2025–26 Southwestern Athletic Conference men's basketball season

2025–26 Southwestern Athletic Conference men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Teams12
TV partner(s)ESPN, HBCU GO,[1] SWAC TV[2]
Regular season
Regular season championBethune-Cookman (3rd title)
Season MVPDaeshun Ruffin
SWAC tournament
VenueGateway Center Arena, College Park, GA
ChampionsPrairie View A&M (3rd title)
  Runners-upSouthern
Tournament MVPDontae Horne (Prairie View)
2025–26 SWAC men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Bethune–Cookman 14 – 4   .778 17 – 15   .531
Florida A&M 11 – 7   .611 15 – 16   .484
Southern 11 – 7   .611 17 – 17   .500
Texas Southern 10 – 8   .556 12 – 18   .400
Alabama A&M 10 – 8   .556 18 – 15   .545
Arkansas–Pine Bluff 10 – 8   .556 13 – 19   .406
Jackson State 10 – 8   .556 12 – 21   .364
Prairie View A&M † 9 – 9   .500 19 – 17   .528
Grambling State 7 – 11   .389 14 – 19   .424
Alabama State 7 – 11   .389 10 – 22   .313
Alcorn State 7 – 11   .389 9 – 23   .281
Mississippi Valley State 2 – 16   .111 3 – 30   .091
† 2026 SWAC tournament winner
As of March 18, 2026

The 2025–26 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) men's basketball season started with non-conference play on November 3, 2025, and conference play started on January 3, 2026. The regular season ended on March 5, 2026, and set up the 2026 SWAC men's basketball tournament, which took place from March 9–14, 2026, at the Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.[3]

Head coaches

Coaches

Team Head Coach Previous Job Years At School[a] Record at School[b] SWAC Record SWAC Titles[c] NCAA tournaments[d] NCAA Sweet 16's
Alabama A&M Donte Jackson Grambling State 1 0–0 0–0 0 0 0
Alabama State Tony Madlock South Carolina State 4 41–58 26–28 0 1 0
Alcorn State Jake Morton Florida State (Assistant) 1 0–0 0–0 0 0 0
Arkansas-Pine Bluff Solomon Bozeman Oral Roberts (Assistant) 5 36–88 22–50 0 0 0
Bethune-Cookman Reggie Theus Cal State Northridge 5 55–74 39–33 0 0 0
Florida A&M Charlie Ward Florida HS 1 0–0 0–0 0 0 0
Grambling State Patrick Crarey II Florida A&M 1 0–0 0–0 0 0 0
Jackson State Mo Williams Alabama State 4 44–53 37–17 0 0 0
Mississippi Valley State George Ivory Mississippi Valley State (Assistant) 3 9–85 6–47 0 0 0
Prairie View A&M Byron Smith Prairie View A&M 10 128–161 98–70 3 1 0
Southern Kevin P. Johnson Tulane (Assistant) 2 37–24 24–8 1 0 0
Texas Southern Johnny Jones Nevada (Associate HC) 8 121–107 80–41 0 3 0
  1. ^ Year at school includes 2025–26 season.
  2. ^ Overall and SWAC records are from the time at their current school and are through the end of the 2024–25 season.
  3. ^ SWAC regular-season titles at current school only.
  4. ^ NCAA tournament appearances are from the time at current school only.

Preseason awards

Preseason rankings

SWAC Preseason Poll
Place Team Votes
1 Bethune–Cookman 232 (12)
2 Southern 214 (5)
3 Jackson State 208 (1)
4 Alabama State 183 (3)
5 Texas Southern 182
6 Alabama A&M 163
7 Grambling State 151
8 Florida A&M 115
9 Prairie View A&M 99
10 Alcorn State 74
11 Arkansas–Pine Bluff 70 (1)
12 Mississippi Valley State 25
(#) first-place votes

Sources:[4][5]

Preseason honors

Honor Recipient School
Preseason Player of the Year Daeshun Ruffin Jackson State
Preseason DPOY Doctor Bradley Bethune-Cookman
Preseason All-SWAC First Team Michael Jacobs Southern
Daniel Rouzan Bethune-Cookman
Daeshun Ruffin Jackson State
Kintavious Dozier Alabama A&M
Doctor Bradley Bethune-Cookman
Preseason All-SWAC Second Team Zaire Hayes Texas Southern
Dorian McMillian Jackson State
Jordan Chatman Florida A&M
Seneca Willoughby Bethune-Cookman
Micah Simpson Alabama State

Source:[6]

Regular season

Conference standings

Thru January 24, 2026

Conference Overall
Rank Team Record Percent Record Percent Tiebreaker
1 Bethune-Cookman 5–1 .833 8–11 .421
2 Florida A&M 5–1 .833 8–9 .471
3 Jackson State 4–2 .667 5–14 .263
4 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 4–3 .571 7–13 .350
5 Alabama A&M 3–3 .500 10–9 .526
6 Southern 3–3 .500 7–12 .368
7 Alabama State 3–3 .500 6–13 .316
8 Prairie View A&M 3–4 .429 8–12 .400
9 Texas Southern 3–4 .429 5–13 .278
10 Grambling State 2–3 .400 8–10 .444
11 Alcorn State 2–4 .333 3–15 .167
12 Mississippi Valley State 0–6 .000 1–19 .050
Source:[7]

Conference matrix

  Alabama A&M Alabama State Alcorn State Arkansas-Pine Bluff Bethune-Cookman Florida A&M Grambling State Jackson State Mississippi Valley State Prairie View A&M Southern Texas Southern
vs. Alabama A&M – 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Alabama State 0–0 – 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Alcorn State 0–0 0–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff 0–1 0–1 0–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Bethune-Cookman 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 – 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Florida A&M 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Grambling State 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–1
vs. Jackson State 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Mississippi Valley State 1–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 – 0–0 0–0 0–0
vs. Prairie View A&M 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 – 0–1 0–0
vs. Southern 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 – 0–1
vs. Texas Southern 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 –
Total 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0

Thru January 9, 2026

Players of the Week

Week Player of the Week Impact Performer Newcomer of the Week
Nov. 11[8] Michael James
Mississippi Valley State 		Daeshun Ruffin
Jackson State 		Michael James
Mississippi Valley State
Nov. 19[9] Troy Hupstead
Texas Southern 		Troy Hupstead
Texas Southern 		Sami Pissis
Alabama A&M
Nov. 25[10] Michael Jacobs
Southern 		Tai'Reon Joseph
Prairie View A&M 		Jakobi Heady
Bethune-Cookman
Dec. 3[11] Kintavious Dozier
Alabama A&M 		Asjon Anderson
Alabama State 		Michael James (2)
Mississippi Valley State
Dec. 10[12] Quion Williams
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 		Daeshun Ruffin (2)
Jackson State 		Milhan Charles
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Dec. 17[13] Kintavious Dozier (2)
Alabama A&M 		Sami Pissis
Alabama A&M 		Koron Davis
Alabama A&M
Dec. 23[14] Tai'Reon Joseph
Prairie View A&M 		Daeshun Ruffin (3)
Jackson State 		Antonio Munoz
Grambling State
Dec. 30[15] Tai'Reon Joseph (2)
Prairie View A&M 		Dorian McMillian
Jackson State 		Michael James (3)
Mississippi Valley State
Jan. 6[16] Tai'Reon Joseph (3)
Prairie View A&M 		Alex Mirhosseini
Arkansas-Pine Bluff 		Quion Williams
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Jan. 13[17] Daeshun Ruffin
Jackson State 		Micah Octave
Florida A&M 		Cory Wells
Prairie View A&M
Jan. 20[18] Jakobi Heady
Bethune-Cookman 		Daeshun Ruffin (4)
Jackson State
& Bryce Roberts
Texas Southern 		Dontae Horne
Prairie View A&M
Jan. 29[19] Daeshun Ruffin (2)
Jackson State 		Doctor Bradley
Bethune-Cookman 		Troy Hupstead
Texas Southern
Feb. 3[20] Daeshun Ruffin (3)
Jackson State 		Tai'Reon Joseph (2)
Prairie View A&M 		Koron Davis (2)
Alabama A&M
Feb. 10[21] Jakobi Heady (2)
Bethune-Cookman 		Quion Williams
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
& Jayme Mitchell Jr.
Jackson State 		Michael James (4)
Mississippi Valley State
Feb. 17[22] Dontae Horne
Prairie View A&M 		Daeshun Ruffin (5)
Jackson State 		Jamil Muttilib
Grambling State

Records against other conferences

Thru January 26, 2026

Major 6 Conferences Record Major 6 Conferences Record
ACC 0–9 American 1–7
Big East 0–2 Big Ten 0–11
Big 12 0–15 SEC 0–22
Major 6 Total 1–66
Other Division I Conferences Record Other Division I Conferences Record
Atlantic 10 0–2 ASUN 3–3
America East 0–0 Big Sky 0–0
Big South 1–1 Big West 0–3
CAA 1–2 Conference USA 0–5
Horizon League 1–0 Ivy League 0–0
Independents 0–0 MAAC 0–1
MAC 1–1 MVC 2–1
MWC 0–3 NEC 0–0
OVC 2–3 Patriot League 0–0
SoCon 0–2 Southland 1–0
MEAC 3–2 Summit League 0–1
Sun Belt 2–7 WAC 0–6
WCC 0–4
Other Division I Total 17–47
NCAA Division I Total 18–113
NCAA Division II Total 1–0
NCAA Division III Total 3–0
NAIA Total 9–0
NCCAA/USCAA Total 8–0
Total Non-Conference Record 39–113

Record against ranked non-conference opponents

SWAC records against ranked teams (rankings from AP Poll, SWAC teams in Bold):

Date Visitor Home Site Score Conference record
November 3 Southern No. 14 Arkansas Bud Walton Arena
Fayetteville, AR		 77–109 0–1
November 3 Jackson State No. 17 Illinois State Farm Center
Champaign, IL		 55–113 0–2
November 3 Bethune-Cookman No. 20 Auburn Neville Arena
Auburn, AL		 90–95 OT 0–3
November 3 Texas Southern No. 21 Gonzaga McCarthey Athletic Center
Spokane, WA		 43–98 0–4
November 6 Grambling State No. 16 Iowa State Hilton Coliseum
Ames, IA		 62–102 0–5
November 6 Jackson State No. 11 Louisville KFC Yum! Center
Louisville, KY		 70–106 0–6
November 19 Jackson State No. 22 Auburn Neville Arena
Auburn, AL		 66–112 0–7
November 21 Jackson State No. 21 Arkansas Bud Walton Arena
Fayetteville, AR		 61–115 0–8
November 29 Bethune-Cookman No. 25 Indiana Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
Bloomington, IN		 56–100 0–9
December 3 Alcorn State No. 10 Iowa State Hilton Coliseum
Ames, IA		 68–132 0–10
December 10 Jackson State No. 7 Houston Fertitta Center
Houston, TX		 38–80 0–11
December 22 Bethune-Cookman No. 1 Arizona McKale Memorial Center
Tucson, AZ		 71–107 0–12
December 29 Southern No. 20 Illinois State Farm Center
Champaign, IL		 55–90 0–13

Thru January 26, 2026

Honors and awards

All-Conference awards and teams

The SWAC announced its all-conference teams and major honors on March 6, 2026.[23]

Honor Recipient
Player of the Year Daeshun Ruffin, Jackson State
Coach of the Year Reggie Theus, Bethune-Cookman
Defensive Player of the Year Jerquarius Stanback, Alabama State
Newcomer of the Year Michael James, Mississippi Valley State
Freshman of the Year Antonio Munoz, Grambling State
First Team
Daeshun Ruffin, Jackson State
Dontae Horne, Prairie View A&M
Jakobi Heady, Bethune-Cookman
Quion Williams, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Michael James, Mississippi Valley State
Second Team
Kintavious Dozier, Alabama A&M
Michael Jacobs, Southern
Troy Hupstead, Texas Southern
Daniel Rouzan, Bethune-Cookman
Tai'Reon Joseph, Prairie View A&M

Postseason

Conference tournament

For the first time, all teams in the conference will qualify for the 2026 SWAC men's basketball tournament.[24] The tournament will be held at the Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta, Georgia from March 9 to 14, 2026.

Main article: 2026 SWAC men's basketball tournament
First round
March 9, 2026
ESPN+		Second round
March 10, 2026
ESPN+		Quarterfinals
March 11–12, 2026
ESPN+		Semifinals
March 13, 2026
ESPN+		Championship
March 14, 2026
ESPNU
1Bethune–Cookman67
8Prairie View A&M658Prairie View A&M71
10Alabama State6511Alcorn State568Prairie View A&M74
11Alcorn State775Alabama A&M55
4Texas Southern74
5Alabama A&M85*
8Prairie View A&M72
3Southern66
2Florida A&M70
7Jackson State687Jackson State60
9Grambling State779Grambling State652Florida A&M70
12Mississippi Valley State523Southern73
3Southern84
6Arkansas–Pine Bluff81

* denotes overtime period

References

  1. ^ "SWAC Announces 2026 Men's and Women's Basketball HBCU GO Schedules". swac.org. December 9, 2025. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  2. ^ "SWAC Announces Creation of SWAC TV Streaming Platform". swac.org. July 16, 2025. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  3. ^ Southwestern Athletic Conference. "2026 SWAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments Information". swac.org. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  4. ^ Southwestern Athletic Conference (October 8, 2025). "SWAC Announces 2025 Men's Basketball Preseason Selections". swac.org. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  5. ^ https://hbcusports.com/2025/10/09/bethune-cookman-men-picked-as-preseason-swac-basketball-favorite/#google_vignette
  6. ^ Southwestern Athletic Conference (October 8, 2025). "SWAC Announces 2025 Men's Basketball Preseason Selections". swac.org. Retrieved December 20, 2025.
  7. ^ "SWAC Men's College Basketball Standings - 2025-26". espn.com. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  8. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Nov. 11". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. November 11, 2025. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  9. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Nov. 19". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. November 19, 2025. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  10. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Nov. 25". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. November 25, 2025. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  11. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Dec. 3". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. December 3, 2025. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  12. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Dec. 10". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. December 10, 2025. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  13. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Dec. 17". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. December 17, 2025. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
  14. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Dec. 23". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. December 23, 2025. Retrieved December 31, 2025.
  15. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Dec. 30". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. December 30, 2025. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  16. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Jan. 6". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. January 6, 2026. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  17. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Jan. 13". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. January 13, 2026. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  18. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Jan. 20". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. January 20, 2026. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  19. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Jan. 29". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. January 29, 2026. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
  20. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Feb. 3". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. February 3, 2026. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
  21. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Feb. 10". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. February 10, 2026. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
  22. ^ "SWAC Men's Basketball Weekly Awards: Feb. 17". swac.org. Southwestern Athletic Conference. February 17, 2026. Retrieved February 19, 2026.
  23. ^ "SWAC Announces Men's Basketball Postseason Awards". swac.org. March 6, 2026. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  24. ^ Kyle Mosley, HBCU Legends (June 27, 2024). "SWAC Announces Changes In Football Technology, Basketball Weekly Game Schedules, And Tournament Expansion". si.com. Retrieved December 22, 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.