Haverhill, MA (March 4, 2026) – The NJCAA Men’s Basketball Committee has announced Northern Essex Community College as the number one overall seed for the national tournament set to get underway on Wednesday, March 11th, on the campus of Herkimer College in Herkimer, NY.

This accomplishment is historic as it is the first time a NECC team has been seeded and/or ranked first nationally in any sport. With the top seed, NECC will receive an opening round bye and play their first game on Thursday, March 12th at 2:00 pm against the winner of Wednesday’s game between eighth-seeded Northampton and ninth-seeded Genesee.

The Knights are coming off a thrilling Region 21/East District championship game victory over Quincy College, in which Alex Johnson (Worcester) hit the game-winning basket with 3.8 seconds remaining. The Knights will enter the national tournament with an overall record of 30-3 and as winners of 16 straight games. The team hasn’t lost since December 13th.

Heading into the national tournament, the Knights are led by Alejandro Delgado (Haverhill), who averages a double-double of 18.1 points and 12 rebounds per game, while Johnson and Christian Sanders (Boston) are both scoring in double digits with 12.6 and 12.1 points per game, respectively.

In the backcourt, Yuno Matsuda (Tokyo, JP) and Joan Vidal (Lawrence) are both averaging four assists per game.

The Knights will enter the national tournament scoring 89.3 points per game, which ranks seventh nationally. Defensively, NECC ranks third nationally, forcing the opponent into 18.3 turnovers per game.

A win in Thursday’s quarterfinal would send NECC into the national semi-finals on Friday night with the national championship game scheduled for Saturday at 5:00 pm. Full tournament seeding and schedule are below.

National Tournament Seeding:
#1 Northern Essex
#2 Riverland
#3 Dallas-North Lake
#4 Salem
#5 Dallas-Eastfield
#6 Montgomery County
#7 Dutchess
#8 Northampton
#9 Genesee
#10 Dallas-Richland
#11 Ridgewater
#12 Joliet

Opening Round Games Wednesday, March 11
Game 1: 12:00pm #8 Northampton vs. #9 Genesee
Game 2: 2:00pm #5 Dallas-Eastfield vs. #12 Joliet
Game 3: 4:00pm #7 Dutchess vs. #10 Dallas-Richland
Game 4: 6:00pm #6 Montgomery County vs. #11 Ridgewater

Quarterfinal Round Thursday, March 12
Game 5: 10:00 am Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2
Game 6: 12:00 pm Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4
Game 7: 2:00 pm #1 Northern Essex vs. Northampton/Genesee Winner
Game 8: 4:00 pm #4 Salem vs. Dallas-Eastfield/Joliet Winner
Game 9: 6:00 pm #2 Riverland vs. Dutchess/Dallas-Richland Winner
Game 10: 8:00 pm #3 Dallas-North Lake vs. Montgomery/Ridgewater Winner

Semi-Finals Friday, March 13
Game 11: 12:00 pm Loser of Game 7 vs. Loser of Game 8
Game 12: 2:00 pm Loser of Game 9 vs. Loser of Game 10
Game 13: 5:00 pm Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8
Game 14: 7:00 pm Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 9

Saturday March 14th
Game 15: 12:00 pm – 5th Place Game (W11 vs. W12)
Game 16: 2:00 pm 3rd Place Game (L13 vs. L14)
Game 17: 5:00 pm Championship Game (W13 vs. W14)