NASSAU, The Bahamas – The beautiful Baha Mar resort welcomes six talented Division I women’s basketball teams, headlined by 2026 NCAA Tournament participants Illinois, Iowa State and USC, for the 2026 Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship, Friday. Nov. 27 and Sunday, Nov. 29 at the Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment Center. Veteran sports promoter bdG Sports announced the field Tuesday.
A three-game schedule is slated for both Nov. 27 and Nov. 29 with each of the six teams playing two games during their stay in the Bahamas.
Action begins at 11 a.m. ET on Nov. 27 with Illinois facing Marquette. USC will take on Saint Joseph’s at 1:30 p.m. The day concludes with Iowa State battling Belmont at 4 p.m.
On Nov. 29, play resumes with Illinois matching up with Saint Joseph’s at 11 a.m. Iowa State takes on USC at 1:30 p.m. The event concludes with Marquette facing Belmont at 4 p.m.
Fan VIP packages are on sale now and include a four-night stay at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, one courtside ticket per individual to the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship with games on Nov. 27 and Nov. 29, one ticket per individual to the event’s VIP reception (Nov. 28) with dinner and open bar included, round-trip ground transfers to/from the airport, one daily breakfast voucher per individual, one welcome gift per individual and personal concierge service. (Airfare is not included in the packages. A passport is required for travel to the Bahamas.) Fans wishing to purchase general admission tickets and hotel rooms separately from the VIP packages can do so now at www.bahamarhoops.com.
“This event continues to grow the game of women’s college basketball and this strong field features some of the best brands in the game,” college basketball analyst and event contributor Debbie Antonelli said. “I’m really excited to watch these programs compete this November.”
Streaming details for the event will be announced later.
A LOOK AT THE TEAMS
Belmont posted a 20-12 overall mark and finished second in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 16-4 record in 2025-26. The Bruins have won 20 or more games in each of their last 11 seasons. Enters his 10th season with the program, head coach Bart Brooks has helped guide Belmont to five conference regular season championships, four conference tournament titles, four NCAA Tournament berths and a runner-up finish in the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament.
Illinois advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the second consecutive season en route to a 22-12 overall record and 9-9 Big Ten finish in 2025-26. The feat marked the third time in four seasons under head coach Shauna Green that the Illini have played in the NCAA Tournament. Illinois also won the 2024 Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament under Green’s tutelage.
Iowa State registered a 22-10 record and 10-8 Big 12 league mark while advancing to the NCAA Tournament a year ago. It marked the seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Cyclones and the 19th time Iowa State achieved a 20-win campaign during head coach Bill Fennelly’s legendary 38 seasons as head coach. Win 822 career victories, Fennelly is the winningest coach in Iowa State Athletics history.
Marquette earned an 18-12 overall record and tied for third in the Big East Conference with a 12-8 league mark last season. Third-year head coach Cara Consuegra has directed Marquette to back-to-back top-4 finishes in the Big East while notching a total of 39 wins. She was named the Big East Co-Coach of the Year in 2025.
Saint Joseph’s is coming off its fourth consecutive 20-win campaign, posting a 20-11 overall record and
10-8 mark in the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2025-26. Cindy Griffin is the winningest head coach in program history, leading the Hawks to 442 wins in 25 seasons. She has taken Saint Joseph’s to 15 of the program’s 27 postseason tournaments.
USC made its fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2025-26, advancing to the second round and concluding the season at 18-14 overall and 9-9 in the Big Ten. JuJu Watkins, the 2024-25 national player of the year, returns for the Women of Troy this coming season after sitting out 2025-26 due to injury. USC also returns Jazzy Davidson, the 2025-26 Big Ten and National Freshman of the Year (The Athletic, USBWA and WBCA). Sixth-year head coach Lindsay Gottlieb is a two-time finalist for the Werner Ladder National Coach of the Year. She guided USC to back-to-back NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance in 2024 and 2025.
WONDER AWAITS AT THE BEAUTIFUL BAHA MAR RESORT
The remarkable Baha Mar resort serves as the backdrop to this basketball showcase. Anchored by Grand Hyatt and featuring SLS Baha Mar and Rosewood Baha Mar, the resort is situated on 1,000 acres overlooking Nassau’s famous turquoise ocean waters. The destination resort boasts more than 2,300 rooms, the largest casino in the Caribbean, a $200 million luxury water park, an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, the Caribbean’s first and only flagship ESPA Spa, a new jazz club, and a collection of more than 45 restaurants and lounges.
ABOUT BAHA MAR HOOPS
Baha Mar annually plays host to one of the largest regular-season events in the sport of college basketball. Each November around the Thanksgiving holiday, 16 or more NCAA Division I men’s and women’s teams visit the stunning resort to compete in three basketball tournaments.
Each August, the resort also holds the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League, offering NCAA teams exhibition games against international competition as part of a foreign tour. The resort welcomed an event-record six teams to Baha Mar last month, including Arkansas, Cincinnati, Louisville, Texas A&M, South Carolina and Valparaiso. Past programs to attend for summer exhibition tours include Kentucky, Penn State, Rhode Island and Xavier.
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