The American announced on Tuesday that the 2026 American Tipoff will be held in Tampa, Florida on October 11-12. The event will cover both the men’s and women’s programs in the conference over the two days.
ESPN+ will have coverage of the event on Monday.
Penny Hardaway will take point guard Jayden Reid and forward Tylik Weeks to represent the Tigers. Both players transferred into the program during the offseason, and both are viewed as top players on the roster.
Weeks started his career at Southwest Mississippi Community College and was ranked the No. 26 JUCO prospect in 2025 before transferring to Southern Miss. In one season with the Golden Eagles, the forward averaged 19.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 34 games, and he recorded 20 or more points in 17 games, including four games with 30 or more points.
Reid started his collegiate career at South Florida, spending two years in Tampa, and he averaged 12.6 points, 3.65 assists and 2.6 rebounds during the 2024-25 season. Reid played the Tigers twice during his final season with the Bulls, and he averaged 15.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, three assists and three steals against Hardaway’s team.
He transferred to Northwestern and averaged 10.1 points, five assists and 1.4 rebounds in 34 games, including 28 starts. In his final game with the Wildcats, he recorded 19 points, nine assists, two rebounds, a block and a steal against Purdue.
The men’s team will play a pair of exhibition games against Arkansas and Mississippi State before starting the season on November 2 against Iowa State.
Women’s coach Hana Haden will attend her first media days in the American Conference, and she will take junior guard Daejah Richmond and redshirt senior Destiny Thomas with her to the event.
Haden takes over as the Tigers’ coach after she spent the previous two seasons at Georgia Southern. In 2026, Haden was named the Sun Belt Coach of the Year and led the Eagles to a 23-8 record, including 16-2 in conference play.
Richmond spent time at SEMO and UT Martin before transferring to Memphis ahead of the 2025-26 season, and he averaged 13.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.9 steals in 30 games, including 26 starts. She is one of four key players returning from last year’s roster.
Thomas started her career with the Tigers, but she transferred after her freshman season, following head coach Katrina Merriweather to Cincinnati. She averaged 5.2 points and five rebounds in 29 games last year.
The women’s team will open the season at Elma Roane Fieldhouse against LeMoyne-Owen on November 2.
