Hope International meets Indiana Wesleyan in the NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament Round of 16 on Thursday at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City.

• Upcoming Game
Game No. 32
Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 12:30 p.m. (PST)
Hope International Royals (25-6) vs. Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats (28-5)
at Municipal Auditorium – Kansas City, Mo.
Online Video: Urban Edge Network
Live Stats: HIURoyals.com

The Hope International Record
The Hope International men's basketball team enters the NAIA Tournament Round of 16 as the No. 3 seed in the Cramer Quadrant, and faces second-seeded Indiana Wesleyan in Kansas City. The Royals are 25-6 overall, representing the most wins for the program since the 2017-18 team ended the season with that same record. HIU tied Arizona Christian for the Great Southwest Athletic Conference regular season crown with identical 13-3 records.

Let Us Introduce Ourselves
This will be the first meeting between Hope International and Indiana Wesleyan. It also will mark the first time HIU has ever faced a No. 2 seed in the NAIA Tournament.

NAIA Tournament History
The Royals are 8-10 overall all-time in the NAIA Tournament. They snapped a five-game skid in the tournament that had dated back to 2017 when they defeated Georgia Gwinnett, 66-53, in the First Round last Friday. HIU then held off No. 6 seed Keiser (Fla.) in a Second Round 79-76 thriller, punching its ticket to the Round of 16 for the first time in the 64-team format. The Royals also hosted an NAIA postseason event for the first time in any sport.

HIU has made "Round of 16" appearances on four other occasions – 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2017. But it should be noted that the NAIA Tourney field consisted of 32 teams during those years. HIU won a first round game each time and advanced to the second round. In 2015, HIU advanced to the national semifinals after defeating West Virginia Tech, Montana Western and Martin Methodist, eventually losing to Westmont by one point.

NAIA TOURNAMENT RESULTS
 

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Seed	Result	Site
2025-26	3	First	Georgia Gwinnett	14	W, 66-53	Fullerton, CA
2025-26	3	Second	Keiser (Fla.)	6	W, 79-76	Fullerton, CA
2024-25	12	First	Morningside (Iowa)	5	L, 77-86	Mishawaka, IN
2023-24	6	First	Lewis-Clark State	12	L, 77-93	Butte, MT
2022-23	9	First	Xavier (La.)	8	L, 57-95	Caldwell, ID
2021-22	6	First	Oregon Tech	11	L, 85-87	Rocklin, CA
2019-20	8	First	Mid-America Christian	1	NA	COVID-19 outbreak
2017-18	3	First	Our Lady of the Lake (Texas)	6	L, 60-68	Kansas City, MO
2016-17	2	First	Wiley (Texas)	7	W, 61-59	Kansas City, MO
2016-17	2	Second	Life (Ga.)	3	L, 78-80	Kansas City, MO
2015-16	2	First	Dillard (La.)	7	L, 91-111	Kansas City, MO
2014-15	1	First	West Virginia Tech	NA	W, 70-67	Kansas City, MO
2014-15	1	Second	Montana Western	NA	W, 82-72	Kansas City, MO
2014-15	1	Quarters	Martin Methodist	8	W, 74-62	Kansas City, MO
2014-15	1	Semis	Westmont	NA	L, 69-70	Kansas City, MO
2013-14	NA	First	Xavier (La.)	12	W, 61-52	Kansas City, MO
2013-14	NA	Second	St. Catharine (Ky.)	NA	L, 75-79	Kansas City, MO
2012-13	NA	First	Emmanuel (Ga.)	16	W, 80-62	Kansas City, MO
2012-13	NA	Second	Columbia (Mo.)	1	L, 64-66	Kansas City, MO

The Czech File
Head coach Bill Czech is in his 17th season piloting the Hope International program. He is 327-190 overall and his teams have won 20 or more games in a season 11 times, including in each of the last four. His winningest team finished 32-3 in 2014-15 when the Royals reached the NAIA Tournament national semifinals.

Three Royals Receive Major Awards
The GSAC announced its 2025-26 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team and individual award winners, presented by Under Armour, and Hope International was recognized with Nick Hopkins being named the Player of the Year, Aman Haynes the Freshman of the Year and Bill Czech the Coach of the Year.

Hopkins became the fourth Royal to earn GSAC Player of the Year honors, joining Liam Hunt (2016-17), Kenny Morgan (2014-15) and Kris Rosales (2012-13). He currently ranks fifth in the GSAC in scoring (16.0 PPG) and second in total points (495). The Los Angeles native also ranks seventh in the conference in rebounding (6.0 RPG) and leads all players with 262 free throw attempts.

Haynes is the first Royal to claim Freshman of the Year accolades. The 6-foot-5 forward ranks fourth in the GSAC in scoring (16.1 PPG) and first in total points (499). He sits sixth in rebounding (6.3 RPG). The Long Beach native netted double-digit points in 28 of 31 games, including ten 20-point contests. Haynes scored 20 points in the NAIA Second Round Tournament win over Keiser (Fla.). Haynes is efficient around the basket, his .649 field goal percentage the third-best in the conference.

Czech nabbed his third Coach of the Year award after garnering previous honors in 2014-16 and 2016-17. He led the Royals to a share of the GSAC regular season championship, the program's third title after winning it outright in 2014-15 and 2016-17. The Royals finished 17-2 at home this season and have wins over ranked opponents – No. 19 Oregon Tech, No. 22 Benedictine Mesa and No. 11 Keiser (Fla.).

Threes Don't Lie
It was a tale of two halves behind the three-point line for the Royals in the NAIA second round battle against Keiser (Fla.). HIU shot just 2 of 9 from distance in the first 20 minutes, but did not miss in the second half, going 9 of 9 overall. Nick Hopkins, Addy G'Bye, Jorren Edmonds and Darvelle Wyatt all went 2 of 2 from beyond the arc. The Royals shot 61.1 percent (11 of 18) for the game, the team's third-best single-game showing this season.

Offensive Overtures
Hope International features one of the top scoring offenses in program history. The Royals are averaging 79.7 points per game, which currently ranks seventh on the single-season list. HIU scored a season-high 120 points in the January 24 120-117 overtime victory against Park Gilbert, which represents the fifth-most all-time in a single game. HIU is 15-1 this season when it scores 80 or more points.

ALL-TIME SINGLE-SEASON SCORING PER GAME
 

Year	Scoring Average	Games
1994-95	97.8	34
1993-94	97.7	45
2017-18	84.5	31
2018-19	83.9	30
2019-20	82.6	30
2022-23	81.4	31
2025-26	79.7	31

Edmonds The Facilitator
Junior point guard Jorren Edmonds played a key role in Hope International advancing through the first two rounds of the NAIA Tournament. He played 39 minutes against Georgia Gwinnett and 27 versus Keiser (Fla.). In those 66 minutes played, he dished out nine assists against zero turnovers. For the season, Edmonds has tallied 100 assists with just 34 turnovers, the 2.9 assist-to-turnover ratio No. 1 in the GSAC.

G'Bye From Downtown 
Junior Addy G'Bye enters the round of 16 with 82 three-point makes, tops in the GSAC. He made a season-high 10 threes in a December 27 win against Justice, and sank seven triples versus Park Gilbert on January 24. The Rancho Santa Margarita native is capable of huge scoring performances, exceeding the 30-point mark on three occasions – 33 vs. Park Gilbert, 32 vs. Justice and 30 vs. Bethesda.

Wyatt, Hopkins Share The Ball 
Two of the biggest players on the HIU roster double as two of the team's best passers. Darvelle Wyatt and Nick Hopkins rank second and third on the team in assists with 75 and 70, respectively. Wyatt has twice delivered a career-high eight assists against just one turnover this season, doing so against Benedictine Mesa (1/10) and La Sierra (1/27). Hopkins also had an eight assist game against La Sierra (1/27).

CJ The Unheralded
Three-time GSAC Defensive Player of the Week CJ Fisher has 52 steals and 27 blocked shots this season, cementing him as one of the league's top stoppers. He has had two or more steals in 16 contests in 2025-26. In the NAIA Second Round win against Keiser (Fla.), he made a key defensive stop in the waning seconds.