The first round of the 2026 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament starts today, with Hood College hosting the first two rounds. Game one will feature No. 9 University of Redlands facing off against Susquehanna University at 3 p.m., with the hosting No. 16 Hood College taking on Vassar College at 5:35 p.m.

The No. 16 Hood College men's basketball team will be making its fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, its third since 2022, and are looking to move on to the Round of 32 for the first time in program history.
Led by juniors Jevon Yarbrough (Hagerstown, Md./Williamsport), Jude Huseby (Frederick, Md./Urbana), and Kullen Robinson (Alexandria, Va./Alexandria City), the Blazers have made a name for themselves with their "Let It Fly" philosophy. This season alone, they have scored 100+ points in 12 contests this season, the most in program history, and currently have the fourth best offense in the country by averaging 95.7 points per game.

At the helm for the Blazers is Chad Dickman in his 11th season with the team. The 2025-26 MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year helped guide the team to its highest national ranking this year at No. 15, with impressive wins against ranked opponents like Catholic University and York College of Pennsylvania and looks to continue this impressive run into the national tournament.
 
Vassar College enters its second national tournament with a 20-8 (13-5) record, earning an automatic bid after defeating the top-seeded Rennsselaer Polytechnic Institute in the Liberty League conference final 57-53.
The Brewers are led by junior Shea Fitzgerald (16.6 PPG) and sophomore Parker Neuenhaus (14.4 PPG), with Fitzgerald coming into Friday fourth all-time in points scored for the program with 1,340. Vassar heads into Friday with a Top 20 nationally ranked defense, including a top four three-point defense at 27.6.
Led by head coach Ryan Mee in his eighth season with the team, Mee has guided the Brewers to a 99-80 overall record during his time.
 
No. 9 University of Redlands is making its fifth NCAA tournament appearance this Friday, with the Bulldogs hoping to build off their success from last year's tournament that saw them go all the way to the Elite 8.
Seniors Lucas Gordan and Jake Hlyiak lead the team with 14.5 PPG and 13.1 PPG, respectively, but with the fifth-best offense in the country at 94.8 PPG, Redlands can get contributions from anyone if it needs to, as evidenced by its dominant 93-64 win over Chapman University in the SCIAC championship game.

Eric Bridgeland in his fifth season with the Bulldogs has them in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row and is familiar with the big dance, leading the team to the Elite 8 last year and has a Final 4 appearance while coaching at Whitman College under his belt.

Susquehanna University heads into Friday for its 10th tournament appearance, the most of all four squads, but their first appearance in the dance since 2022.
Junior Mario Castro Sanchez leads the River Hawks with 13.6 PPG and is followed closely by senior Brandon Lavitt at 12.1 PPG. The road to the NCAA tournament was not easy for Susquehanna, as it not only had to win all three of its Landmark Conference tournament games on the road, but also had to make an 11-point comeback against Wilkes University in the championship game.

Frank Marcinek, in his 37th year as head coach of the River Hawks, has guided them to six of their 10 appearances in the national tournament, including a Sweet 16 run in 1986, and has remained consistent in his winning ways with a 527-376 overall record as the head coach.