2025–26 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season

2025–26 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
DurationNovember 3, 2025 – February 27, 2026
Teams14
TV partnerESPN
2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Tournament
2025–26 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Arkansas State 2 – 0   1.000 9 – 4   .692
Georgia Southern 2 – 0   1.000 10 – 5   .667
Troy 1 – 0   1.000 8 – 5   .615
South Alabama 1 – 1   .500 9 – 4   .692
Appalachian State 1 – 1   .500 8 – 6   .571
Coastal Carolina 1 – 1   .500 8 – 6   .571
Texas State 1 – 1   .500 8 – 6   .571
Southern Miss 1 – 1   .500 7 – 6   .538
Old Dominion 1 – 1   .500 4 – 9   .308
Georgia State 1 – 1   .500 3 – 10   .231
Louisiana 1 – 1   .500 2 – 11   .154
Marshall 0 – 1   .000 7 – 5   .583
James Madison 0 – 2   .000 7 – 6   .538
Louisiana–Monroe 0 – 2   .000 3 – 10   .231
† 2026 Sun Belt tournament winner
As of December 22, 2025

The 2025–26 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season is the upcoming season for Sun Belt Conference men's basketball teams that will began with practices in October 2025, followed by the start of the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play will begin in December 2025, and conclude on February 27, 2026. The 2026 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament will take place from March 3–9, 2026, at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida.[1]

Head coaches

Coaching Changes

On March 24, 2025, head coach Bryan Hodgson left to become head coach of South Florida.[2] On March 30, 2025, former Alabama assistant coach, Ryan Pannone was named head coach.[3]

Louisiana

Houston associate head coach, Quannas White was named head coach of the Ragin' Cajuns on March 10, 2025.[4] This comes after 15-year head coach, Bob Marlin was fired on December 19, 2024.[5]

Louisiana–Monroe

Keith Richard retired at the end of the 2024–25 basketball season after fifteen seasons.[6] Assistant head coach, Phil Cuningham was named his successor

Coaches

Team Head coach Previous job Years at school Overall record Sun Belt record Sun Belt titles Sun Belt Tournament titles NCAA Tournaments
Appalachian State Dustin Kerns Presbyterian 7 110–78 (.585) 66–43 (.606) 1 1 1
Arkansas State Ryan Pannone Alabama (Asst.) 1 1–0 (1.000) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0
Coastal Carolina Justin Gray Western Carolina 2 10–23 (.303) 3–15 (.167) 0 0 0
Georgia Southern Charlie Henry Alabama (Asst.) 3 26–41 (.388) 6–20 (.231) 0 0 0
Georgia State Jonas Hayes Xavier (Assoc.) 3 38–58 (.396) 19–35 (.352) 0 0 0
James Madison Preston Spradlin Morehead State 2 20–13 (.606) 13–5 (.722) 1 0 0
Louisiana Quannas White Houston (Assoc.) 1 0–1 (.000) 0–0 (–) 1 1 1
Louisiana–Monroe Phil Cunningham Louisiana-Monroe (Asst.) 1 0–1 (.000) 0–0 (–) 0 0 0
Marshall Cornelius Jackson Marshall (Assoc.) 2 21–13 (.618) 12–6 (.667) 0 0 0
Old Dominion Mike Jones Maryland (Asst.) 2 15–21 (.417) .444 0 0 0
South Alabama Richie Riley Nicholls State 8 132–94 (.584) 70–55 (.560) 1 0 0
Southern Miss Jay Ladner Southeastern Louisiana 7 76–112 (.404) 38–69 (.355) 0 0 0
Texas State Terrence Johnson Texas State (Asst.) 6 86–69 (.555) 46–38 (.548) 2 0 0
Troy Scott Cross TCU (Asst.) 7 104–87 (.545) 56–50 (.528) 1 1 1

Preseason

Preseason Coaches Poll

On October 20, 2025, the conference announced a preseason conference poll as voted by the league's 14 head coaches.[7]

Rank Team
1. James Madison (1)
2. Arkansas State (3)
3. South Alabama (4)
4. Troy (1)
5. Old Dominion (2)
6. Marshall (1)
7. App State (1)
8. Texas State
9. Louisiana (1)
10. Georgia Southern
11. Georgia State
12. Southern Miss
13. Coastal Carolina
14. Louisiana–Monroe

Sun Belt preseason player of the year

  • Robert Davis Jr. –Old Dominion [7]

Preseason All-Sun Belt team

2025-26 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Teams[7]
First Team Second Team Third Team

Robert Davis Jr. – Old Dominion
Bradley Douglas – James Madison
Thomas Dowd - Troy
Tyren Moore – Georgia Southern
Jalen Speer – Marshall

Eren Banks – Appalachian State
Mark Drone – Texas State
Jelani Hamilton – Georgia State
Chandler Jackson – Arkansas State
RaSheed Jones – Coastal Carolina

Jordan Battle – Old Dominon
John Broom – South Alabama
Kaden Grumbs – TexasState
Matt Van Komen – Marshall
Nakavieon White – Georgia Southern

Regular season

Early season tournaments

Team Tournament Finish
Arkansas State Arkansas State Multi Team Event 1st
Coastal Carolina Western Illinois MTE 1st
Georgia State Cancún Challenge –
James Madison FIU MTE 1st
Louisiana–Monroe ETSU MTE 3rd
South Alabama Showdown in St. Pete 1st
Texas State Resort World Las Vegas Classic 4th
Troy Coconut Hoops 3rd

Player of the week

Week Player(s) of the Week School
Nov 10[8] Cooper Campbell Troy
Nov 17[9] Spudd Webb Georgia Southern
Nov 24[10] Tylik Weeks Southern Miss
Dec 1[11] Justin McBride James Madison
Dec 8[12] Spudd Webb (2) Georgia Southern
Dec 16[13] Alonzo Dodd Appalachian State

Records against other conferences

Power 6 Conferences
Conference Record
ACC 0–5
Big East 0–1
Big Ten 0–2
Big 12 0–2
Pac–12 0–0
SEC 0–2
Combined 0–12
Other NCAA Division I Conferences Record
America East 0–0
American 3–5
ASUN 1–3
Atlantic 10 0–2
Big Sky 0–0
Big South 5–4
Big West 0–2
CAA 2–5
Conference USA 7–2
Horizon 0–1
Independents/Non-Division I 0–0
Ivy 1–0
MAAC 0–0
MAC 4–11
MEAC 5–1
Missouri Valley 0–1
Mountain West 1–0
Northeast 2–0
OVC 4–1
Patriot 0–1
Southern 1–2
Southland 4–3
SWAC 6–1
Summit 2–1
West Coast 0–3
WAC 2–0
Combined 49–51

References

  1. ^ "Sun Belt Conference Unveils Complete 2025-26 Championships Schedule". August 11, 2025.
  2. ^ "Bryan Hodgson named South Florida head men's basketball coach". Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  3. ^ "A-State Names Pannone Head Men's Basketball Coach". Arkansas State Red Wolves Athletics. March 30, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  4. ^ Mia Belt, Shannon (March 10, 2025). "UL basketball announces Quannas White as new head coach". The Daily Advertiser. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  5. ^ Yoshonis, Scott (December 19, 2024). "UL fires men's basketball coach Bob Marlin". KLFY. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  6. ^ "ULM Men's Basketball Head Coach Keith Richard to Retire at Conclusion of 2024-25 Season". ULM Warhawks. University of Louisiana Monroe Athletics. December 20, 2024. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  7. ^ a b c "James Madison Tabbed 2025-26 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Favorite & ODU's Davis Named Preseason Player of the Year".
  8. ^ "Troy's Cooper Campbell Tabbed Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week". November 11, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  9. ^ "Georgia Southern's Spudd Webb Named Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week". Sun Belt Sports. November 18, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  10. ^ "Southern Miss' Tylik Weeks Named Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week". November 25, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  11. ^ "James Madison's Justin McBride Earns Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week Honor". December 2, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  12. ^ "Georgia Southern's Webb Nets Second Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week Accolade". December 9, 2025. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  13. ^ "App State's Dodd Collects Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week Honor". December 16, 2025. Retrieved December 18, 2025.
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