FERRUM, Va. – The 2026 Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Championship bracket has been announced and Ferrum College will compete as the No. 3 seed in the 12-team tournament, which begins Sunday, March 1.
Ferrum earned a first round bye and will play first in the quarterfinals on Friday, March 6, against the winner of a three-team pod between No. 6 Emmanuel, #No. 7 Barton and #12 Shorter, being held this weekend at Emmanuel. Tip-off has been set for 1:30 p.m. at Wofford College's Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
The Panthers closed out regular season play with a 93-91 overtime win over Mount Olive February 25 at home. Ferrum brings a 15-10 overall record, 14-6 in league play, into the tournament. This is Ferrum's debut appearance in the event.
IMPORTANT STREAMING INFO. FOR FANS
Fans can watch every game of the tournament live via the Conference Carolinas Digital Network powered by Hudl at ConferenceCarolinas.com/watch.
Fans will need to purchase an all-tournament pass for $25 or a daily pass for $10.
UNC Pembroke (21-7, 18-2) and Young Harris College (20-8, 16-4) earned the top two seeds and receive byes into the semifinals. The Braves won the East Division and took the top seed with a KPI of .235 while Young Harris won the Southwest Division takes the second seed with a KPI of .144. Ferrum (15-10, 14-6) earned the third seed and a bye into the quarterfinals with a KPI of .129.
North Greenville University (18-11, 12-8) will be the fourth seed as they won the Northwest Division and will host first and second round games on Sunday, March 1 and Monday, March 2. Ninth seed King University (12-16, 10-10) will take on 10th seed University Mount Olive (10-18, 7-13) in the opening round. The winner will take on the host Trailblazers on Monday night.
All KPI comparisons within .002 are considered ties for the purpose of seeding and the conference's tiebreakers are used to resolve those comparisons. King and Mount Olive ended tied with a KPI of -.027, but King won the tiebreaker based on a win over the Trojans earlier this season.
The three first and second-round winners will advance to the quarterfinals that will be held at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on Friday, March 6. The semifinals and final follow on Saturday, March 7, and the championship Sunday, March 8, all at Jerry Richard Indoor Stadium.
The Conference Carolinas Tournament champion will earn the league's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Div. II Men's Basketball National Championship Tournament, to be held in March.
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2026 Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Championship
TOURNAMENT PAGE | BRACKET | LIVE VIDEO | FINAL SITE TICKETS
First Round – Sunday, March 1 at No. 4-5-6 Seeds
No. 9 King vs. No. 10 Mount Olive (at No. 4 North Greenville), 5:00 p.m.
No. 8 Southern Wesleyan vs. No. 11 Francis Marion (at No. 5 Chowan), 7:00 p.m.
No. 7 Barton vs. No. 12 Shorter, (at No. 6 Emmanuel), 5:00 p.m.
Second Round – Monday, March 2 at No. 4-5-6 Seeds
Winner of No. 9-No. 10 at No. 4 North Greenville, 7:00 p.m.
Winner of No. 8-No. 11 at No. 5 Chowan, 7:00 p.m.
Winner of No. 7-No. 12 at No. 6 Emmanuel, 7:00 p.m.
Quarterfinals – Friday, March 7 (at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
Winner of 5-8-11 vs. Winner 4-9-10, 11:00 a.m.
Winner of 6-7-12 vs. No. 3 Ferrum, 1:30 p.m.
Semifinals – Saturday, March 7 (at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
Winner of 4-5-8-9-10-11 vs. No. 1 UNC Pembroke, 12:30 p.m.
Winner of 3-6-7-12 vs. No. 2 Young Harris, 2:45 p.m.
Final – Sunday, March 8 (at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium – Spartanburg, S.C.)
Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2, 1:00 p.m.
