What to know about a new TBT format with Wichita State, KU, K-State in the field

Hoops fans in the Sunflower State have come to know The Basketball Tournament well in recent years, but some new wrinkles await spectators at the familiar event this summer.

Here’s what to know about the TBT in 2026 with alumni teams from Kansas, K-State and Wichita State all participating:

• The AfterShocks (Wichita State) and (Purple Reign) will both open the tournament at home this summer with games taking place at Koch Arena and Bramlage Coliseum, respectively, under a reformatted 16-team competition with at $2 million winner-take-all prize. JHX Hoops (Kansas) will also get to play a game in front of its home fans, but that contest will take place at Lee Arena in Topeka.
• Wichita State’s alumni team is returning to defend the 2025 TBT championship after beating Eberlein Drive 82-67 in last summer’s title game at Koch Arena.
• The K-State alumni team will face KU’s JHX Hoops in a best-of-three first-round series starting July 21 at Bramlage Coliseum, with Game 2 at Lee Arena in Topeka. Michael Beasley has committed to play for Purple Reign. Frank Mason has agreed to play for JHX Hoops. You’ve never seen the Sunflower Showdown like this.
• TBT has shrunk to a 16-team event with a winner-take-all $2 million prize, double last year’s payout, and the first round uses a best-of-three format before reverting to single elimination.
• The AfterShocks open against New Mexico’s alumni team, The Enchantment, with all three possible games scheduled at Koch Arena, beginning at 7 p.m. Monday, July 20, on FS1.
• The winners of the two series meet in a single-game second round at 8 p.m. Monday, July 27, on FS1, with the Alumni Bracket championship set for July 29 and the overall TBT title game on Aug. 2 on FOX.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.

Taylor Eldridge

The Wichita Eagle

316-268-6270

Wichita State athletics beat reporter. Bringing you closer to the Shockers you love and inside the sports you love to watch.

Kellis Robinett

The Wichita Eagle

Kellis Robinett covers Kansas State athletics for The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star. A winner of more than a dozen national writing awards, he lives in Manhattan with his wife and four children.