WICHITA, Kan. -- Wichita State earned an at-large selection in the 2026 NCAA Tournament field announced Wednesday, securing the #2 seed in the Arlington Region. The regional will take place at the International Training and Research Center, where the Shockers were scheduled to compete in the Prairie View Invitational back in January before it was canceled due to inclement weather.

The Shockers (73-33) will take on #3 seed Newman (73-30) in the opening round Mega Match on Friday, April 3. On the opposite side of the bracket, #1 seed Louisiana Tech (77-34) battles #4 seed Bryant (58-32). The regional round is double-elimination format.

Newman secured an automatic bid to the tournament as winners of the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament, where they went 4-0, defeating Maryville in the championship match. The Shockers and Jets have just one previous meeting this season, a 938-923 Newman win at the Track Kat Klash on November 2.

Elsewhere in the 19-team field, Jacksonville State (#1 overall seed - Lansing Regional), Vanderbilt (#2 overall seed - Rochester Regional) and Arkansas State (#3 overall seed - Pittsburgh Regional) snagged the top spots in their respective regions. Wichita State's region is the only one in the field with just four teams; the other three regions each have five teams with a single-elimination play-in round on Thursday, April 2.

The Shockers will be looking to replicate their regional championship from a season ago, when they bested Felician and Vanderbilt twice to claim the Lansing Region championship and advance to the Final Four.