Vikings chosen for WNIT, receive first-round bye

The Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) shared its 2025 bracket on Monday, confirming that Cleveland State has received a first-round bye in the postseason showcase.

Monday’s announcement followed a Sunday night release confirming CSU’s inclusion in the 48-team field.

The Vikings will take on the winner of this Saturday evening’s first-round game between Coppin State and Colgate during the second round, which proceeds on March 23rd, 24th, and 25th (Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday of next week). A CSU win against the Eagles or Raiders would then bring on one of Miami (OH), Duquesne, or Longwood in the Super 16, played between March 26th and 28th.

The tournament, through its championship game on April 5th, is played entirely in on-campus venues. Tournament organizer Triple Crown Sports determines the for-profit event’s home teams through a bidding process, though efforts are made to regionalize the early rounds.

Cleveland State fell short of winning one of the Horizon League’s titles for a third consecutive season, but the earned a postseason bid thanks to a 24-9 overall record (21-9 in NCAA Division I games) and a NET ranking that hovered just outside of the top 100 for most of the season. The team’s most notable wins include a pair of top-100 victims, Lamar and Purdue Fort Wayne.

The Mastodons, which got revenge for that February 15th meeting by knocking CSU out of the Horizon League semifinals last Monday, are also in the WNIT field. The Vikings and PFW could meet for a fourth time this season if both teams make it to the Great 8.

For Cleveland State, the WNIT represents a fifth consecutive appearance in a postseason tournament, a streak that began in 2021 with a championship run in the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI). A WBI title defense attempt fell one game short with a loss to Saint Mary’s in the 2022 final, but 2023 brought the school’s third-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament, thanks to winning the Horizon League tournament. Last season, the Vikings’ first HL regular season title earned placement in the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT).

Cleveland State had just four postseason appearances in program history prior to that streak. One involved the WNIT and ended with a first-round loss at Michigan to wrap up the 2014-15 campaign.

The WNIT was established in 1998 and has historically served as a women’s counterpart to the men’s NIT, a tournament for the best teams not qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. However, its management by an outside organization, Triple Crown, contributed to the NCAA establishing its own tournament to fill that second-tier role last season, the WBIT. The WBIT, essentially, pushed the WNIT one rung lower on the ladder.

Purdue Fort Wayne was the Horizon League’s sole representative in last season’s WNIT, though the Mastodons made their appearance count with a run to the Super 16, highlighted by a victory against Eastern Kentucky and a blowout at Cincinnati. Two years ago, Green Bay pounded Niagara in a first-round game before falling to eventual Fab 4 team Bowling Green.