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The Basketball Tournament 2026: Heartfire Elite Team Profile

arielputerman
Heartfire Elite

A combination of some of the best non-alumni players and teams, Heartfire Elite looks to be the favorite of the Vegas region

In the last seven years, six championships have been won by an alumni team. The only time it didn’t was when Heartfire won in 2023. In the last four tournaments, they’ve made it to the third round, the quarterfinals twice, and won a championship. There aren’t many other teams that can claim a run like that. If we want to go even further, in the last five tournaments, they have either won or lost to the eventual national champions.

Now, they’re back, and they’ve brought friends. They combine with Elite Nation, a team that earned the 1 seed in 2025 and made it to the third round, and The Shine. This team is absolutely loaded and is hoping that last year’s Coach of the Year, Mike Rejniak, can guide them to the top of Vegas and give the non-alumni programs their shine.

For more TBT team profiles, click here.

Current Roster:

Coaching Staff:

All-time Record: 0-0

First Matchup: vs. Red Rose War Ready (July 22 at 3 p.m. PDT)

Team MVP: Tevin Mack

Marcus Hall, who’s also on Heartfire Elite, is the all-time leader in TBT history, but Mack has been the leader on Heartfire the past two years. In 2024, he averaged 15.7 PPG on 51% shooting, then one-upped himself last year, scoring 17.3 PPG on 53-46-80 shooting splits. He’s a true pro in this tournament, and does a great job on both ends of the floor, something we don’t see as often in TBT.

This team is loaded with top options, but if Heartfire Nation wants to win, they’ll need to do whatever they can to make sure the ball is in Mack’s hands late in games. Because he’s shown time and time again that he can deliver.

Make-or-break Player: Kerem Kanter

Kerem Kanter, the Xavier alum, became a Kentucky Wildcat when he joined La Familia in 2024. In that tournament, he was sensational, finishing second in the entire tournament in total points and third in total rebounds. He was a true back-to-the-basket big, showcasing his footwork and dominating whoever was in front of him. Last year, Kanter looked like a completely different player, averaging just 8 points again and not contributing to his best ability.

Look, Heartfire Elite will be fine if he can’t play to his full potential, but if he does, it’s hard to imagine any team having a chance of beating them. Having a ton of experienced guards like Marcus Hall and Craig Sword should help with that and put him and his team in the best opportunity to succeed.

Team Outlook

Heartfire Nation brings the core four of Craig Sword, Marcus Hall, Tevin Mack, and Eric Griffin. Pair them with Kerem Kanter, and you’ve got yourself a championship-level starting five. Then you see Marcus Azor, the second-leading scorer on semifinalist We Are D3, and Rashad Vaughn, who averaged 16 a game last year. Jordan Sears scored 17 in his lone game, and all the way at the bottom of the roster list is Landers Nolley II, who has been a two-time All-AAC player in college.  You can probably make two rosters from this team, and in the old format, both make it at least to the third round.

This team has a ton of experience, and they’ll actually benefit from the Vegas environment after constantly having to play in hostile environments in Kansas the past few years. They have everything you need: shooting, passing, rebounding, defending- you name it. The only concern can be that there’s only one ball and a ton of guys who can succeed with it, but head coach Mike Rejniak will make sure that’s not a problem. If you’re looking for a non-alumni team to follow, Heartfire Elite might be the team for you.

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