MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Faulkner finds itself two wins away from a trip to Kansas City after the NAIA announced Thursday night that the Eagles received an at-large bid to the 87th annual NAIA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Faulkner drew a No. 10 seed in the overall field and will travel to West Palm Beach, Fla. where it will take on No. 7 seed Keiser University (24-5) in first-round action. The four-team grouping in also includes No. 2 seed William Woods (28-2) and No. 15 Dillard (19-11). Faulkner enters the tournament at 20-9 and has qualified for the national bracket in five of the last six seasons and six times in the Scott Sanderson era. Overall, the Eagles are making their 15th national tournament appearance with 14 of those coming under the tutelage of either Scott or Jim Sanderson. The first Faulkner national tournament berth occurred in 1992 under Tom Kelsey.

The path to the Round of 16 sees the Eagles matched up with Keiser for only the third time in program history and the first time since the SSAC-Sun Challenge on Nov. 11, 2023. Prior to that, the teams met in the Battle at the Beach Nov. 29, 2020. Faulkner is 1-1 in the series with both games having taken place inside Tine Davis Gymnasium. The 2025 match-up will mark the first occasion the Faulkner program has traveled to West Palm Beach. Should Faulkner advance beyond Keiser, the Eagles will either face William Woods for the first time in program history or Dillard for the first time in more than 22 years.

The Keiser Seahawks enter the match-up averaging 82.6 points per game while allowing 65.8. They had won 10 in a row prior to a first-round loss in to Southeastern in The Sun Conference Tournament. The KU losses on the season also include Florida Memorial, Ave Maria, Freed-Hardeman and Baker, all of which are in the national tournament field.

Faulkner is 15-12 all-time in NAIA National Tournament games.