Sun Belt student-athletes are making their mark on the national scene.
While football reaches the end of the regular season and men’s basketball season gets in full gear, many other Sun Belt student-athletes are making their mark on the national scene.
Here’s a look at how teams across the conference fared in the past week.
All rankings are accurate as of Nov. 16.
Men’s Soccer
Central Florida captured its first Sun Belt tournament title Sunday, defeating No. 3 seed Marshall 3-1 in Huntington, West Virginia. This loss was the Thundering Herd’s first at home since falling to No. 16 seed Stanford in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
The No. 5 seeded Knights prevailed despite being outshot 15-9
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Fifth seeded @UCF_MSoccer wins its first ever Sun Belt Championship and earns a bid in the the NCAA tournament. โ๏ธโฝ๏ธ
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โ Sun Belt (@SunBelt) November 16, 2025
Frederic Benedix opened the scoring for UCF in the 17th minute. The second half, however, belonged to Lilian Ricol, whose two goals — including one in the 65th minute — put the game out of reach. His performance earned him the tournament’s most outstanding player award.
When the NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed on Nov. 17, four Sun Belt teams earned berths, though none received a top 16 seed.
Three of the four teams will host first-round matches Nov. 20. Kentucky (9-4-5, 6-2-1 Sun Belt), ranked No. 19 in the final USC Top 25, will travel to Saint Louis to face the Atlantic-10 champs. The Wildcats won the only previous meeting on penalty kicks in the first round of the 2000 tournament. The winner of this matchup will face No. 6 seed Indiana.
UCF (10-5-3, 5-2-2 Sun Belt) will host American champion Florida Atlantic The Knights lead the all-time series 23-9-3, though FAU won the most recent meeting in 2022, breaking a eight-match unbeaten streak (6-0-2). The winner will advance to face No. 7 seed Georgetown.
No. 17-ranked West Virginia (12-4-3, 7-2-0 Sun Belt) hosts St. John’s in the programs’ first meeting since 2014. The Red Storm leads the series 10-3-2, but the Mountaineers won the2014 matchup 1-0 in Morgantown. The winner moves on to face No. 10 seed High Point.
Marshall (11-3-5, 6-2-1 Sun Belt), tied for No. 12 with Furman, will host Horizon League champion Cleveland State. The Herd leads the series 8-3 and has won the past two meeting. The winner travels to No. 15 NC State.
To see the update Sun Belt conference standings and more news, click here.
Women’s Soccer
Texas State entered the first round of the NCAA Tournament looking to secure just the Sun Belt’s fourth all-time postseason victory. The last Sun Belt team to reach the round of 32 was South Alabama during the 2020-21 season.
Baylor, however, was determined to make its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2018 count. The Bears’ 2017 and 2018 tournament runs remain the programs’ best, each ending in the regional finals.
Baylor scored twice in a five-minute span in the second half and went on to win 3-0. Texas State managed only get three shots on goal in 11 attempts. The Bobcats finish the season 10-4-7 and 5-1-4 in Sun Belt play.
To see the update Sun Belt conference standings and more news, click here.
Volleyball
The regular season has concluded, and the conference tournament is set to begin Nov. 20 in Foley, Alabama.
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The 2025 #SunBeltVB Bracket has been released as the ten teams will compete in Foley, Ala. next week, Nov. 20-23. โ๏ธ๐
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โ Sun Belt (@SunBelt) November 16, 2025
James Madison (East) and Arkansas State (West) won their respective divisions and will await the winners of the two first-round games.
The Dukes will get the winner of Troy vs. Marshall. The teams did not meet this season and last played in October 2023 when Troy swept the weekend series. Arkansas State will face the winner of Georgia State and Southern Miss. The Panthers are 0-4 all time against the Golden Eagles, with meetings in 2022 and 2023.
In the other quarterfinals, Coastal Carolina will face Texas State and South Alabama will face Georgia Southern. The Bobcats swept the Chanticleers on Nov. 7-8. The Eagles and Jaguars will meet in a rematch of last year’s first round, which Georgia Southern won 3-0.
The championship is scheduled for Nov. 23.
To see the update Sun Belt conference standings and more news, click here.
Women’s Basketball
The past week in the Sun Belt was more of the same. In seven games against Power Five schools — including the Big East — the Sun Belt went 0-7, and all but two losses were by double digits.
On Nov. 16, Villanova played its first true road game of the season in Harrisburg, Virginia against James Madison. It marked the ninth time in the past two seasons, excluding the 2020-21 COVID-19 season, that JMU had hosted a power-conference opponent. The turning point came in the third quarter, where the Wildcats outscored the Dukes 24-16 on their way to an 84-73 victory. JMU’s Peyton McDaniel led all scorers with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
Auburn had a tougher time putting away Georgia State on Nov. 17 as the Panthers looked to snap a five-game losing streak in the series. Crystal Henderson and Kaleigh Addie scored 18 points each to keep Georgia State within five. Auburn won 69-65 and improved its series lead to 8-7. The Panthers’ last win came during the 1979-80 season.
The conference’s best win of the week in terms of its opponent’s NET ranking was App State’s 77-50 victory former Southern Conference rival Wofford.
UL Monroe (4-0) and Southern Miss (5-0) are the Sun Belt’s only remaining undefeated teams, while Louisiana (0-4) is the lone winless program.
In the latest ESPN Bracketology published on Nov. 18, ULM is projected as the league’s automatic qualifier. The Warhawks are slotted as a No. 15 seed facing LSU in the first round.
To see the update Sun Belt conference standings and more news, click here.
Wrestling
Appalachian State is the Sun Belt’s only school that fields a wrestling team, competing in its former all-sports home, the Southern Conference.
The Mountaineers have taken part in three events and holds a 2-3 head-to-head record. They opened the season Nov. 2 at the Southeast Open, where seven wrestlers finished in the top six of their classes. Jeremiah Price (157 pounds) and Colt Campbell (freshman/sophomore 174 pounds) finished runner-up, while Kaden Kelser (149 pounds) finished third.
The following weekend, App State traveled to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for the Journeyman’s Collegiate Classic. On Nov. 8, the Mountaineers split their duals, defeating Hofstra after falling to Navy. The next day, five wrestlers went undefeated in pool play, including preseason All-SoCon heavyweight pick Stephen Monchery in his 285-pound pool.
App State then headed to Morgantown, West Virginia for the Mountaineer Quad hosted by West Virginia. The Mountaineers went 1-2, with their lone win coming against Division II Glenville State
To see the update conference standings and more news, visit the Southern Conference page here.
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