Monroe First To Qualify For Hutch
Monroe University (NY) is the first team to grab a boarding pass (24 available) for Hutchinson, KS, and a berth in the Men’s D1 National Championship. There are only 24 of those limited edition passes.
The East District is made up of 3 Regions, Monroe from 15, Harcum from 19 and four teams from Maryland in 20.
The Mustangs, ranked #16 in the latest NJCAA poll, upended Harcum College in the East District Title Game, 97-52. It was the third time this season Monroe has put down the Bears.
Monroe, the only D1 Juco in the State of NY, handled the only D1 Juco in Pennsylvania by a total of 84 points in the series. First by 21 on the road, the next at home by 18, and this one by 45 on a neutral floor.
The only losses on the Mustangs slate come at the hands of four Florida D1 teams. Pensacola State and Northwest Florida State in the Raider Classic at NW Florida, Florida SouthWestern in Fort Meyers, and at home in their own Mustang Holiday Classic to Daytona State. Pensacola is the only one of that bunch not ranked in the NJCAA’s final top 25 poll.
Head Coach Jeff Brustad, in his 23 season at the helm, has led the “Stangs” to all 11 of its District Championships, which have qualified them for the National Tournament in Hutch in each of those seasons.
Brustad, was one of 21 NJCAA Basketball Coaches in 2025 to receive the NJCAA Coaches Legacy Award Winner, has 604 wins in his Monroe tenure, with only 162 losses. This ranks him 59th overall amongst active and inactive coaches in the Juco Coaching hallows.
Monroe, however, is competing in their final season as a member of the NJCAA. That’s right, the New Rochelle, NY college is transitioning its athletic program from the NJCAA to NCAA Division II. The Mustangs will be joining the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) as its 12th full-time member starting in the 2026-27 academic year.
