NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference released the bracket for the 2026 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship on Tuesday evening.
The tournament will begin on Sunday, Nov. 8, with quarterfinal matches and culminate on Sunday, Nov. 15, in the 2026 Men’s Soccer Championship Match. All matches of the 2026 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship will be played at campus sites and broadcast on ESPN+.
West Virginia clinched the No. 1 overall seed in a tiebreaker over Marshall. After both teams tallied 20 points with 6-1-2 regular season conference ledgers to claim co-regular season championships and coveted Sun Belt Championship host spots. Both Mountain State programs will hoist their second Sun Belt regular season championship trophy with West Virginia last winning the regular season in 2024 and Marshall doing so in 2023. The Mountaineers will take on No. 8 Georgia Southern in the quarterfinals to open the postseason.
After splitting the regular season, Marshall earned the No. 2 seed, marking the fourth time in the last five seasons with a top two seed. The Thundering Herd will look to win their second Sun Belt tournament title and first since 2023 with homefield advantage in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Marshall opens its postseason at home against No. 7 Kentucky.
UCF claimed the No. 3 seed outright with a 5-3-1 record and 16 points in the conference standings. As reigning Sun Belt Tournament champions, the Knights enter the 2026 field with a top three seed for the third time in the Sun Belt and first time since 2024. UCF will take on No. 6 South Carolina in the quarterfinals in Huntington, West Virginia.
James Madison secured the No. 4 seed with 15 points and a 4-2-3 conference ledger. The Dukes’ fourth overall seed ties their previous best from 2023 and will see JMU take on No. 5 Coastal Carolina in Morgantown, West Virginia.
2026 Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship Schedule
Quarterfinals – Sunday, November 8
Match 1 – No. 1 West Virginia vs. No. 8 Georgia Southern, 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT (Morgantown, W.Va.)
Match 2 – No. 4 James Madison vs. No. 5 Coastal Carolina, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT (Morgantown, W.Va.)
Match 3 – No. 2 Marshall vs. No. 7 Kentucky, 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT (Huntington, W.Va.)
Match 4 – No. 3 UCF vs. No. 6 South Carolina, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT (Huntington, W.Va.)
Semifinals – Wednesday, November 11
Match 5 – Match 1 winner vs. Match 2 winner, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT (Morgantown, W.Va.)
Match 6 – Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner, 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT (Huntington, W.Va.)
Championship – Sunday, November 15
Match 7 – Winner of Match 5 vs. Winner of Match 6, 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT (Site TBD)