The men’s and women’s NCAA Basketball tournaments are back for another year of excitement on the hardwood. Naperville area athletes and coaches will be competing in the 2026 tournaments, in hopes of being a part of March Madness history.
Ben Schwieger returns to the March Madness stage
Former Waubonsie Valley basketball and volleyball star Ben Schwieger is making the most of his final year in college. In his second season with the University of Northern Iowa, Schwieger helped the Panthers achieve a historic feat, becoming the first Missouri Valley team to win four games in four days to win the MVC tournament. Although Schwieger was on the Loyola-Chicago roster when the Ramblers qualified for the 2022 NCAA tournament, he did not play as he was redshirting that season.
Schweiger is averaging 9.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists as a fifth-year senior, scoring a season-high 18 points in the MVC championship victory over UIC.
As the No. 12 seed in the West region, Northern Iowa (23-12) will face Big East tournament champions St. John’s, the No. 5 seed. The game will tip off at 6:40 pm on Friday, March 20, on CBS.
From state champ to the NCAA tourney for Blake Fagbemi
Benet Academy alum Blake Fagbemi helped lead the Redwings to the first state championship in program history last spring. As a freshman this winter, he is a reserve guard for the University of Illinois, a team that finished the regular season ranked in the top 10.
The Illini (24-8) enter the tournament as the No. 3 seed in the South region and will face the No.14 seed Penn on Thursday, March 19, at 8:25 pm on TNT.
Former Naperville Central star and future Hall of Famer Candace Parker will be on the TNT Sports pregame, halftime, and postgame commentary crew throughout the NCAA Men’s Tournament.
Naperville native and Benet alum Porter Moser, head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners, saw his team fall just short of the dance, as the Sooners were the final team to miss the 68-team field.
Kenzie Hare is back from injury and back in the Big Dance
After missing most of the 2024-45 season due to hip surgery, 2022 Naperville North graduate Kenzie Hare is back on the court with the Iowa State Cyclones. Hare has plenty of NCAA experience after spending her freshman and sophomore seasons playing at Marquette. She is averaging 6.2 points per game for the Cyclones, helping the team from beyond the arc as a 42% shooter from three-point range in her redshirt junior season.
Iowa State (22-9) earned the No. 8 seed and will face No.9 seed Syracuse in the opening round matchup on Saturday, March 21, at 4:30 pm on ESPN 2 in the Fort Worth 1 region.
