2026 Atlantic Sun Tournament Preview & Conference Awards

CBB Review prepares you for every conference tournament leading up to Selection Sunday on Mar. 15. Up next: The Atlantic Sun Tournament.

This conference was a four-team race all season long. Central Arkansas and Austin Peay led the way at 15-3, while Queens and Lipscomb followed closely behind. The gap between Lipscomb, the 4th-best team, and FGCU, the 5th-best team, was 4 whole games. That doesn’t mean that this should be a boring tournament.

Two years ago, the one and three seeds both got upset in the quarterfinals of the tournament, and the 2 seed Stetson won by just one point in the semifinal over the 10 seed Jacksonville before winning in the final and punching their ticket.

Last year, it was a little more chalky, with the top two seeds making the final, and Lipscomb taking the crown. We’ve had four straight unique winners, and with the way the standings are set up, we could see that extend to five this year.

2026 Atlantic Sun Conference Awards

Player of the Year: Collin Parker, Austin Peay

Freshman of the Year: Ty Robinson, Central Arkansas

Transfer of the Year: Camren Hunter, Central Arkansas

Coach of the Year: Josh Shulman, Central Arkansas

First Team:

• G: Camren Hunter, Central Arkansas (19.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.4 SPG)
• F: Jack Karasinski, Bellarmine (21.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.1 APG, 0.6 SPG)
• F: Shelton Williams-Dryden, West Georgia (20.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 1.0 SPG)
• F: Rashaud Marshall, Austin Peay (15.4 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.2 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.0 BPG)
• F: Collin Parker, Austin Peay (18.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 3.2 APG, 0.9 SPG, 0.3 BPG)

Second Team:

• G: Nasir Mann, Queens (13.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.7 APG, 0.9 SPG)
• G: Josh Smith, West Georgia (16.0 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.9 SPG)
• G: Kamrin Oriel, North Florida (20.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 4.3 APG, 0.8 SPG)
• F: Grant Asman, Lipscomb (14.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.9 SPG, 1.0 BPG)
• F: J.R Konieczny, FGCU (15.6 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.4 BPG)

2026 Atlantic Sun Tournament Simulation

First Round – Tue., Mar. 4

8. Bellarmine (12-18, 7-11) vs. 9. Jacksonville (12-19, 7-11) – 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+

Let’s get this thing started! Bellarmine took the win on the road in their only matchup. Since Feb 1st, Bellarmine has the worst defense in the country per Barttorvik, and if they can’t get a stop, they’re not going to win this game.

Ariel’s Pick: 9. Jacksonville

5. FGCU (14-17, 8-10) vs. 12. North Alabama (8-20, 4-14) – 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+

North Alabama went 2-7 in February, the worst record in the ASUN, and got swept by FGCU in the regular season. Don’t overthink this one.

Ariel’s Pick: 5. FGCU

7. Eastern Kentucky (11-20, 7-11) vs. 10. Stetson (11-20, 7-11) – 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+

Same overall records and conference records, but three seeds separate them. That’s how tight the middle of the ASUN was at the end of the season. Stetson is shooting the lights out from three at 44.4%, but they don’t defend as we saw when they let Eastern Kentucky score 100 in their early February matchup.

With this game being on a neutral court, though, Stetson’s high percentage shooting will cater well to the poor defense Eastern Kentucky has also played. Watch for a big game from Stetson’s Jamie Phillips Jr in this one.

Ariel’s Pick: 10. Stetson

6. West Georgia (14-16, 8-10) vs. 11. North Florida (7-24, 7-11) – 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+

In just their second season in D1, West Georgia went from 6 total wins to 8 in conference play alone. These two teams split the season series, with the road team taking it in both situations. This one should be close, but Shelton Williams-Dryden is too good to go one-and-done in this tournament.

Ariel’s Pick: 6. West Georgia

Quarterfinals – Friday, Mar. 6

1. Central Arkansas (20-11, 15-3) vs. 9. Jacksonville  – 12 p.m. ET on ESPN+

Central Arkansas finished the season red hot, winning 13 of its last 14 in conference play and earning the one seed. Jacksonville actually kept it close with them during that streak, leading for much of the second half and losing by just two. Still, you have to ride the hot hand here, which will send Central Arkansas to its first semifinal since joining the ASUN in 2021.

Ariel’s Pick: 1. Central Arkansas

4. Lipscomb (14-17, 8-10) vs. 5. FGCU – 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+

There’s a pretty big gap between these two teams. Four conference games to be exact. FGCU went 3-11 away from home this year, and it’s hard to imagine they’ll win two in a row, especially with the balance in scoring Lipscomb possesses.

Ariel’s Pick: 4. Lipscomb

2. Austin Peay (21-8, 15-3) vs. 10. Stetson – 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+

Since February 1st, both of these teams are top 7 in the country in three-point shooting percentage. That was Stetson’s only true mismatch over this Austin Peay team, and with the forward duo of Collin Parker and Rashaud Marshall, plus the shooting from the guards, it’s hard to imagine Austin Peay not dominating this game.

Ariel’s Pick: 2. Austin Peay

3. Queens (18-13, 13-5) vs. 6. West Georgia – 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+

Again, there was a four-team tier of great teams all season long, and Queens falls into that, and West Georgia doesn’t. These two teams played on February 21st, and Queens got the win, scoring 91 in that one. Nasir Mann had a double-double and will probably do so again to advance Queens to the Semifinals.

Ariel’s Pick: 3. Queens

Semifinals – Saturday, Mar. 7

1. Central Arkansas vs. 4. Lipscomb  – 5 p.m. ET on ESPN+

Lipscomb went 0-3 against the top four teams in February, including an eight-point home loss to Central Arkansas. Cam Hunter showed why he’s one of the best players in the conference, scoring 32, and he’s going to show up again in this one and send Central Arkansas to the final.

Ariel’s Pick: 1. Central Arkansas

2. Austin Peay vs. 3. Queens – 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+

This is going to be a great one. Will the star power of Parker and Marshall dominate, or will the balanced scoring of Queens, who have six players averaging between 10 and 13 points, prevail? When they played, the answer was the former, with Parker scoring 39 points and grabbing 9 rebounds. Marshall added 21 on 9 for 10 shooting. Ultimately, Queen’s lack of second-chance opportunities will be the difference, giving us a 1 vs. 2 battle for the championship that we’ve been waiting for all season long.

Ariel’s Pick: 2. Austin Peay

Championship – Sunday, Mar. 8

1. Central Arkansas vs. 2. Austin Peay  – 2 p.m. ET on ESPN2

They’ve been the best two teams all season long, so it’s fitting they find themselves facing each other for a chance to make the tournament. For Central Arkansas, it would be their first Division 1 NCAA Tournament since transitioning in 2006. For Austin Peay, it would be their first appearance in ten years, and their first time winning the regular season and conference tournament since 2008.

As mentioned earlier, Austin Peay has been one of the best three-point shooting teams, while Central Arkansas has been one of the worst three-point defenses. These two teams played in the penultimate game of the season, and Austin Peay shot 55% from three. However, Central Arkansas shot 47% and forced 15 turnovers. You have to ride the hot hand, and you don’t win 13 of 14 to close the season for no reason. Central Arkansas makes history and dances for the first time as a D1 member!

Ariel’s Pick: 1. Central Arkansas