The Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Tournament will get underway on March 3, 2026, at the Pensacola Bay Center when No. 12 seed South Alabama (12-17, 5-13 SBC) takes on No. 13 seed Appalachian State (11-18, 4-14 SBC)
at 12:30 p.m. EST. The second game of the opening day doubleheader will see No. 11 Georgia State (10-20, 5-13 SBC) take on No. 14 seed Louisiana (4-25, 2-16 SBC) in a tip-off slated for 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Mountaineers-Jaguars matchup.Georgia Southern enters the tournament
as the No. 1 seed after capturing the league’s regular-season title on the final day of the regular season. The Lady Eagles defeated a strong Marshall team on the road in overtime, 78-72. The Eagles’ win, coupled with Troy’s 76-69 road loss to South Alabama, helped the Eagles claim the regular-season title outright.
1. Georgia Southern (23-6, 16-2 SBC): Georgia Southern enters the tournament as the top overall seed under second-year head coach Hana Haden, and the Eagles have some unfinished business to take care of in Pensacola. Point guard Destiny Garrett (15.1 PPG, 4.7 RPG) stirs the drink for the Eagles, and she combines with 5-10 forward Kishyah Anderson (14.5 PPG, 5.0 RPG) to give the Eagles one of the best inside-outside duos in the SBC. The Eagles nearly navigated the Sun Belt race unscathed, but suffered a pair of setbacks on the road in Virginia during league action, losing in double-overtime at Old Dominion (L, 87-84) and at James Madison (L, 67-60). The Eagles went 14-1 inside the friendly confines this season, posting a 9-5 record away from the Ruth Ann Hill Convocation Center. When the Eagles take the floor for their first game on Sunday, March 8, inside the Pensacola Bay Center, it will mark the Eagles’ first game on a neutral floor this season. The Eagles and their opposition will tip off at 1:30 p.m. EST. If the Eagles claim the SBC title, it will mark only the third time in the program’s history that the Lady Eagles have gone dancing, joining the 1993 and 1994 squads, which won back-to-back Southern Conference titles after defeating Sherry Carter’s Furman teams in consecutive seasons in Asheville.
2. Troy (24-6, 15-3 SBC): Scott Cross’ men’s team isn’t the only one garnering praise on Troy’s campus heading into March Madness; the lady Trojans have also had an outstanding season and will take the No. 2 seed into the SBC Tournament. Two of the best reasons the Trojans have an opportunity to cut down the nets at the end of the weekend’s festivities are senior forward Zay Dyer (14.4 PPG, 13.1 RPG) and senior guard Emani Jenkins (12.1 PPG, 2.8 RPG/93-of-222 from 3pt range/41.9%). Those two are part of one of the most veteran starting lineups in the Sun Belt, as the Trojans start five seniors. Dyer enters the tournament as a literal walking double-double. The senior Georgia State transfer has a whopping 22 double-doubles this season, leading the nation. Dyer teams with leading scorer Fortuna Ngawo (15.1 PPG, 10.7 RPG) in the front court, giving the Trojans a nice one-two punch in the low-post. In 12 seasons as the head coach of the Lady Trojans, Chanda Rigby has led Troy’s women’s basketball program to the postseason eight times, including the WNIT last season. She will be looking to lead the Lady Trojans back to the Big Dance for the fourth time under her leadership and for the first time since the 2020-21 season. The Trojans were the runner-up in the WNIT last season, losing to Buffalo, 88-84, in the title game. The Trojans will open play at the Pensacola Bay Center on Sunday, March 8, with tip-off set for approximately 3 p.m. EST.
3. Arkansas State (23-8, 14-4 SBC): The Lady Red Wolves will be the No. 3 seed at the Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship. They rebounded from a tough home loss to Troy (L, 61-54) by finishing the regular season with a resounding home win over Texas State (W, 87-53) on Senior Day, heading to Pensacola with momentum. The Lady Red Wolves are led by the backcourt tandem of Zyion Shannon (13.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG) and Crislyn Rose (11.8 PPG, 4.2 APG, 2.8 RPG). The Lady Red Wolves enter the tournament leading the SBC in three-pointers made (317) and steals (15.1 SPG). The Lady Red Wolves head into the tournament as the defending champions, having knocked off James Madison, 86-79, in last season’s title game. Arkansas State will open the tournament on Saturday, March 7, at 3:30 PM EST.
4. James Madison (23-8, 14-4 SBC): No team is hotter in the Sun Belt heading into the postseason than the James Madison Lady Dukes, who head to Pensacola on a nine-game winning streak, including a perfect 7-0 record in February. The Lady Dukes are one of the league’s most-decorated women’s basketball programs, sporting 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and 10 WNIT invitations, including each of the past two seasons. Their last NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2023. The Dukes arguably have the league’s top player in their offensive arsenal: redshirt senior guard Peyton McDaniel (18.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG), who is one of nine players in NCAA Division I college basketball to have scored 2,000 or more career points (2,235 pts). With a NET ranking of No. 48, the Dukes might only need to reach the championship game to secure an NCAA Tournament bid. The Lady Dukes will open tournament play on Saturday, March 7, at 12 p.m. EST at the Pensacola Bay Center against an opponent to be determined.
5. Marshall (23-8, 13-5 SBC): Just two years ago, Marshall claimed its first and only regular-season and tournament titles in the Sun Belt. Like Georgia Southern, the Thundering Herd has only been to two NCAA Tournaments: one in 2024 as an SBC member, and another in their last season as a Southern Conference member in 1997, defeating the former and current conference rival Georgia Southern, 77-69, in the title game. Interestingly, Marshall left Pensacola with a bitter taste in its mouth after the Lady Eagles, the Thundering Herd’s former SoCon and current SBC rival, handed them a 78-73 loss on Senior Day in the final SBC game of the season. The Thundering Herd continues to be led by senior guard Timaya Lewis-Eutsey (19.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG). Lewis-Eutsey, who hails from Trenton, NJ, is the SBC’s leading scorer. The Thundering Herd opens the tournament on Friday, March 6, with tip-off for their opening quarterfinal matchup slated for 12:30 p.m. EST.
6. Old Dominion (18-13, 9-9 SBC): If you’re looking for a dark horse, Old Dominion might be the team to look to. The Monarchs have wins over two of the top four teams in the league, including knocking off regular-season league champion Georgia Southern 87-84 on New Year’s Day. The Monarchs have the human eraser, in Riley Stack, out of Wren High School in Piedmont, S.C. Stack leads the nation in blocks, with 81 swats this season. The 6-4 junior center paces a Monarchs team that, unsurprisingly, leads the league in blocks with 173 swatted shots on the season. ODU opens the SBC Tournament on Friday, March 6, with tip-off against an opponent to be determined slated for 3 p.m. EST
7. Southern Mississippi (15-15, 8-10 SBC): The Lady Eagles finished about where they were picked in the preseason, finishing only two spots lower than the fifth-place selection. The Lady Eagles have one of the league’s top players, in Jackayla Johnson (15.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG). The 5-9 guard appears to be on here way to being named to one of the all-Sun Belt teams once again this season, having posted a career-high 32 points in a 68-61 Senior Day win over Louisiana Monroe. The Lady Eagles will open the tournament on Thursday, March 6, facing an opponent to be determined at 3 p.m. EST
8. Texas State (11-18, 7-11 SBC): The Lady Bobcats hope to find their form heading into the tournament in Pensacola, as they enter it having lost five-straight. It’s been 29 years since the Lady Bobcats made an NCAA Tournament appearance, and I expect that streak to move to 30 after a short stay in Pensacola. The Lady Bobcats open tournament play on Thursday, March 5, with a 12:30 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.
9. Coastal Carolina (14-17, 7-11 SBC): The Lady Chanticleers have four players averaging in double figures heading to Pensacola. They currently rank fifth overall in scoring offense (73.2 PPG) and seventh in scoring defense (67.0 PPG), showing pretty good balance on both ends of the floor. The Lady Chants are led by junior forward Tessa Grady (13.5 PPG, 3.0 RPG), who is shooting a solid 35.2% (80-of-227) from three-point range this season. Both Grady and 5-8 guard Kristin Williams (13.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG) have combined to connect on 167 of the team’s 266 three-pointers this season. Williams leads the team from long-range, shooting 37.3% from downtown this season, including a team-best 87 threes. If Williams and Grady shoot well from three-point range, the Chanticleers, as one of the lower-seeded teams, could make some noise in Pensacola. The Lady Chanticleers tip things off on Wednesday, March 4, with tip-off slated for 12:30 p.m. EST against an opponent to be determined.
10. Louisiana Monroe (14-15, 7-11 SBC): Scotty Fletcher has done a decent job in his first season at the helm in Monroe, as the Lady Warhawks have been competitive in most of their 11 Sun Belt Conference losses, including losing twice to No. 2 seed Troy by a combined eight points. The Lady Warhawks average in double figures, led by 5-7 guard J’Mani Ingram (11.6 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.4 APG), who scored 30 points in an earlier league loss to Arkansas State. The Lady Warhawks are slated to open the tournament on Wednesday, March 4, facing the winner of the No. 11 Georgia State and No. 14 Louisiana matchup. Tip-off for that contest is scheduled for 3 p.m. EST at the Pensacola Bay Center.
11. Georgia State (10-20, 5-13 SBC): Georgia State is a team that does well when it can create live ball turnovers. In fact, the Panthers rank 22nd in the country in steals-per-game, averaging almost 12 thefts per game (11.7 SPG) heading into the conference tournament. However, securing a win would be a small consolation prize in what has otherwise been a rebuilding year under eighth-year head coach Gene Hill. The Panthers will open the tournament on Tuesday, March 3, against No. 14 Louisiana. Tip-off for that game is slated for 3 p.m. EST.
12. South Alabama (12-17, 5-13 SBC): South Alabama has won three-straight heading to Pensacola, and posted an impressive 76-69 win over No. 2 seed Troy in the regular-season finale. That three-game winning streak snapped a string of eight straight losses and shows a team still learning how to win games late in the season. Junior guard Amyah Sutton (11.9 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.8 APG) and graduate forward Cordasia Harris (11.1 PPG, 8.8 RPG) are the only two Jaguars averaging in double figures. The duo will hope to help the Lady Jaguars secure their fourth straight win when they open the SBC Tournament on Tuesday against No. 13 Appalachian State.
13. Appalachian State (11-18, 4-14 SoCon): Appalachian State hasn’t had much go its way down the stretch of the season, losing eight of its last nine games, including five-straight heading to Pensacola. Senior guard Emma Smith (10.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG) and junior guard Daisia Mitchell (10.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG) lead a Mountaineer team into Pensacola a little short on confidence, but a win over South Alabama could change their fortunes.
14. Louisiana (4-25, 2-16 SBC): It’s going to take a miracle of epic proportions for Louisiana to somehow win the SBC Tournament this year, but stranger things have happened.
