It’s time to dust off our jerseys as we approach the start of the 2026-27 NCDA season! The central region is excited to welcome back its many players and teams from a well deserved summer break as well as introduce those trying to break into the league. Lots of exciting things happened over the course of last season: First ever Central Region cup, two-time consolation bracket winners (UWP), Iowa’s first official season, and so much more! It will be exciting to see what happens next in the Central region, but for now, let’s take a look at who’s returning.
Team Previews
Nebraska
Preseason Ranking: 9
Preseason Regional Rank: 1
2025-26 Record: 14-3
2025-26 Nationals Results: Round one of championship bracket
Nebraska has led the central region in wins, skill, and intensity for many seasons now, and it’s safe to say that their coach, Tre Sumrall, will expect nothing less from this year’s rookies. They’ve already started practicing, and their rookie turnout seems promising. Like every season, we anticipate the Cornhusker Clash sometime this fall, with attendees being close rivals UWP and maybe Iowa. This home tournament is one of the few that UNL attends each season due to being so far away from the rest of the league, but they manage to bulk up in isolation with the help of their strict veterans and impressive coaching. Hopefully this year they can make it past the first round of the championship bracket!
Illinois
Preseason Ranking: 19
Preseason Regional Rank: 2
2025-26 Record: 6-14
2025-26 Nationals Results: Lost in Consolation finals
Illinois is the last remaining central region team without an official coach, but veteran Alejandro Alanis-Montes has taken up the challenge of stepping into that role while also being an active player. His first appearance as coach was Women’s nationals where he supported his teammates as they battled for the championship. Illinois has also started recruitment for the season as classes started early this year, and their veterans are working hard to advertise their club. With how far they made it at last nationals, they’re probably looking to flip the script on this season’s results and either take the consolation bracket or fight their way through the championship bracket. Their hard work of the past couple seasons truly shows their determination to be successful and their intense desire to win, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see them reach the championship bracket this year.
UW-Platteville
Preseason Ranking: 14
Preseason Regional Rank: 3
2025-26 Record: 6-17
20265-26 Nationals Results: Consolation Bracket Winner
The UW system starts later than the rest of the region’s schools, so they have a little catching up to do for recruitment and involvement. Thankfully, their BridgeFest club fair is always very fun and successful, brining in many new faces to the first practice held the same evening. With a few key veterans graduating last season–both at semester and term–as well as injuries preventing returners from playing, UWP is relying heavily on this year’s recruitment to rebuild their team. This year might present a few challenges to the team with their lower numbers and growing list of goals the team aims to achieve. Another looming threat is the possibility for injury, but with careful attention to strategy and form from their coach, hopefully these will be kept to a minimum this year. We look forward to seeing what UWP has to offer the region this season, and we hope to see them at the center of further regional growth.
University of Iowa
Preseason Ranking: 24
Preseason Regional Rank: 4
2025-26 Record: 0-7
2025-26 Nationals Finish: N/A
Iowa is still new to the league, but their growth throughout last season was impressive to say the least. They came into every tournament with someone new, and they played hard and had fun. Additionally, they were the hosts of the first ever Central Region Cup and were the only team to score a point on the number one team, UNL. This was a very exciting milestone to hit for them, and it gave them the boost to play the rest of the day at top strength. Now being an established team, we hope they will be able to attend more tournaments outside their region, especially now that they have the help of experienced veterans and their new coach, Andrew Heim. With all this momentum, we hope to see them at nationals this season, and maybe even a few players on the All American teams and All Central team lists.
UW-Stout
Preseason Ranking: 17
Preseason Regional Rank: 5
2025-26 Record: 2-3
2025-26 Nationals Finish: N/A
UW-Stout has been struggling to get full teams to events like the Pioneer Classic and Zanderthon-Throwdown, both hosted by UWP, but they have been able to gather the numbers for more local events like the BluGold Invitational, Rosen Bowl, and the Eau Claire Brawl. Stout has been stuck in a perpetual state of rebuilding, so hopefully with the support of their neighboring schools like UW-Eau Claire and prospective teams UW-La Crosse, UW-Steven’s Point, and Winona they’ll be able to retain more players and have their own team at more events this year. A few goals they could have would be attending the Central Region cup with a full roster and maybe sending a few ambassadors to nationals in the spring if a full roster isn’t possible. We want this team to finally find solid ground so the rest of the region can have another team to battle and help grow.
UW-Eau Claire
Preseason Ranking: 22
Preseason Regional Rank: 6
2025-26 Record: 0-3
2025-26 Nationals Finish: N/A
Much like Iowa, Eau Claire has been on the rise in participation and recruitment, and having an official coach in Matt Polum will definitely be beneficial to their retention and growth. Rumor has it he will be assisting rival school UW-Stevens Point with practices as well as making sure the relationship between UWEC an UW-Stout stays strong. It will be interesting to watch this young team attend more events around the region and hopefully participate in the second Central Region Cup in the spring. They’ve got two great home tournaments that get a few teams to attend, but it would be great to see them branch out further from their home base to experience the many other teams in the league. Hopefully this season will be their opportunity to fight outside the central region and maybe see a player or two on the All American or All Central team lists!
Prospective Teams
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point: These schools have sent ambassadors to several Platteville tournaments last season, and their clubs are still looking for players. From the looks of it, these players have had a lot of fun at the Pioneer Classic and Zanderthon-Throwdown tournaments they’ve attended, but the next steps of officially joining the league are greatly anticipated. Hopefully with the help of schools like UWP, UWEC, and UWS, they will have the opportunity to learn quickly and catch up with the rest of the region to play and compete at an equal level.
Winona: If Winona joined the league, it would give the northern Wisconsin schools an additional team to play and practice with, and they wouldn’t have to travel so far in order to compete against players outside their own roster. The players who have participated in tournaments have a lot of potential and talent for the game, and they are another school who has the potential to form a women’s team as well as an open division team. Their inclusion to the league would greatly help both divisions in the central region, not to mention they are incredibly fun to play.
Pre-Season OT6
- Boston Wood (UNL)
- Malaki Shriner-Horne (UNL)
- Jesse Stebbing (UNL)
- Art Provost IV (UNL)
- Alejandro Alanis-Montes (UIUC)
- Avan Teuer (UIUC)
Pre-Season Power Rankings
- UNL (9)
- UIUC (17)
- UWP (19)
- Iowa (21)
- UWS (24)
- UWEC (25)