Conference tournament season has officially arrived in the Coastal Athletic Association, and the race for the league’s NCAA tournament bid begins March 6.
CAA tournament bracket set as championship week arrives
Thirteen teams will take part in this year’s CAA tournament, which runs over five days and wraps up with the championship game on March 10. As is the case in many conference tournaments, the regular season standings matter quite a bit. The top four teams receive double byes and will not have to play until the quarterfinal round.
That puts UNC Wilmington in a strong position after winning the regular season title with a 15-3 conference record and a 26-5 mark overall. The Seahawks have been one of the most consistent teams in the league all season and will enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed.
Charleston, Hofstra, and Monmouth also secured double byes and will wait until Sunday before stepping onto the floor.
Meanwhile, the rest of the conference begins play earlier and will need to string together several wins in a short amount of time to reach the championship game. That is what makes this week so fun. A hot team can suddenly find itself playing for a title just a few days later.
Here is how the full CAA tournament schedule lines up.
CAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET IS HERE!
— Mid-Major Madness (@mid_madness) March 4, 2026
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CAA tournament schedule
First round – Friday, March 6
No. 12 North Carolina A&T vs No. 13 Northeastern — 2:00 PM ET
Second round – Saturday, March 7
No. 8 Stony Brook vs No. 9 Campbell — 12:00 PM ET
No. 5 Drexel vs First Round Winner — 2:30 PM ET
No. 7 Towson vs No. 10 Hampton — 6:00 PM ET
No. 6 William & Mary vs No. 11 Elon — 8:30 PM ET
Quarterfinals – Sunday, March 8
No. 1 UNC Wilmington vs Second Round Winner — 12:00 PM ET
No. 4 Monmouth vs Second Round Winner — 2:30 PM ET
No. 2 Charleston vs Second Round Winner — 6:00 PM ET
No. 3 Hofstra vs Second Round Winner — 8:30 PM ET
Semifinals – Monday, March 9
Semifinal 1 — TBD
Semifinal 2 — TBD
CAA championship game – Tuesday, March 10
Championship Game — TBD
Teams to watch in the CAA tournament
UNC Wilmington enters the tournament as the team everyone will be chasing. The Seahawks finished the regular season with the best record in the conference and have looked balanced on both ends of the floor.
Charleston is another serious contender. The Cougars closed the regular season on a five-game winning streak and finished just one game behind Wilmington in the standings.
Hofstra and Monmouth also find themselves in a strong position thanks to their double byes. Both teams only need to win three games to capture the conference championship.
Further down the bracket, teams like William & Mary, Drexel, Towson, and Stony Brook will try to build momentum early in the tournament. Every year a team seems to get hot at the right time, and the CAA tournament has produced its share of surprises.
Full CAA tournament seeds
- UNC Wilmington (26-5, 15-3)
- Charleston (21-10, 14-4)
- Hofstra (21-10, 12-6)
- Monmouth (17-14, 11-7)
- William & Mary (19-11, 10-8)
- Drexel (16-15, 10-8)
- Stony Brook (17-14, 9-9)
- Towson (17-14, 9-9)
- Campbell (14-17, 8-10)
- Hampton (13-18, 7-11)
- Elon (14-17, 6-12)
- North Carolina A&T (11-18, 4-14)
- Northeastern (6-23, 2-16)
For one team, the week will end with a conference trophy and an automatic spot in the NCAA tournament. For everyone else, it will mark the end of the season.
That pressure is what makes conference tournament week one of the most entertaining stretches of the college basketball calendar. Every game matters, and every possession suddenly feels bigger.