Coker Tabbed as No. 3 Seed in NCAA Southeast Regional
Coker will defend its Southeast Regional title as the No. 3 seed and will face sixth-seeded Francis Marion Patriots women's basketball in the opening round on Friday. The regional will be played at Tex Turner Arena, the home of top-seeded Lincoln Memorial.
HARTSVILLE, S.C. – For the second consecutive year, the Coker University women's basketball team is heading to the NCAA Tournament.
The Cobras earned the South Atlantic Conference's automatic bid after claiming the program's first conference tournament championship with a win over Carson-Newman on Saturday afternoon.
Coker will defend its Southeast Regional title as the No. 3 seed and will face sixth-seeded Francis Marion Patriots women's basketball in the opening round on Friday. The regional will be played at Tex Turner Arena, the home of top-seeded Lincoln Memorial.
The Cobras defeated Carson–Newman 60-46 to claim the conference title. Junior forward Kamari Thompson earned tournament MVP honors after averaging a double-double across the three tournament games, while senior guards Kristynn Knight and Shawnteanna Tillman were also named to the All-Tournament Team. Tillman was additionally selected first-team All-SAC, while Knight garnered second-team honors.
This marks just the second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history for Coker. The Cobras received an at-large bid in 2025 and earned the No. 2 seed in the Southeast Regional. Coker defeated Belmont Abbey, Carson–Newman and host and top-seeded North Georgia to claim the regional title and advance to the Elite Eight.
The 2026 Southeast Regional field includes top seed Lincoln Memorial, No. 2 seed Lenoir–Rhyne, No. 3 seed Coker, No. 4 seed Columbus State, No. 5 seed Carson–Newman, No. 6 seed Francis Marionl, No. 7 seed Augusta and No. 8 seed Lees–McRae.
Click HERE for the interactive NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Bracket.