1-4 |
| 12 | Northwood University (Mich.) | 12 | 17-2-1 |
| 13 | California State University-Dominguez Hills | 13 | 14-3-4 |
| 14 | St. Edward’s University | 15 | 15-3-2 |
| 15 | Fort Hays State University | 14 | 13-5-2 |
| 16 | Urbana University | 16 | 13-4-2 |
| 17 | Rollins College | 17 | 13-8-0 |
| 18 | Wingate University | 18 | 14-4-4 |
| 19 | Merrimack College | 19 | 15-4-2 |
| 20 | Notre Dame College | 20 | 12-6-0 |
| 21 | Saginaw Valley State University | 22 | 15-4-1 |
| 22 | Fresno Pacific University | 21 | 14-3-2 |
| 23 | Upper Iowa University | 23 | 13-4-1 |
| 24 | California State University-Los Angeles | RV | 12-5-3 |
| 25 | Lynn University | NR | 9-4-2 |
Also receiving votes: Lander, Gannon, Southern Connecticut State, Saint Leo, Limestone, Millersville, Carson-Newman, California State Stanislaus