Two KU Debate teams qualify for 80th National Debate Tournament
LAWRENCE — Two University of Kansas debate teams — Rose Larson, Milwaukee, with Luna Schultz, Houston, and Owen Owings, Lee’s Summit, Missouri, with Zach Willingham, Topeka — were selected as automatic qualifiers for the 2026 National Debate Tournament to take place March 26-31 in Houston.
The top 16 teams in the country based on season performance are selected by the NDT National Committee to receive automatic first round, at-large qualification to the tournament. This is the 80th year of the National Debate Tournament, and KU has qualified teams in 74 of those years, including every year since 1968.
In 1973, the National Debate Tournament began admitting the top 16 teams in the country as automatic qualifiers for the national championship tournament. KU has now had 55 teams receive top-16 automatic qualifications to the tournament. It is the fourth consecutive year that KU has had two teams recognized as automatic qualifiers. Two is the maximum number of first-round qualifications a single school can receive. KU, Emory University, the University of Michigan and Northwestern University each received two first-round bids this year.
Other universities with automatic qualifiers are Binghamton University, California State University at Long Beach, Dartmouth College, Georgetown University, the University of Iowa, the University of Kentucky, Michigan State University and the University of California at Berkeley. The rest of the 78-team field for the tournament will be filled through regional qualifying tournaments and second round at large selections over the next few weeks.
KU has finished in the Final Four at the NDT in seven of the past nine seasons. The Jayhawks were national champions in 2018 and the national runner-up in both 2024 and 2025. KU is in the top four schools in the history of the NDT in a number of categories, including most national championships (fourth), most years in attendance (second), longest attendance streak (third), most elimination round qualifiers (fourth), most elimination round wins (fourth), most top speaker awards (fourth), most total speaker awards (fourth) and most first round at-large qualifiers (fourth).
Four KU teams ended the regular season ranked in the top 20 teams in the country, according to the College Debate Rankings, with Larson and Schultz ranked second; Owings and Willingham ranked 14th; Brooklynn Hato, Overland Park, and AJ Persinger, Lawrence, ranked 16th; and Claire Ain, Overland Park, and Max Ulven, St. Paul, Minnesota, ranked 18th.
“The squad has had an excellent season, and we are very proud of the debaters for their hard work and performance,” said Brett Bricker, KU’s head coach, who won the NDT as a KU debater in 2009.
The coaching staff includes assistant coaches Cade Blenden, Azja Butler, Ryan Cavanaugh, Nathan Davis, Ash Denchfield, Jyleesa Hampton, Ned Gidley, E.C. Powers, Jared Spiers, Michael Swidecki, Alaina Walberg, Saiemeh Wahidi and Jacob Wilkus. Scott Harris is the David B. Pittaway Director of the debate program.