CAA Champion UNCW Tabbed as 14th Seed in 2025 NCAA Tournament; Set to Face Texas Tech on Thursday
Dylan Smith
RICHMOND, Va. – After an entertaining run to its league-leading seventh CAA Men’s Basketball Championship, UNCW will look to make a statement as the 14th seed in the upcoming 2025 NCAA Tournament. The Seahawks will open action on Thursday against third-seeded Texas Tech inside Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan. Tip-off for UNCW’s debut matchup is to be determined.
UNCW will make its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since its back-to-back conference titles in 2016 and 2017 allowed the Seahawks to receive an automatic bid. UNCW will also look to become the first CAA school to earn a postseason victory in the national tournament since 12th-seeded VCU upset fifth-seeded Wichita State, 62-59, in 2012.
It marks the ninth time a CAA program has been selected as the 14th seed in the premier national tournament, the first since Northeastern in 2015. UNCW will look to join Old Dominion and Richmond as the only conference teams to upset the third seed. ODU took down Villanova, 89-81, in a triple-overtime thriller during the 1995 tournament, while the Spiders knocked off South Carolina, 62-61, three years later in 1998.
UNCW enters the national postseason tournament on the heels of a 27-7 season that featured a 10-3 record in non-conference play. During league play, UNCW made a tremendous midseason run with nine straight wins, the second-longest streak in the league this year.
In Washington, D.C., UNCW rolled past Hampton, 79-65, in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Jersey Mike’s CAA Men’s Basketball Championship before earning its third win over the Cougars, 68-67, in the semifinals. Donovan Newby knocked down five treys en route to a game-best 24-point showing to advance to the title game. The Seahawks had to weather Delaware’s four wins in four days with a 76-72 win to secure the CAA Championship. Newby shined once again with a team-best 17 points, including six in the final 34 seconds, to secure Most Outstanding Player honors. The Seahawks’ bench also outscored the Blue Hens, 32-0.