WVU Learns the Other Seven Teams in Its Players Era Bracket

The Players Era had a successful first two years, and because of it, they are expanding the field to 24 teams.

If you are unaware of what the Players Era is, it is basically a new version of the MTEs you would see early in the season. Those still exist (for now), but the Players Era is going to be the event all schools want to have an opportunity to play in because of the roughly $1 million NIL payout and the chance to strike for more if you make it deep enough into the tournament.

West Virginia will make its first appearance in the event this November, thanks to a top-8 finish in the Big 12 during the 2024-25 season. The Big 12 and Players Era agree to a deal where the top eight teams in the league would automatically secure a spot in the field two years in advance. The Mountaineers finished in seventh place this past season in Ross Hodge's first year, so they will play in this tournament again in the 2027-28 season.

In addition to announcing the expansion of the event, Players Era revealed the two "brackets," although no first-round opponents have been scheduled as of today.

Players Era Eight: Auburn, Florida, Houston, Kansas, Notre Dame, Rutgers, West Virginia, UNLV.

Players Era Sixteen: Alabama, Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kansas State, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, Michigan, Oregon, San Diego State, St. John’s, TCU, Tennessee, Texas Tech.

The Players Era Eight, the side that West Virginia is participating in, will take place the week before Thanksgiving out in Las Vegas. Hodge had a bunch of success in Sin City a month ago, going 3-0 en route to winning the College Basketball Crown, so perhaps it's a sign that WVU will experience more memorable moments this November.

“We are excited to be invited with seven of our Big 12 Conference members to participate in the 2026 Players Era Men’s Championship,” said WVU head coach Ross Hodge in a press release. “The exposure this tournament presents will be beneficial to our program, our University, and the state of West Virginia. This has become the biggest in-season tournament in college basketball, and we are thrilled to be a part of this prestigious event.”

As of this afternoon, the Mountaineers only have two other games on their schedule for next season — a home game against Niagara on November 2nd and then the neutral site game against Wake Forest in Greensboro, NC on December 19th.

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