It’s been a long time since Maryland basketball participated in a big-name event in a tropical locale, as the Terps did during the Gary Williams days. But the drought is over.
Maryland will play in the Maui Invitational in 2026, national reporter Jon Rothstein reported on Monday. The Terps, who last played in the prestigious early-season event in 2009, are joined Arizona, Maryland, Notre Dame, Providence, Ole Miss, BYU, VCU and a final team to be named later.
The news isn’t a surprise; while Mark Turgeon might not have left town as the most popular coach ever, he did give fans parting gift, setting the table for Maryland to return to Maui. Ben Dickson wrote last November:
The Terps open up with Mount St. Mary’s next Tuesday, but Willard had some schedule-related topics to discuss, including a future trip to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational, apparently aided by Mark Turgeon’s scheduling of the Asheville Championship, which they’ll head to this month.
“Yeah it’s – this was the last round that Mark [Turgeon] had scheduled and he scheduled because it helped us, help get into Maui in ’26,” Willard said. “So it’s just a weird timing because, you’d like to get a couple games under your belt. But really good tournament, looking forward to get down there.”
While the official field for the 2026 Maui Invitational has yet to be released, it looks like Terps fans can start looking ahead to college basketball’s premier preseason tournament three years from now. Maryland has participated in the event four times, in 1994, 2000, 2005 and 2009. The Terps were runners-up in 1994, losing to Arizona State.
The field is strong, though not as intimidating as next year’s Maui field, which includes UConn, Memphis, Michigan State, Colorado, Auburn, Iowa State, North Carolina, and Dayton.
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This report will be updated.
