Women’s Basketball Begins 2026-27 Campaign at Princeton Monday Night

 
NASHVILLE – The Belmont University women's basketball team begins its 2026-27 journey Monday night at the Ivy League's Princeton University. Tipoff from Jadwin Gymnasium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET.
 
The season opener will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Jon Mozes (play-by-play) and Lynn Milligan (analyst) on the call. Dr. Rich Tiner will also provide live play-by-play of the action on Belmont All-Access, available online. Live stats of the road game can be followed by visiting BelmontBruins.com.
 
What's Bruin

• The Bruins (0-0) begin their 59th season as a program and 10th under head coach Bart Brooks.
• Belmont won 20 games for the 11th-straight season last year, going 20-12 overall and 16-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference.
• The Bruins finished second in the MVC in 2025-26, marking the 10th time in 11 seasons Belmont finished first or second in its conference.
• The Bruins were picked third in the MVC Preseason Poll behind two-time defending regular season and tournament champion Murray State (first) and Illinois State (second).
• Belmont lost four of its five starters from last season and returns only four letter winners — junior starting guard Quinn Eubank, fifth-year center KK Brodie, sophomore forward Leah West and sophomore guard Kate McGinnis.
• The Bruins return only 19.8 percent of their scoring, 32.9 percent of their rebounding and 18.2 percent of their assists from last season.
• However, Belmont features five newcomers — graduate transfer guard Katie Criswell (North Alabama), freshman forward Samiya Jones (Memphis, Tenn.), freshman guard Chelby Jordan (Trenton, Tenn.), graduate transfer guard Kenley McCarn (UT Martin) and senior transfer forward Lauren Rust (Pittsburgh).
• The Bruins are making their first trip to the Northeast since taking on Penn State in State College, Pennsylvania, in the second round of the 2024 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT).

Preseason Honors

• Eubank, Brodie, McCarn and Rust were all named to the 2026-27 MVC Players to Watch List.
• McCarn was also tabbed Preseason All-MVC by Basket Under Review.
• A native of Union, Kentucky (Ryle HS), Eubank led Belmont in rebounding last year (6.8 RPG) and reached double-figure boards eight times. She also led the Bruins in double-doubles (4), averaged 6.9 points per game and shot a team-best 41.4 percent (29-of-70) from beyond the arc.
• After transferring to the Music City from Pepperdine last year, Brodie averaged 5.2 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 assists in her first season at Belmont. The Columbia, Missouri (Rock Bridge HS), native ranked 27th nationally in blocks per game and was 34th in the nation in total blocks (58) in 2025-26. Brodie scored in double figures on six occasions, including two of the last three games of the season.
• A three-time All-Ohio Valley Conference selection, McCarn spent the last four years at the University of Tennessee at Martin where she eclipsed 1,500 points. A two-time All-OVC First Team performer, McCarn totaled 1,516 points in just over three seasons of action, collected 447 rebounds, distributed 228 assists and earned 140 steals. A native of Melbourne, Arkansas (Melbourne HS), McCarn has averaged 15.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game for her career. She is an 85.6 percent (232-of-271) career free-throw shooter.
• Rust spent her first three seasons in the Atlantic Coast Conference at the University of Pittsburgh where she played in 47 games and made 23 starts for the Panthers. The Victoria, British Columbia, Canada (The Webb School), native averaged 5.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 29 games and 19 starts at Pitt last season. She posted double-figure rebounds in five games and scored in double figures four times last year.

A Winning Program

• In 58 seasons, the Bruins have claimed the 15th-most victories (1,129) among all NCAA Division I women's basketball programs.
• Belmont enters 2026-27 tied for 29th in all-time winning percentage (.658).
• The Bruins are one of only seven teams in the nation to have won 20-plus games for 11-straight seasons. UConn, South Carolina, Baylor, Iowa, NC State and South Dakota State are the only others.
• Belmont's 72.1 winning percentage (222-86) over the previous 10 seasons is the highest of any Division I women's basketball program in the state of Tennessee.
• Belmont is the only school in the nation to win 20-plus games for 11 consecutive seasons in both women's and men's basketball.

A Championship Program

• The Bruins (11) are one of only seven programs in the country to have won 10 or more conference championships, regular season and tournament combined, over the previous 10 seasons. UConn (20), Florida Gulf Coast (16), South Carolina (14), Princeton (12), South Dakota State (12) and Green Bay (10) are the only others.
• Since the 2015-16 season, Belmont has won 12 combined conference championships, including regular season and tournament titles.
• The Bruins have won 16 total conference championships – nine regular season and seven tournament titles – in Belmont's NCAA era.

National Postseason Success

• The Bruins have claimed seven national postseason wins over the last six seasons, including back-to-back trips to the NCAA Tournament round of 32 in 2021 and 2022.
• Belmont has earned a national postseason bid in 12 of the last 14 seasons, including six trips to the NCAA Tournament (2022, 2021, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016).
• The Bruins also reached the Big Dance in 2007 after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament.
• Belmont earned an at-large bid to the 2025 and 2024 WBIT and the 2023 WNIT.
• Playing into April for the first time in school history, the Bruins rattled off four wins in the 2025 WBIT. Hosting in the first two rounds, Belmont took out nearby Middle Tennessee in the opening round before overcoming a 21-point deficit against Northern Arizona in the second round. The Bruins then doubled up top-seeded James Madison, who was an NCAA Tournament bubble team and receiving votes in both national polls, by 45 points on the road in the quarterfinals. In the WBIT semifinals inside historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Belmont ousted BIG EAST Conference mainstay Villanova.
• The Bruins' comeback against the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona in the WBIT second round in March of 2025 tied for the largest deficit overcome to win any NCAA postseason game in Division I women's basketball history.

Conference Dominance

• Including last season, Belmont has finished first or second in its conference in 10 of the last 11 seasons.
• The Bruins have finished in the top three of their conference in 14 of the last 15 seasons, including each of the last 11.
• Belmont has played in a conference tournament championship game in eight of the last 11 years.
• Since the 2012-13 season, the Bruins have compiled a remarkable 205-44 (.823) record in conference play.
• Altogether, including conference tournaments, Belmont has gone 231-51 (.819) against league opponents across the last 14 seasons.

Head Coach Bart Brooks

• In 10 seasons, coach Brooks has compiled a remarkable 218-80 record. His 73.2 winning percentage ranks among the top 30 of active head coaches in Division I women's basketball.
• Coach Brooks is the only active Division I head coach to have won a conference championship, either regular season or tournament, in each of his first six seasons as a head coach.
• No other current Division I head coach with nine seasons or fewer under their belt has won more games than coach Brooks.
• On Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, coach Brooks earned his 200th career win with the Bruins' 72-66 road victory at Dayton. He reached the career milestone in just 270 games as a head coach.
• Coach Brooks is a ridiculous 145-24 (.858) in conference action with nine combined championships, including regular season and tournament titles. He has never lost more than five league games in any given season and has finished no worse than third across two different conferences.
• Including conference tournament games, coach Brooks is an astonishing 162-29 (.848) against conference opponents.
• Over the last nine postseasons, coach Brooks has gone 24-12 (.667).
• In the key months of February and March under coach Brooks' direction, Belmont is 100-22 (.820).
• Coach Brooks was the third-fastest head coach to reach 100 career victories in Division I women's basketball history (Leon Barmore, Louisiana Tech and Karl Smesko, Florida Gulf Coast).

Challenging the Nation's Best

• The Bruins annually play one of the most impressive non-conference schedules in the nation.
• Belmont will see eight teams who reached national postseason play last March, including five 2026 NCAA Tournament Teams (Princeton, Tennessee, LSU, Iowa State, Vanderbilt) and 2026 WBIT champion Columbia, during its non-conference slate.
• Nine of the Bruins' 12 non-conference opponents were ranked in the top 100 of last year's NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings, including six who were in the top 50 — LUS (No. 3), Vanderbilt (No. 7), Tennessee (No. 25), Iowa State (No. 33), Princeton (No. 37) and Columbia (No. 45).
• Additionally, 11 of Belmont's 12 non-conference opponents had a winning record in 2025-26 and seven reached at least 20 wins.
• The Bruins' non-conference schedule also includes a prestigious MTE (multi-team event) in the Bahamas for a second-straight year as Belmont will take part in the 2026 Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship over Thanksgiving weekend. Held at the beautiful Grand Hyatt Baha Mar resort in Nassau, Bahamas, the Bruins will face Iowa State (Nov. 27) and Marquette (Nov. 29) in the island MTE.

Opening Statement

• Belmont hosts South Florida and Columbia the weekend of Nov. 6-8 as part of the Opening Statement, a new cross-conference event featuring the top teams from the MVC, the American Conference, Atlantic 10 Conference and Ivy League.
• The Atlantic 10's Rhode Island will also be in action at the Curb Event Center for the Opening Statement but will not play the Bruins.
• Nashville is one of two Opening Statement sites with the A-10's Richmond serving as the other host the same weekend. Fellow MVC member Murray State will participate in the Spiders' four-team event in Virginia.

Mid-Major Rankings

• Belmont is ranked 20th in the preseason CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.
• Princeton is second in the preseason edition of the Mid-Major Top 25 with seven first-place votes.

At the Curb

• The Bruins are 125-21 (.856) at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Belmont has a home winning percentage of .751 (223-74) inside the Curb since the arena opened prior to the 2003-04 season.
• Under coach Brooks, the Bruins are an exceptional 101-20 (.835) at the Curb.
• In conference play, Belmont has been even more dominant at home, going 109-15 (.879) since 2012. In his first nine seasons, coach Brooks has lost only nine league games at the Curb with a 75-9 (.893) record.
• For five-straight seasons and 10 of the last 11, the Bruins have won 10 or more games at the Curb.

Versus Princeton

• Monday night will be only the second meeting between the two programs.
• Last December, the Tigers defeated Belmont 70-58 in Music City.
• The Bruins put together a 19-7 scoring run late in the third quarter into the first minute of the fourth to get back within three, but Princton closed the game on a 17-8 run.

Against the Ivy League

• Belmont is 1-2 all-time against Ivy League opponents.
• The Bruins have only played Brown (1-1) and Princeton (0-1) out of the Ivy League.
• Belmont defeated Brown 83-61 last November in Nashville.

About the Tigers

• The Tigers (0-0) begin their season receiving four votes in the USA TODAY Sports/Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Coaches Poll.
• Princeton owns the sixth-best winning percentage in the nation over the last five years, having won 81.2 percent (121-28) of their games.
• The Tigers went 26-4 overall last year and 12-2 in the Ivy League, capturing both regular season and tournament titles.
• Princeton has reached each of the last five NCAA Tournaments, including earning a No. 9 seed last March.
• The Tigers were picked to repeat as Ivy League champions in the league's preseason predicted order of finish, earning 15 first-place nods.
• Senior 6-foot-1 guard/forward Fadima Tall, the 2026 Ivy League Tournament Most Outstanding Player and a two-time All-Ivy League Second Team selection, was recently named to the 25-player Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award presented by HerHoopStats Preseason Watch List.
• Princeton also features senior 5-foot-9 guard Skye Belker, a two-time All-Ivy League Second Team performer, senior 6-foot guard/forward Olivia Hutcherson, a member of last season's All-Ivy League honorable mention list, and senior 5-foot-8 guard Ashley Chea, a 2024-25 All-Ivy League First Team choice.

Up Next
The Bruins begin a five-game homestand next weekend with the Opening Statement at the Curb. Belmont hosts South Florida Friday, Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m. before taking on Columbia next Sunday, Nov. 8 at 2:30 p.m. Both Opening Statement games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
Season Tickets
Basketball season tickets, which include all Belmont women's and men's home games, are on sale now and can be purchased by visiting BelmontBruins.com/Tickets. Bruin Club memberships are also available.
 
How to Follow
Follow Belmont women's basketball on social media - @BelmontWBB on X, formerly Twitter, @belmontwbb on Instagram and Belmont Women's Basketball on Facebook - for complete coverage of the Bruins. Stay up to date with all of Belmont's athletic programs via the official app of the Belmont Bruins, available both in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.