Best Virginia Reveals It Won't Be Playing in the TBT This Summer

It'll be a quiet summer until football returns to Morgantown.

Best Virginia guard Kedrian Johnson | Photo courtesy of TBT

For the last several years, notable West Virginia basketball alums have helped bring some excitement to the slowest time of the year in college sports, participating in The Basketball Tournament (TBT). Unfortunately, the Best Virginia squad will not take part in this year's event, GM John Flowers announced on X on Tuesday.

Flowers' statement

March 16, 2011; Tampa, FL, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers forward John Flowers (41) during the press conference at practice the day before the second round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the St. Pete Times Forum. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

“Last year, our WVU alumni team, Best Virginia, made history with a Final Four run in the TBT Tournament in Charleston, WV. Your incredible support powered us every step of the way, and we’re immensely grateful.

“We had hoped to bring TBT back to WV this summer, but the tournament will not be held in Charleston in 2026. Although we will not be competing in TBT this year, our youth travel teams remain active and continue to build momentum. Stay tuned for upcoming camps, clinics, and social events featuring Best Virginia players.

“Thank you for your ongoing support. We look forward to seeing you at future events. Let’s go Mountaineers.”

Their first showing came all the way back in 2019, which gave Mountaineer fans a chance to see the group that made it to the Final Four in 2010 share the floor together once again. Also, parts of the "Press Virginia" era were mixed in as well, putting two of the most exciting eras in WVU hoops history together.

In Best Virginia's early years, the roster was made up entirely of WVU alums or very close to it. In recent years, they've added some players who played elsewhere to help increase their chances of winning because not every WVU hoops alum can play in the tournament. Those in the NBA are not allowed, and there are even some who play professionally overseas that aren't able to because of how their contract is set up. And then you also have some guys who just don't have an interest in playing because they want to have that time off to rest and recover.

Hopefully, this isn't the end for Best Virginia in the TBT and instead just a one-year hiatus. Obviously, there are members of the Final Four squad who are retired from playing, so they'll need some of the more recent players to become a part of the team to help carry this thing forward.

All that being said, maybe Best Virginia will return in 2027. Flowers also tweeted something shortly after the announcement referencing Marshall's alumni team and potentially squaring off against them next year.

HERD THAT ducked us for the BEST VIRGINIA MEGA BOWL 🤦🏾‍♂️ I guess we’ll make it summer 2027 …was Gona be huge for the state with our youth teams competing, woman alumni, cheer leaders doing the stand off thing, golf scramble and concert party! A weekend celebrating WV!

— john flowers (@jflow41) May 5, 2026