CONWAY, S.C. – After closing the regular season with six wins in its final eight games and finishing tied for second place in the league standings, Coastal Carolina earned the No. 3 seed for the 2026 Visit Pensacola Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Championship, set for March 3-9 at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla.

The Chanticleers receive a bye through the first four rounds and will open play in the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 7, at approximately 9 p.m. (ET). Coastal will face the winner of No. 6 South Alabama and the winner of Game Six.

Top-seeded Troy and No. 2 Marshall advance directly to the semifinal round, while No. 4 App State joins Coastal Carolina in entering the bracket in the quarterfinals.

The Sun Belt Championship features all 14 conference teams competing for the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament at the Pensacola Bay Center.

Since joining the conference in 2016-17, Coastal Carolina has reached the quarterfinal round twice. The Chanticleers defeated South Alabama in their first league tournament appearance before advancing to the quarterfinals and again earned a quarterfinal bye in 2021 after finishing second in the Sun Belt East Division.

Coastal enters the postseason with a 4-9 all-time record in Sun Belt Championship play.

Picked 13th in the Sun Belt preseason coaches poll, the Chanticleers finished the regular season 19-12 overall and 11-7 in conference play — setting a program record for most Sun Belt victories while tying for second place in the final standings.