The 2026-27 men's and women's college basketball season gets started next week.

For the Syracuse Orange, the men's program opens play on Monday at home against New Haven. The women will be home on Tuesday against Sacred Heart.

With regards to college basketball as a whole, several Syracuse alumni will serve as part of the national television coverage at ESPN this upcoming season. 

The network announced its broadcasting teams on Thursday and SU is well represented, as always.

The Newhouse School of Public Communications is considered one of the top broadcasting schools in the country. Many of these broadcasters attended and graduated from that program in Central New York. 

Jay Alter- A 2016 graduate, Alter has called college football, along with lacrosse action on multiple channels for ESPN. He returns to college basketball where he was called multiple conference championship games.

Kevin Brown-A broadcaster with the World Wide Leader for multiple years, Brown returns for the upcoming season. Brown most recently finished another season as the voice of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles

Cooper Boardman-One of the newest editions to the college basketball roster, he has also spent time calling college basketball for Fox Sports. He's been a broadcaster at the University of Vermont and in the Boston Red Sox minor league system.

Kevin Fitzgerald-Fitzgerald has been a part of the ESPN family since 2016. His career includes calling college basketball action across the country along with college football on Fox Sports. 

Rich Hollenberg-Since 2009, Hollenberg has called games on ESPN. His career has also included broadcasts with the then-New Jersey Nets. 

Marc Kestecher- A Guilderland, N.Y. native, "Kesty" will handle the calls on ESPN Radio for some of college basketball's biggest matchups. He attended Syracuse University and is also one of the main voices for ESPN's NBA coverage, especially on the radio.

Robert Lee-"The General" has become a popular voice among New York college basketball fans. Lee's voice has been heard across the country and has become well known for his coverage of Metro (formerly the MAAC) schools in recent years. 

Dave Pasch- The former "Voice of the Orange" from 1999-2002. Since departing Central New York, Pasch's career has included national games on ESPN, along with serving as the radio voice of the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. 

Doug Sherman-A long time voice in New York's Capital Region, Sherman will continue to provide his talents to college basketball coverage this season. A Central New York native, Sherman could potentially call the most Syracuse games of any former alum this upcoming season. 

Anish Shroff- Shroff is also the radio play-by-play voice of the NFL's Carolina Panthers. Orange fans may be familiar with Shroff as ESPN's lead voice of college lacrosse coverage. 

This year's ESPN college basketball coverage will see games broadcasted across multiple channels, including ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPN+, SEC Network+, ACCNX, ESPN Radio and ESPN Deportes. ESPN will also serve as the television home for multiple non-conference tournaments in 2026, conference tournament games in March and much more. 

The women's program will hope to reach the NCAA tournament for the third time in the past four years. 

The men's program is looking to return to "The Big Dance" for the time since 2021. The five- year drought is the longest drought in the history of the program.