New Braunfels, Texas – Hardin-Simmons earned the 2026 American Southwest Conference Women's Basketball Regular Season Championship and the right to host the 2026 ASC Championship Tournament in Abilene after finishing conference play with a 5-1 record.
This will mark the 28th ASC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament.
Hardin-Simmons will also host the men’s tournament after sharing the regular-season title with Mary Hardin-Baylor. The men’s tournament opens up at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 27, featuring No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor and No. 3 East Texas Baptist University.
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No. 1 seed Hardin-Simmons (20-5, 5-1) claimed the 2026 ASC Regular Season title and enters the tournament with a 20-5 overall record. The Cowgirls will host No. 4 Mary Hardin-Baylor in the semifinals on Friday at 2:30 p.m., marking the third match up between the two teams this season. This will be the program’s 26
th tournament appearance. Last year, Hardin-Simmons competed in the 2025 ASC Championship game.
No. 2 seed Howard Payne (12-13, 3-3 ) will face No. 3 East Texas Baptist in the first semifinal game on Friday at 12:00 p.m. The two teams split their regular-season meetings, 1-1. The Yellow Jackets are making their 21
st tournament appearance and are led by head coach Rodney Gee.
No. 3 seed East Texas Baptist (16-8, 2-4) returns to the tournament after winning the 2025 ASC Championship. The Tigers hold conference wins this season over Howard Payne and Mary Hardin-Baylor. Friday’s semifinal match up will mark ETBU’s 17
th tournament appearance.
No. 4 seed Mary Hardin-Baylor (8-17, 2-4) is making its 22
nd tournament appearance and will face top-seeded Hardin-Simmons in the second semifinal on Friday. The Cru are coming off a home win over Howard Payne and also earned a conference victory over East Texas Baptist this season. Mary Hardin-Baylor most recently won ASC titles in 2020 and 2021, becoming the third ASC program to capture back-to-back championships.