REPORT: Ole Miss gears up for elite showdowns in 2026 Maui Invitational and Rady Children's Invitational

While Chris Beard and the Ole Miss Rebels prepare to participate in this season's Rady Children's Invitational in San Deigo, reports suggest the team will be one of the eight involved in next season's Maui Invitational.

According to Jon Rothstein at CollegeHoopsToday on Monday, the Rebels will be taking part in the 2026 Maui Invitational alongside Arizona, Maryland, Notre Dame, Providence, BYU and VCU. The eighth team to fill the event is yet to be confirmed.

While no schedule has been announced yet, the Maui Invitational is usually held in Lahaina, Hawaii. The University of Chaminade hosts the event in the first week of Thanksgiving.

The history of the Maui Invitational

Held by many as one of, if not the greatest, basketball tournaments in the U.S., the Maui Invitational was birthed out of a truly incredible feat by an underdog in the college basketball world.

Rightly labeled the "Chaminade Shocker," NAIA school Chaminade defeated No. 1 seed Virginia 77-72 on Dec. 23, 1982. This was the spark that lit the flame of the Maui Invitational, with the inaugural event taking place a little over a year later in 1984, and every year since.

Purdue defeated the Marquette Golden Eagles to win the 2023 Maui Invitational championship game. Source: Getty

Ole Miss and the Maui Invitational

Should the reports be true, the 2026 Maui Invitational will be a first for the Rebels. Considering the other programs said to be involved, it would be a tournament full of drama and intrigue.

One reason for that would be that Ole Miss has only ever played Arizona twice in its history, most recently in 2001 when the Wildcats eliminated them from the Sweet Sixteen. Revenge 25 years later? Yes.

Another interesting storyline would be that the Rebels have never played Providence, so their meeting at the invitational would be an all-time first.

Meanwhile, the 2024-25 season awaits

It's going to be another jam-packed season for Ole Miss, with the Rebels tipping off their campaign against the Long Island University Sharks on Nov. 4 at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion in Oxford.

They posted their first 20-win season in five years in 2023-24, but they failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. They'll be looking to go one further this season, with a ticket to the Big Dance surely at the top of their minds. Here's Chris Beard breaking down their upcoming season below:

With the 2026 Maui Invitational reports swirling, the Ole Miss Rebels will take part in a different invitational at the end of November this year—the Rady Children's Invitational in San Diego. They'll be facing the BYU Cougars and either Purdue or NC State.