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Redhawks Host Tommies in NIT First Round

Seattle U has earned a No. 4 seed and will host St. Thomas on Tuesday, March 17 at the Redhawk Center in the first round of the NIT. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+. The winner will advance to play the winner of No. 1 seed Auburn vs. South Alabama on either Saturday, March 21 or Sunday, March 22 at a location to be determined.

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Redhawks Host Tommies in NIT First RoundRedhawks Host Tommies in NIT First Round

SEATTLE – A historic 2025-26 season for Seattle University men’s basketball will continue on as the Redhawks have earned a bid into the 2026 National Invitational Tournament (NIT). Seattle U earned a No. 4 seed and will host St. Thomas on Tuesday, March 17 at the Redhawk Center. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+. The winner will advance to play the winner of No. 1 seed Auburn vs. South Alabama on either Saturday, March 21 or Sunday, March 22 at a location to be determined.

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QUICK HITS

  • Seattle U enters the NIT with a 20-13 overall record, marking the program’s fourth 20-win season in the past five years.
  • The three straight 20-win seasons from 2022-24 had not been done since 1957-59 and now a fourth in five years dates back to the same time frame as the feat last occurred from 1955-59.
  • The Redhawks were the seventh seed in the Credit Union 1 WCC Championship, which earned them a first round bye. They outlasted 11th-seed San Diego, 58-56, in the second round on March 6, then dropped a 61-58 decision to fifth-seed Pacific on March 7.
  • This marks Seattle U’s first NIT appearance since 1957, and third all-time in the tournament after also competing in 1952.
  • This marks Seattle U’s first time hosting a postseason game since 2019, when the Redhawks hosted Presbyterian in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

ABOUT THE SERIES VS ST. THOMAS

  • Seattle U and St. Thomas will meet for just the second time. The Redhawks won the lone previous meeting, 81-64, which took place Nov. 28, 2021 at the Redhawk Center.
  • Darrion Trammell scored a season-high 18 points to go along with eight assists, Rip Economou tallied 14 points off the bench, Viktor Rajković had 12 points, Cameron Tyson added 11 and Riley Grigsby chipped in 10 for Seattle U, which moved to 6-1 on the season with its first five-game win streak since the 2018-19 season.

POSTSEASON HISTORY

  • Seattle U holds a 22-24 all-time record in all Division I postseason competitions.
  • In the program’s modern-day DI history, the Redhawks are 7-4 in five postseason appearances. That includes four CBI tournaments as well as one appearance in the CIT.
  • Most recently, in 2023-24, Seattle U won four games in five days to clinch the 2024 Ro College Basketball Invitational (CBI) title in Daytona Beach, Fla.
  • In 2018-19, the Redhawks accepted a berth to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, dropping a close 73-68 decision to Presbyterian in the first round.
  • In 2017-18, Seattle U competed in the CBI for the third time in four years, falling 93-90 in overtime to Central Arkansas in the first round.
  • In 2015-16, the Redhawks returned to play in the CBI, earning a home win over Idaho (68-63) before losing to Vermont (73-54) in the quarterfinals.
  • In 2014-15, after the team’s run to the final of the WAC Tournament, Seattle U competed in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI), defeating Pepperdine (62-45) and Colorado (72-65) before falling 63-48 to Loyola Chicago in the tournament semifinals.
  • Seattle U’s first ever postseason tournament was the 1951 National Catholic Invitation Tournament, held in Albany, N.Y. Seattle U defeated Iona (69-67) and Mount St. Mary’s (102-85) before losing to St. Francis (N.Y.) in the title game, 93-79.
  • Seattle U has made two previous appearances in the National Invitational Tournament, losing to Holy Cross in 1952 and to St. Bonaventure in 1957.
  • From 1953 through 1969, Seattle University advanced to the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament 11 times, a remarkable feat for an independent school to continually receive at-large berths into fields of 16 to 25 teams. The pinnacle of Seattle University’s NCAA Tournament history came in 1958, with a dramatic run to the national title game before losing to the University of Kentucky.

RECORD BREAKERS

  • Will Heimbrodt tallied four blocks versus Pacific on March 7 in the quarterfinals of the Credit Union 1 WCC Championship, bringing his season total to 83, which leads the WCC and ranking among the nation’s best in the statistical category.
  • His first block of that game broke Seattle U’s single-season record, previously held by Aaron Menzies who recorded 79 blocks in 2017-18.
  • Meanwhile, Heimbrodt’s 99 career blocks is third all-time at Seattle U.
  • Maleek Arington’s 72 steals this season is the fifth most in Seattle U single-season history.
  • Arington’s 143 career steals at Seattle U is the fifth most in program history.
  • John Christofilis knocked down a pair of threes in the regular season finale at LMU, bringing his Seattle U career total to 156. He sits in seventh all-time in the Seattle U record book.

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