Kentucky Alumni vs Louisville Alumni to Headline Eight-Team Alumni Bracket
NBA and MLB All-Stars Baron Davis and Dee Strange-Gordon Headline First Two Teams Announced in Eight-Team Non-Alumni Bracket
The Basketball Tournament (TBT) today unveiled a new format and doubled its winner-take-all prize to $2,000,000. TBT 2026 will feature 16 teams, with eight alumni teams and eight non-alumni teams, competing on two separate sides of the bracket. The Alumni Bracket will take place on college campuses across the country, highlighted by a series between Kentucky alumni and Louisville alumni. The Non-Alumni Bracket is open-application and will be played in Las Vegas.
TBT 2026 will tip off on July 18 with a first-round matchup between Kentucky and Louisville. The event will conclude fifteen days later, as the winner of the Non-Alumni Bracket travels to the winner of the Alumni Bracket’s home court for the $2 Million championship game on Sunday, Aug. 2.
“We are doubling down on our belief that high stakes sporting events are the best fan experience in sports,” said The Tournament CEO Jon Mugar. “By doubling the prize and separating our bracket into alumni and non-alumni, we are now able to deliver a better experience to more basketball fans and players. The new format also opens the door to even more categories of entries down the road.”
The eight alumni teams will be matched up in best-of-three series, while the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship will be single-elimination. Kentucky Alumni versus Louisville Alumni is the first of four matchups to be revealed this week. Kentucky’s La Familia will be led by Willie Cauley-Stein and Louisville’s The Ville will be led by Russ Smith. The two teams met in TBT’s quarterfinals in 2024 in front of a record-setting crowd 13,506 at Freedom Hall.
On the non-alumni side of the bracket, eight teams will compete in a made-for-TV setting in Las Vegas at the M Resort Spa Casino from July 23-30. Four of the eight slots have already been claimed. The first two teams are TeamBIG.io, led by two-time NBA All-Star and UCLA legend Baron Davis, and Black Sheep, led by two-time MLB All-Star Dee-Strange Gordon.
“I’m super excited,” said Baron Davis. “I’ve been following TBT over the years and have always been a fan of what they’re doing in basketball. I think it’ll be fun having it in Vegas and fun putting a team together.”
“I’ve always been a huge fan of TBT, and I remember watching it closely during my time with the Marlins,” said Dee Strange-Gordon. “It’s thrilling to see how much the tournament has grown over the years, and I’m beyond excited to be part of it now with my own team. Having a chance to compete in this incredible event feels like a dream come true!”
Four open slots remain available for purchase in TBT’s Las Vegas event and anyone can apply. Entry fees start at $125,000 per team. The final two slots will go for $175,000 and $250,000 respectively.
TBT’s new format for 2026 comes after a record-setting tournament in 2025. Over 500,000 viewers were tuned into Fox as the AfterShocks (Wichita State) defeated Eberlein Drive in a raucous championship held on Wichita State’s campus. That game not only set a viewership record, but also a championship game attendance record, as 9,029 fans packed Koch Arena. Despite students not being in session, it was Wichita State’s biggest crowd for a basketball game in over three years.
TBT drew 85,395 fans in attendance last summer, surpassing its own record in 2024. Since 2022, TBT has grown its annual attendance by over 136%.
