San Juan County teams host first-round games as NMAA tournament opens
Navajo Prep’s two-time defending Class 3A girls will host 16-seed Zuni at the Eagles Nest as NMAA first-round play is set for Friday and Saturday.
Navajo Preparatory School will welcome 16-seed Zuni to the Eagles Nest Friday night as the two-time defending Class 3A champion enters with a 23-3 record and, the Tri-City Record notes, “haven’t lost a game since December and enter the tournament with a 20-game win streak.” The matchup is part of the 2026 Nusenda Credit Union State Basketball Championships first round, with girls games set for Friday and boys on Saturday under the NMAA schedule.
The New Mexico Activities Association released brackets and schedules for the statewide tournament, saying in its announcement, “Brackets have been released for the 2026 Nusenda Credit Union State Basketball Championships.” The NMAA posted that “the first round of the state basketball tournament will kickoff Friday, March 6th girls basketball games at home sites of the higher seed, followed by the boys on Saturday, March 7th.” The association confirmed that first-round tickets go on sale Tuesday, March 3 and directed buyers to gofan.co to purchase.
Locally, Kirtland Central’s girls squad is listed as a top seed and will open at home on Friday night; the Tri-City Record summarized that “Kirtland Central and Navajo Prep’s girls teams … will open the state tournament atop the polls at home on Friday night.” Specific opponents and tip times for Kirtland Central were not listed in the public excerpts; NMAA brackets remain the authoritative source for full pairings.
On the boys side, Navajo Prep earned the four-seed in Class 3A and “will be home this weekend to face #13 Hot Springs,” according to Tri-City coverage. Navajo Prep’s boys were “upended by Tohatchi in the District 1-3A title game last weekend,” and Tohatchi wound up with an eight-seed and “will be home to face New Mexico Military Institute on Saturday.” Those matchups place multiple San Juan County-area teams into home-site first-round play under the NMAA’s higher-seed hosting policy.
The NMAA’s tournament footprint is large: the state event comprises 160 combined girls and boys teams across Class A through Class 5A, with each classification running a 16-team bracket. Quarterfinals and finals are scheduled to conclude the tournament March 10–14 at The Pit in Albuquerque, aligning with the NMAA Monday Morning News calendar entry that lists March 10–14 as State Basketball Quarterfinals–Finals.
Ticketing logistics include a limited window for tournament passes: “Tournament passes are on sale now to the public through March 4th at noon. To Purchase Tournament passes call 505.923.3266,” the NMAA states. The association also reminded coaches and athletic staff to report final scores promptly on MaxPreps, noting that accurate MaxPreps results are “vital to the seeding & selection process for State Championships.”
Readers should note a scheduling discrepancy in regional reporting: a Tri-City article referenced the tournament kicking off the weekend of March 1–3, while the NMAA’s bracket release and calendar list March 6–7 as the official first-round dates. For exact pairings, tip times and ticket availability, the NMAA brackets and the gofan.co ticket portal are the authoritative sources as the region prepares for first-round games at home sites Friday and Saturday.
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