BYU will play in one of the premier college basketball tournaments once again in 2026. Jon Rothstein reported that BYU will play in the Maui Invitational in two seasons.
NEWS: Arizona, Maryland, Notre Dame, Providence, Ole Miss, BYU, and VCU will headline the 2026 Maui Invitational, according to multiple sources.
The eighth team in the event is currently TBD.https://t.co/n3qEmExZMX
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) October 7, 2024
With the Pac-12 no longer a power conference league, many larger non-conference tournaments have multiple teams from the same conference. In this case, BYU and Arizona are both in the field.
BYU last played in the Maui Invitational in Mark Pope’s inaugural season in 2019 where they beat UCLA and Virginia Tech and lost to Kansas. The field for the Maui Invitational is not as quite as strong as it has been historically, likely due to the introduction of events where players can receive NIL. The Players Era Festival tournament in Las Vegas debuts this year, which is the first-of-its kind tournament where players will receive NIL money. The structure and prestige for premier tournaments such as the Maui Invitational is in flux depending on the future of player compensation.
Regardless, this tournament has solid programs with multiple power conference teams. If BYU keeps up its recruiting ways they should be one of the favorites in the field.
