COLBY, Kan. – Finishing Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference (KJCCC) play with an 8-1-1 record, the Barton Community College men’s soccer team has claimed the KJCCC Division 1 Men’s Soccer regular season crown and top overall seed in the upcoming NJCAA Division 1 Men’s Soccer Plains District Tournament.
Securing an outright conference title to win the KJCCC for the first time since 2023, the Cougars claimed their 13th KJCCC title in program history on October 17th with a 6-0 win over Seward County. Barton went on to finish the regular season with an 8-0 win over Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, a 3-3 tie against Cowley, and a 6-0 win over Sterling College JV to finish the regular season with a 17-1-1 record. The lone loss for the Cougars in the regular season came in their KJCCC opener at Garden City on September 12th, which was followed by a 10-match win streak. Leading the offense for Barton is the program’s career goal record holder Masaki Tsuji, who leads the KJCCC in both goals (19) and points (46), while ranking second in the league in assists (8). Defensively, the Cougars saw goalkeeper Pedro Lisboa post the second-best goals-against average in the league, finishing the regular season with a 1.17 GAA.
Finishing four points back of Barton in the conference standings was Cowley College, as the Tigers went 6-1-3 in the KJCCC as part of a 9-1-4 overall record. Cowley’s lone loss this season came at home against Barton on September 30th, a 1-0 defeat. Other teams to qualify for postseason play include three-seed Garden City (19 points), four-seed Coffeyville (11 points), five-seed Seward County (five points), and six-seed Dodge City County (four points).
The 2026 NJCAA Division 1 Men’s Soccer Plains District Tournament will begin on Sunday, November 1st, as the single-elimination tournament will see all first-round games played at the higher seed among the two teams within the match. A three-game slate across the state will kick off at 1 PM at each of the three host sites on Sunday, with top-seeded Barton hosting sixth-seeded Dodge City, number two seed Cowley hosting Seward County, and number three seed Garden City hosting Coffeyville in the second consecutive matchup between the two teams in a span of six days. Winning teams of the three opening round matches will be joined by the winner of NJCAA Region 16, which is set to be decided on Saturday, October 31st, when Jefferson College hosts Crowder College.
The highest remaining NJCAA Region 6 seed will host the lowest remaining NJCAA Region 6 seed in one Plains District Tournament semifinal match, while the middle remaining Region 6 seed will host the winner of the NJCAA Region 16 championship match, with both matches scheduled to take place on Thursday, November 5th. Winners of the two semifinal matches will then meet up at the 2026 NJCAA D1 Men’s Soccer Plains District Tournament championship match, which is scheduled for 4:30 PM on Saturday, November 7th at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Coffeyville, Kansas.
