2026 Conference Tournament and NCAA Selection Thread

[Ron Boerger]

SCIAC Finals

La Verne 1 - Whittier 0

La Verne wins the SCIAC and advances to the NCAA tournament for the first time in its history with a very tidy performance in a tight game.

It will be interesting to see how the pod is constructed for Region X.  Southwestern, Whitman, Colorado College, Trinity, Hardin-Simmons, and La Verne are the qualifiers.  I could see Southwestern hosting with Trinity and Whitman sent elsewhere.  Whitman could go to Minnesota presumably.

I'll eat my hat if Trinity and Hardin-Simmons don't end up at Southwestern with one team being flown in.  CC has to fly regardless, and La Verne and Whitman are so low on the totem pole that they'll be flown too.   

[Kuiper]

SCIAC Finals

La Verne 1 - Whittier 0

La Verne wins the SCIAC and advances to the NCAA tournament for the first time in its history with a very tidy performance in a tight game.

It will be interesting to see how the pod is constructed for Region X.  Southwestern, Whitman, Colorado College, Trinity, Hardin-Simmons, and La Verne are the qualifiers.  I could see Southwestern hosting with Trinity and Whitman sent elsewhere.  Whitman could go to Minnesota presumably.

I'll eat my hat if Trinity and Hardin-Simmons don't end up at Southwestern with one team being flown in.  CC has to fly regardless, and La Verne and Whitman are so low on the totem pole that they'll be flown too.   

Fair.  I just wasn't sure if they would try to avoid teams in the same conference playing each other this early as long as they were sending teams elsewhere.

[stlawus]

SCIAC Finals

La Verne 1 - Whittier 0

La Verne wins the SCIAC and advances to the NCAA tournament for the first time in its history with a very tidy performance in a tight game.

It will be interesting to see how the pod is constructed for Region X.  Southwestern, Whitman, Colorado College, Trinity, Hardin-Simmons, and La Verne are the qualifiers.  I could see Southwestern hosting with Trinity and Whitman sent elsewhere.  Whitman could go to Minnesota presumably.

I'll eat my hat if Trinity and Hardin-Simmons don't end up at Southwestern with one team being flown in.  CC has to fly regardless, and La Verne and Whitman are so low on the totem pole that they'll be flown too.   

When it comes to NCAA committees, Texas pods are essentially crack cocaine. They will snort crumbs from the carpet and lick paint off the walls if they can find a way to get a Texas pod.

[Ron Boerger]

SCIAC Finals

La Verne 1 - Whittier 0

La Verne wins the SCIAC and advances to the NCAA tournament for the first time in its history with a very tidy performance in a tight game.

It will be interesting to see how the pod is constructed for Region X.  Southwestern, Whitman, Colorado College, Trinity, Hardin-Simmons, and La Verne are the qualifiers.  I could see Southwestern hosting with Trinity and Whitman sent elsewhere.  Whitman could go to Minnesota presumably.

I'll eat my hat if Trinity and Hardin-Simmons don't end up at Southwestern with one team being flown in.  CC has to fly regardless, and La Verne and Whitman are so low on the totem pole that they'll be flown too.   

When it comes to NCAA committees, Texas pods are essentially crack cocaine. They will snort crumbs from the carpet and lick paint off the walls if they can find a way to get a Texas pod.

THIS.

Besides, Southwestern is abandoning the SAA so they have one foot in the SCAC already.  The rematch rule usually only comes into effect for the first round.

[Gregory Sager]

SCIAC Finals

La Verne 1 - Whittier 0

La Verne wins the SCIAC and advances to the NCAA tournament for the first time in its history with a very tidy performance in a tight game.

It will be interesting to see how the pod is constructed for Region X.  Southwestern, Whitman, Colorado College, Trinity, Hardin-Simmons, and La Verne are the qualifiers.  I could see Southwestern hosting with Trinity and Whitman sent elsewhere.  Whitman could go to Minnesota presumably.

I'll eat my hat if Trinity and Hardin-Simmons don't end up at Southwestern with one team being flown in.  CC has to fly regardless, and La Verne and Whitman are so low on the totem pole that they'll be flown too.   

Fair.  I just wasn't sure if they would try to avoid teams in the same conference playing each other this early as long as they were sending teams elsewhere.

As long as they don't play each other in the opening round, it's within the rules to bracket league rivals within the same four-team pod.

As you well know, but perhaps some newer fans don't, this is a regular occurrence for the "island" conferences in Texas and on the West Coast in multiple D3 sports, and is probably the most glaring evidence of the budget restrictions  within which D3 national tournaments have to operate. Less money means fewer flights, which in turn means that geographic proximity often overrides seeding concerns and the understandable desire to separate teams from the same league within the larger bracket. And, of course, the geographically isolated leagues in the Southwest and West bear the brunt of it.