ISU to Open 2026 Players Era with San Diego State

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Iowa State, the 2025 Players Era People's Champ, is headed back to Las Vegas for the 2026 Players Era. The Cyclones went 3-0 at last year's event, being one of three teams that went undefeated in the event. Due to tiebreakers in last year's format, Iowa State did not play in the first or third place games.

In a bracketed format on the winner's side this season, Iowa State will open with San Diego State on Tuesday, Nov. 24. Tennessee will face Maryland in the other quarterfinal game on Iowa State's side of the bracket. St. John's will play Oregon, while Louisville will face Texas Tech on the bottom portion of the bracket. Only the winner's side as a set bracket for advancement at this moment.

No games will be played on Wednesday, Nov. 25, while two semifinal and two consolation games will be played at Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26. A "Bracket 1" Championship game will be played on Friday, Nov. 27, along with three other placement games. The winner of the "Bracket 1" Championship game will move on to the Players Era 16 Championship game, which will be held on Saturday, Nov. 28 at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

The matchups in "Bracket 2" include Gonzaga and Kansas State, Baylor and Alabama, Michigan and Creighton and TCU and Miami. All teams will play three games, with the two bracket winners playing a fourth and final game on Saturday.

Iowa State is 4-2 all-time against San Diego State, having last faced the Aztecs in the 2018 Maui Invitational. The Cyclones came away with an 87-57 victory in that game. Iowa State is 1-3 against Tennessee, having last faced the Volunteers in the 2026 Sweet 16. ISU is 0-1 against Maryland, dropping a 72-63 decision in the 2014 Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City. The Cyclones are 2-1 against St. John's, having beaten them in the opening game of last year's Players Era. Iowa State is 25-23 all-time against Texas Tech, splitting a pair of games last season, including a victory in the Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals. Iowa State has never played Oregon or Louisville.

All 37 games across the two tournaments will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks as part of a new multi-year broadcast agreement between Players Era and ESPN.

Additional information about ticket on-sale dates and broadcast networks will be announced soon.