KANSAS CITY, Mo. – [Bracket | First and Second Round Schedule | Watch Live] The 2026 NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament Field has been announced. 64 teams will open play in the NAIA Men's Basketball First Round presented by Ballogy on March 13 at 16 host sites around the country. The first 32 winners will then play on March 14 in the Second Round, with a trip to the historic Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, Mo., at stake, where the Round of 16 will tip off on March 19.
The 16 First and Second Round host sites were announced earlier this week on NAIA.org. Among those host sites, 10 received an auto bid through their conference; the remaining six earned an at-large bid into the tournament.
The field contains 35 automatic qualifiers that were determined by each conference; the remaining 29 spots in the field were decided by the Men's Basketball National Selection Committee, comprised of NAIA men's basketball head coaches and administrators from around the nation representing each of the five different areas, West, Midwest, South, East, and North.
The Southern States, Sooner, Mid-South, KCAC, Crossroads, and Cascade Collegiate Conference all have five teams in this year's field, while the Frontier, Great Plains, Great Southwest, and Red River each have four representatives in the field of 64.
The CCC is represented by Lewis-Clark State College, Eastern Oregon University, Corban University, Oregon Tech, and the defending National Champions of College of Idaho.
The first and second round host sites were announced earlier this week CLICK HERE.
The host will stream all First and Second Round games for free to the NAIA Channel on the Urban Edge Network. For more information on how to watch go to naia.org/watch.
For more information, click HERE.