NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.–The No. 1 seeded Monroe University men's basketball team begins its 2026 NJCAA tournament title run on Saturday, March 7 at 3:30 p.m. in the NJCAA Region 20 semifinals in Bel Air, Maryland.

HOW WE GOT HERE

·      Monroe went 25-4 on the season while currently still on an 18-game win streak.

·      With being the #1 seed in the NJCAA Region 20 tournament, the Mustangs will face the lowest remaining seed in the semifinals, pending the outcome of Friday's quarterfinals.

·      A pair of wins at the NJCAA Region 20 tournament will send the Mustangs to their 11th appearance at the NJCAA Division 1 National Tournament.

600 WINS FOR BRUSTAD

·      With a decisive victory over Lackawanna College in Scranton, Penn., Monroe men's basketball head coach Jeff Brustad secured his 600th career win.

·      That record places Brustad among the Top 10–15 active NJCAA men's basketball head coaches in career wins nationwide. 

·      Over the course of his tenure, he has sent over 100 players to NCAA Division I programs, building one of the strongest sustained winning percentages and program-building resumes in junior college basketball.

ON THE HUNT FOR 7 REGIONAL TITLES

·      Heading into this weekend's Region 20 tournament, the men's basketball team will aim at claiming their seventh NJCAA regional tournament title.

·      The last time they won a regional came in 2020 when they defeated Harcum in double-overtime.

PUTTING UP THE POINTS

·      Heading into the postseason, the Mustangs have nine players scoring over 100 points during the regular season.

·      Naceiar Kirksey leads the Mustangs with 464 during the regular season as he has been averaging 16.6 points per game.

·      Meanwhile, in the last game of the regular season, Nico Pena tallied a season-high 26 points against Harford. He tallied 310 for the year, placing him third on the team.

·      Nick Williams took second on the team in points, scoring 322 during the regular season while averaging 12.9 points per game.

·      As a team, the Mustangs scored 100 points in five of their games during the regular season.

UP NEXT

With a win on Saturday, the Mustangs will advance to the Region 20 Championship game on Sunday, March 8, at 2:00 PM.  

ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE UNIVERSITY

The athletic program at Monroe University encompasses a total of 26 teams competing across nine sports. There are 19 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as the Monroe University marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeUMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (@MonroeMustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).