BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Navy (26-7, 17-1 PL) meets Wake Forest (17-16, 7-11 ACC) in the 2026 National Invitation Tournament (NIT) First Round at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C.
 
The Patriot League regular-season champion Midshipmen are the fifth League team to the NIT field, and the first since Bucknell made the field in 2016.
 
Live coverage on ESPNU begins at 7 p.m. with Anish Schroff calling play-by-play and Dennis Scott providing analysis. A radio broadcast will be available on WNAV with Matt Sabados on the call.
LIVE STATS | WATCH LIVE | LISTEN ON WNAV
 
2026 NIT FIRST ROUND
NAVY MIDSHIPMEN (26-7, 17-1 PL) AT WAKE FOREST DEMON DEACONS (17-16, 7-11 ACC)
Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum/Winston Salem, N.C.                               7 p.m. (ESPNU)
LIVE STATS
BROADCAST (ESPNU): PxP – Anish Shroff; Analyst – Dennis Scott
RADIO BROADCAST (WNAV): PxP – Matt Sabados
SERIES HISTORY: Navy and Wake Forest will meet for the 10th time in series history, and the first time since 2002. The Midshipmen trail the series, 5-4.
NAVY IN THE POSTSEASON: In the Patriot League era, Navy is making its fourth postseason appearance. They made the NCAA Tournament field in 1994, 1997 and 1998.
ABOUT NAVY: Navy makes its first postseason appearance since 1998 after winning the Patriot League regular-season title with a 17-1 mark. The Mids matched 2022-23 Colgate with the best League mark since the Patriot League expanded to 10 teams in 2013-14.
*First-year head coach Jon Perry and the Navy staff earned Patriot League Coaching Staff of the Year. The 2025-26 Mids won 26 games, matching the program’s second-most wins in a season.
*Patriot League Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year Austin Benigni (18.0 ppg, 4.4 apg, .444 3FG) joined former American Sa’eed Nelson as the only players in League history to compile more than 1,900 points and 400 assists.
*Sr. C Aidan Kehoe, the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, broke the League’s single-season record, posting a .735 field-goal percentage, leading NCAA DI. His 10.9 rebounds per game are sixth and his 19 double-doubles are fourth in the nation.
*Benigni and Kehoe were selected as Lou Henson Award finalists, an honor presented to the mid-major player of the year by CollegeInsider.com.
*Benigni earned NABC All-East District Second Team.
NOTES: NAVY
 
THE PATRIOT LEAGUE IN THE NIT
Navy is the fifth Patriot League team to make the NIT field, joining Bucknell (2012, 2015, 2016), Holy Cross (2005) and Boston University (2014). Fordham also made the NIT field as a Patriot League member in 1991.
 
PATRIOT LEAGUE WINS IN THE NIT
Three Patriot League teams earned first-round victories, with the Rams defeating South Florida, 76-66, in 1991. Holy Cross downed Notre Dame, 78-73, in 2005 and Bucknell beat Arizona, 65-54, in 2012.
1991 – First Round – Fordham, 76, South Florida 66
2005 – First Round – Holy Cross 78, Notre Dame 73
2012 – First Round – Bucknell 65, Arizona 54
 
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its fourth decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes who are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.