T-Bird (MBB) Set to Play in 1st Nationals in 12 Years

The NMJC men's basketball team qualified for the 2026 NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Championship in Hutchinson, Kansas as an at-large bid.

The No. 18 seed T-Birds will face the No. 15 seed Barton CC Saturday, March 21 at 2:30 p.m. CDT on ESPN+.

"Obviously very excited to compete in Hutch," NMJC men's basketball head coach Luke Mackay said. "It will be a great experience for our guys. Being able to continue to practice and prepare with our guys is the best part. Everyone gets to see the games but for me the best part of being a coach is the opportunity to be around a team, in the locker, on the bus, in practice...we have fantastic people in the program so every extra day we get to spend together is a gift." 

The tournament is single-elimination and consists of 24 teams with 16 auto bids and eight at-large bids.

No. 15 Barton fell to No. 7 Butler CC 111-103 in the Plains District Tournament Championship on March 14, 2026.

The T-Birds are one of four teams from Region V in Hutch. No. 1 Howard College received the automatic bid to nationals after winning the Region V title over the Midland College 82-72 victory on Saturday, March 14.

No. 7 Midland College was the first at-large team that made the national tournament from Region V followed by No. 12 South Plains College. This is the first time four teams from one region made the national tournament.

"We definitely feel like we are battle tested," Coach Mackay said. "Going to OT with the No. 1 seed in the tournament just a few days ago, playing a top 25 team essentially every week through the season, there isn't much out guys haven't seen yet in terms of playing style and talent. When five of the nine teams in a league are clear top 25 teams it can't help but grow and develop the players and the team."

Region 8 from Florida also had four teams from their region make the tournament, Chipola, Northwest Florida, Gulf Coast, and Daytona.

The Thunderbirds won 26 games in Year 4 under head coach Luke Mackay. The T-Birds won 24 games in 2025 and 23 games in 2024 with region tournament appearances in three straight seasons. Coach Mackay and assistant coach Jordan Burton have been on staff together for five seasons dating back to their Neosho County days.

"It is fun to see the players get the rewards of their effort they put in," Coach Mackay said. "JB is one of the best in NJCAA at building a program, recruiting and developing players and people. NO ONE works harder than he does and for him to get the opportunity is very gratifying. He has helped us increase our win total every season we have been here which is very difficult to do. When all is said and done we are essentially co-head coaches." 

The culture for NMJC basketball was not built overnight said coach Mackay.

"It is also great to have guys like Michael Mackey and Marquan Harris get rewarded after spending 3 years with us growing the program AND I would be remiss if I didn't mention the guys that stuck with us in year one and two….Bear Cherry, Antwaun Massey, and Ayuel Ayuel…they were with us our first two years and easily could have left after great freshman seasons but they stuck with us and laid a foundation for the program on and off the court." 

NMJC qualified for the NJCAA DI Men's Basketball Championship for the fifth time (1995-1996 | 2013-2014 | 2026).

The T-Birds currently have a 26-6 (12-4) record entering the national tournament and have not had an unranked loss all year. NMJC is 2-4 at the national tournament with two of the four losses coming in 2OT.

The backcourt leader for the Thunderbirds is guard RJ Nance.

Nance, a 6-2 sophomore, was named to the All-Region V Tournament Team last week for his play. The UTRGV transfer leads the team in scoring with 13.5 PPG and shoots a team-high 41.7% from beyond the arc. 

The frontcourt of the Thunderbirds is led by 6-9 sophomore forward Delang Muon.

The Melbourne, Australia native averages 10.4 PPG and is shooting 36% from 3-point territory and 53.9% from the field. Muon was also named to the All-Region V Tournament Team last week in Odessa, Texas.

The T-Birds face a Barton CC team that is 24-9 (17-7) on the year. The Thunderbirds have four common opponents with the Cougars sporting a 6-2 record against those teams and NMJC holding a 4-0 record (Seward, Fort Hays Tech, NOK-Tonkawa, and Pratt.

"Barton is an EXTREMELY talented team and very well coached," Coach Mackay said. "They can really score the basketball and play really hard. It will be a physical and mental battle that will most likely come down to the final few minutes of the game. Their ability to put points on the board in a hurry will really test our defense and our ability to stay tough and focused." 

The No. 18 Thunderbirds face No. 15 Barton CC in the first round of the NJCAA Men's Basketball Championship Saturday, March 21 at 2:30 p.m. CDT in Hutchinson, Kansas at Hutchinson Sports Arena.

The game will be televised on ESPN+ and a $11.99 subscription will be required to catch the games live.  Live stats can be found here. Barton CC will have a free audio of the game via their radio station here.

To keep up to date with tournament scores and action visit the tournament results page. The full bracket can be found here.