BYU men’s basketball scheduled for trip to 2026 Maui Invitational
Harold Mitchell, Special to the Herald
BYU's Richie Saunders dribbles to the basket against Fresno State in a men's college basketball game at the Marriott Center on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024.Everybody wants a piece of the BYU men’s basketball program.
On Wednesday the Southwest Maui Invitational announced its eight-team field for the 2026 tournament, which will be held at historic Lahaina Civic Center on Nov. 23-25. That eight-team field includes the Cougars, who have previously played there four other times.
Just to be clear, this is for the 2026-27 season, presumably post-AJ Dybantsa. The nation’s No. 1 ranked player will play his freshman season in Provo and is expected to be one of the top picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The 43rd annual Maui Invitational will feature eight premier college basketball programs who share 182 NCAA Tournament appearances, nine Final Fours and two national championships. Seven of the eight teams made the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
The Cougars are one of two Big 12 schools slated to make the trip to the Valley Isle alongside Arizona. Clemson, Colorado State, Ole Miss, Providence, VCU and Washington are also slated to be in the field.
“We are excited to, once again, announce our 2026 field of eight top-ranked teams participating in the 43rd edition of the Maui Invitational,” said KemperSports LIVE Executive Vice President Tom Valdiserri. “2026 continues our tradition of having the best schools and coaches playing in Maui.”
BYU has posted 7-6 all-time record in Maui. The Cougars last played in the event in 2019 where they finished in third place with wins over Virginia Tech and UCLA.
BYU was the runner-up at the Maui Invitational in 1992, beating Penny Hardaway and Memphis State as well as No. 9 Oklahoma before falling to top-ranked Duke in the championship game.
In 2014, former Cougar Chase Fischer put on a show by setting a school record with 10 3-pointers and scored 30 points in a 121-85 rout of Chaminade.
This season BYU has one of its most unique schedules ever. The Cougars have exhibition games against Nebraska (in Lincoln) and North Carolina (at the Delta Center), one-off, neutral-site games against Villanova (in Las Vegas), UConn (in Boston), Wisconsin (at the Delta Center) and Clemson (in New York) as well as the Terry’s Chocolate ESPN Events Invitational with Miami, Dayton and Georgetown in Florida.
