By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Fort Hays State Women’s Basketball is ranked No. 7 in the final WBCA Division II Top 25 Poll of the season, released on Tuesday (Mar. 28). The Tigers also finished among the Top 10 of the D2SIDA Top 25 Media Poll, ranking ninth. Fort Hays State finished another tremendous season at 30-4 overall, its third 30-plus win season under head coach Tony Hobson.
The Tigers were among the Top 10 of every WBCA poll this season and held the No. 1 ranking from November 23 to December 13. FHSU notched both MIAA regular season and tournament championships in 2021-22, on its way to earning the No. 1 seed in the Central Region of the NCAA Tournament. FHSU reached the regional final on its home floor as the regional host, but fell by just one point to Missouri Western after knocking off Minnesota State and St. Cloud State in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds.
The Central Region was one of the most competitive in the country. Five of the eight teams that competed in the regional of the NCAA Tournament finished in the Top 25 and two of the remaining three were among teams to receive votes. Missouri Western vaulted back into the Top 25 at No. 12 with their run in the NCAA Tournament. The Griffons had seen time in the poll earlier in the season, including when FHSU won a regular season matchup between the teams in St. Joseph. NSIC members St. Cloud State (No. 20) and Minnesota Duluth (No. 22), along with GAC champion Southwestern Oklahoma State (No. 23) were among the Top 25. Nebraska-Kearney and Missouri Southern of the MIAA were among teams receiving votes.
This was the second-straight year the Tigers finished among the Top 10 of the final WBCA Top 25 Poll. FHSU tied for 10th in the final poll of the 2020-21 season. It was the fourth time the Tigers finished inside the Top 10 of the WBCA poll, placed in the No. 5 spot in 2018-19 and the No. 8 spot in 2014-15. The 2014-15 and 2018-19 squads were FHSU’s two other 30-plus win teams under Hobson.
Below are the final Top 25 Polls for the 2021-22 season.
| Rank | School (1st Place Votes) | Pts | W-L | Prev. |
| 1 | Glenville State (W.Va.) (22) | 550 | 35-1 | 3 |
| 2 | Western Washington | 517 | 25-6 | 25 |
| 3 | Grand Valley State (Mich.) | 485 | 31-3 | 6 |
| 4 | North Georgia | 479 | 29-4 | 7 |
| 5 | Union (Tenn.) | 411 | 28-3 | 1 |
| 6 | Valdosta State (Ga.) | 403 | 26-6 | 24 |
| 7 | Fort Hays State (Kan.) | 346 | 30-4 | 4 |
| 8 | Drury (Mo.) | 343 | 32-5 | 5 |
| 9 | Ashland (Ohio) | 342 | 29-3 | 2 |
| 10 | Lander (S.C.) | 317 | 24-5 | 11 |
| 11 | West Texas A&M | 299 | 26-11 | 23 |
| 12 | Missouri Western | 257 | 24-10 | NR |
| 13 | Walsh (Ohio) | 237 | 28-5 | 18 |
| 14 | Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | 201 | 25-4 | 9 |
| 15 | Pace (N.Y.) | 199 | 24-8 | NR |
| 16 | Cal State East Bay | 190 | 24-3 | 15 |
| 17 | Barton (N.C.) | 187 | 28-2 | 8 |
| 18 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 183 | 27-5 | 13 |
| 19 | Lubbock Christian (Texas) | 180 | 28-7 | 19 |
| 20 | St. Cloud State (Minn.) | 164 | 24-5 | 16 |
| 21 | Tampa (Fla.) | 131 | 29-6 | 14 |
| 22 | Minnesota Duluth | 121 | 24-5 | 12 |
| 23 | Southwestern Oklahoma State | 111 | 29-5 | 10 |
| 24 | Eckerd (Fla.) | 72 | 21-5 | 21 |
| 25 | Savannah State (Ga.) | 60 | 27-3 | 17 |
Receiving Votes:
Daemen (22-5) 53; Charleston (W.Va.) (23-9) 48; Nebraska Kearney (24-8) 32; Lee
(25-8) 27; Cal State San Marcos (22-4) 22; Colorado School of Mines (25-5) 22;
Benedict (23-8) 20; Carson-Newman (27-6) 16; Missouri Southern (24-7) 16;
Southern New Hampshire (21-7) 15; Central Washington (24-8) 14; University of
the Sciences (24-5) 14; Georgia Southwestern (23-7) 9; Lincoln (Pa.) (22-8) 3.
| Rank | School (1st Place Votes) | W-L | Pts. | Prev. |
| 1 | Glenville State (W.Va.) (16) | 35-1 | 400 | 3 |
| 2 | Western Washington | 25-6 | 384 | 24 |
| 3 | Grand Valley State (Mich.) | 31-3 | 361 | 6 |
| 4 | North Georgia | 29-4 | 354 | 5 |
| 5 | Valdosta State (Ga.) | 26-6 | 319 | RV |
| 6 | West Texas A&M | 26-11 | 266 | 19 |
| 7 | Missouri Western | 24-10 | 265 | NR |
| 8 | Union (Tenn.) | 28-3 | 251 | 1 |
| 9 | Fort Hays State (Kan.) | 30-4 | 232 | 4 |
| 10 | Pace (N.Y.) | 24-8 | 230 | NR |
| 11 | Lubbock Christian (Texas) | 28-7 | 222 | 9 |
| 12 | Lander (S.C.) | 24-5 | 220 | 14 |
| 13 | Ashland (Ohio) | 29-3 | 202 | 2 |
| 14 | Cal State-East Bay | 24-3 | 193 | T10 |
| 15 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 27-5 | 166 | 7 |
| 16 | Walsh (Ohio) | 28-5 | 146 | 15 |
| 17 | Drury (Mo.) | 32-5 | 134 | T10 |
| 18 | Barton (N.C.) | 28-2 | 83 | 8 |
| 19 | Central Washington | 24-8 | 79 | 16 |
| 20 | Charleston (W.Va.) | 23-9 | 74 | NR |
| 21 | Nebraska-Kearney | 24-8 | 65 | NR |
| 22 | St. Cloud State (Minn.) | 24-5 | 61 | RV |
| 23 | Daemen (N.Y.) | 22-5 | 55 | NR |
| 24 | Tampa (Fla.) | 29-6 | 47 | 13 |
| 25 | Azusa Pacific (Calif.) | 25-4 | 45 | RV |
Receiving Votes: Minnesota State-Mankato 40, Carson-Newman 36, Georgia Southwestern State 36, Eckerd 29, Lee 28, Southwestern Oklahoma State 26, Texas Woman’s 22, California (Pa.) 19, Shepherd 18, Southern New Hampshire 15, University of the Sciences 15, Alaska-Anchorage 10, Colorado School of Mines 10, Missouri Southern 10, Lincoln (Pa.) 9, Indiana (Pa.) 7, Metropolitan State 6, Southern Indiana 4, Gannon 3, Cal State-San Marcos 2, Wayne State (Mich.) 1.