SANTA CLARA, Calif. – For the first time since 1996, Santa Clara men's basketball is heading to the Big Dance! The Broncos received an at-large bid to the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament and will begin their journey on Friday against (7) Kentucky in St.Louis.

Santa Clara will be a 10 seed in the Midwest Region.

This will be the 12^th appearance all-time in the NCAA Tournament for the Broncos. The 1996 team was the last of three teams led by head coach Dick Davey and future Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Steve Nash that made the tournament over a four-year stretch. Before that, Santa Clara made one appearance in the 1980s (1987) and seven between 1952 and 1970. The Broncos advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in all seven of those first NCAA bids, making the Elite Eight five times (1952, 1954, 1954, 1968 and 1969) and advancing all the way to the Final Four in their first-ever tournament appearance in 1952.

Led by 10^th-year head coach Herb Sendek, the Broncos are 26-8 on the season and finished third in the West Coast Conference with a 15-3 mark – the most conference wins in program history. Santa Clara made a run in the 2025-26 Credit Union 1 WCC Championship with wins over Pacific and No. 21 Saint Mary's to advance to the title game for the first time since 2007. The victory over the Gaels in the semifinal was both the Broncos' second win over Saint Mary's and their second Quadrant 1 victory on the season, and all but locked up a spot in the Big Dance.

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