Women’s Basketball 2026 Hope Credit Union Basketball Championship matchups, All-HBCUAC Award Winners Announced
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. [February 22, 2026]- The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) revealed its 14-team field for the HBCUAC 2026 Hope Credit Union Basketball Championship hosted by Stillman College and Visit Tuscaloosa from February 24 to March 1 at Stillman College's Birthright Alumni Hall. The conference also unveiled its 2026 All-HBCUAC teams and award winners on Sunday.
This season, teams only played inside their division for HBCUAC play, though some played their cross-divisional opponents as non-conference games. Oakwood University (Ala.) rose to the top of the East Division. Under the leadership of Head Coach Ronnie Abrams, they went 16-8 and 10-2 in HBCUAC play. Trenisha Adams leads the Lady Ambassadors with 15.5 points per game. She averages 5.1 rebounds per game. Adams leads the HBCUAC with 82 3-pointers and a 45.1 3-point percentage. 2025 HBCUAC Player of the Year Saniya Keys follows with 13.3 points and a team-high 8.9 rebounds per game. Kamaria Murray averages 13.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game. Oakwood will play the winner of West No. 4 Tougaloo College and East No. 5 Wilberforce University in the quarterfinals at 4 p.m. Thursday.
After making a run to the 2025 championship game as the No. 6 seed, Wiley University finished best in the West. The Lady Wildcats went 15-7 and 9-3 in HBCUAC play. Only four players returned from last season's team. Head coach DeWitt Mandley strengthened the roster with several transfers. Six players won HBCUAC Player of the Week awards. Tyler Junior College transfer Brandy Jones leads the team with 10.7 points per game. Kelechi Dike and Alexis Foster follow with 10.4 and 10.2, respectively. Transfer Moriah Burley is averaging nine points per game and ranks fourth in the conference with a 33.3 3-point percentage. Jessica Nerestant, who was a 2025 HBCUAC All-Defensive and All-Tournament Team selection, leads in rebounds with 8.4 per game. She recorded six double-doubles. Keimora Banks is tied for sixth with 3.6 assists per game. Wiley will play the winner of East No. 4 Stillman College and West No. 5 Dillard University in the quarterfinals at noon on Thursday. The complete bracket is below. The East seeds had to be adjusted due to forfeits.
East Division Seeding
1. Oakwood University
2. Talladega College
3. Rust College
4. Stillman College
5. Wilberforce University
6. Fisk University
7. Voorhees University
West Division Seeding
1. Wiley University
2. Paul Quinn College
3. Philander Smith University
4. Tougaloo College
5. Dillard University
6. Huston-Tillotson University
7. Southern University at New Orleans
In addition to the seeding, the HBCUAC also released its 2026 Regular Season honors.
Rust College's Patsy Johnson emerged as the 2026 HBCUAC Player of the Year. She is the conference leader with 18.1 points per game and ranks second with 64 three-point field goals. Johnson has surpassed 20 points in 11 games and 30 points in one game.
Abrams and his assistant Maya Langham claimed Coach and Assistant Coach of the Year after leading Oakwood to its best record since joining the conference in 2022.
Tougaloo College's Makaila Brown garnered Defensive Player of the Year. She leads the HBCUAC with 61 blocks and ranks fifth in rebounds per game at 11.5. Brown won three Defensive Player of the Week Awards.
Fisk University's Ari Branch takes Freshman of the Year. She ranks sixth in the conference with 16.2 points per game and fourth with 141 field goals. Branch won 11 HBCUAC Weekly Awards, earning an award in eight of the last nine weeks of the season.
Tougaloo College's Shalayne Morgan wins Newcomer of the Year. She ranks fifth in the conference with 16.4 points per game and fourth with a 78 free throw percentage. Morgan was a four-time Newcomer of the Week.
Coach of the Year: Ronnie Abrams, Oakwood
Assistant Coach of the Year: Maya Langham, Oakwood
Player of the Year: Patsy Johnson Rust
Defensive Player of the Year: Makaila Brown, Tougaloo
Freshman of the Year: Ari Branch, Fisk
Newcomer of the Year: Shalayne Morgan, Tougaloo
First Team All-HBCUAC
Patsy Johnson Rust
Kayla Lee, Fisk
Trenisha Adams, Oakwood
Wilashia Burleson, Huston-Tillotson
D'Mya Ferguson, Dillard
Second Team
Ari Branch Fisk
Shalayne Morgan Tougaloo
Saniya Keys, Oakwood
Lauren Bennett, Rust
Canai McPherson, Paul Quinn
All-Defensive Team
Makaila Brown, Tougaloo
Kayla Lee, Fisk
Wilasia Burleson, Huston-Tillotson
Brayland Ferguson, Tougaloo
Zaire Brown, Paul Quinn
The women's 2026 Hope Credit Union Basketball Championship tips off at 11 a.m. on Tuesday with West No. 6 Huston-Tillotson University vs. East No. 7 Voorhees University. Fans can catch all the championship action on the Urban Edge Network, which can be viewed online or downloaded via the free application.
About the HBCU Athletic Conference
The HBCU Athletic Conference (HBCUAC) is the only HBCU conference in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The HBCUAC membership includes Dillard University (LA), Fisk University (TN), Huston-Tillotson University (TX), Oakwood University (AL), Paul Quinn College (TX), Philander Smith University (AR), Rust College (MS), Southern University at New Orleans (LA), Stillman College (AL), Talladega College (AL), Tougaloo College (MS), University of the Virgin Islands (St. Thomas), Voorhees University (SC), Wilberforce University (OH), and Wiley University (TX). HBCUAC sponsors championships in men's and women's basketball, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's track and field, women's volleyball, softball, and baseball. In 2022, the HBCUAC secured the largest media rights deal in conference and NAIA history, signing a multimillion-dollar deal with Urban Edge Network. On July 1, 2024, the conference rebranded from the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference (GCAC) to the HBCU Athletic Conference, marking a new era for the conference that embodies the makeup of its membership. For more information, visit hbcuac.org.