INDIANAPOLIS – Ahead of the 88^th National Invitation Tournament (NIT), the South Alabama men’s basketball team has been named as the field’s first team.
 
The automatic berth for South Alabama is based on a prior agreement made between the NIT Board of Managers and the university following the 2025 selection process that resulted in the Jaguars not being included in the NIT field.
 
The agreement included minimum requirements for South Alabama’s regular season results. The Jaguars surpassed the requirements with ease, finishing with 21 wins. At 11-7 in Sun Belt Conference play, South Alabama tied for second place in the league standings.
 
South Alabama is led by 2026 Sun Belt Player of the Year and senior guard Chaze Harris who is averaging 18.9 points per game on 54 percent shooting from the floor this season. Additionally, junior forward Adam Olsen earned All-Sun Belt Second Team honors, scoring 16.2 points per contest while ranking third in the conference shooting nearly 40 percent from 3-point range.
 
The NIT semifinals and finals will take place in Indianapolis as part of a five-day celebration of basketball during which the NIT and NCAA Divisions I, II and III champions will be crowned. The semifinals will be played April 2 at Hinkle Fieldhouse at 7 and 9:30 p.m. on ESPN. The championship game on April 5 will tip at approximately 8 p.m. on ESPN2 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.