KU Debate qualifies third team for National Debate Tournament
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas debate team of Ethan Harris and Jacob Wilkus, both alumni of Free State High School in Lawrence, have qualified for the National Debate Tournament set for April 4-7 in Spokane, Washington.
Harris and Wilkus were selected as at-large qualifiers for the National Debate Tournament by the NDT Selection Committee based on their record over the course of the season. They are the third KU pair to qualify for the national tournament this year. The duo joins the KU teams of John Marshall, Lawrence, with Graham Revare, Prairie Village, and Rose Larson, Milwaukee, with Luna Schultz, Houston, who had already qualified for the NDT.
To qualify as a third team, a pair must be one of the six best third teams in the country over the season.
“Qualifying for the NDT as a third team is very difficult, and Ethan and Jacob earned it with an excellent season,” said Brett Bricker, KU associate director of debate.
The five other schools who qualified three teams to the NDT are Emory University, the University of Kentucky, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Northwestern University.
This is the 10th straight year that KU has qualified three teams for the NDT and the 58th consecutive year of qualifying one or more teams to compete at the NDT. KU has won the National Debate Tournament six times and reached the final four 21 times, including a second-place finish in 2024.