UNC will join three other programs to play in the 2025 Cancun Challenge in Mexico this November. The Tar Heels will be joined by Columbia, Kansas State and South Dakota State south of the border as part of the challenge’s Mayan Tournament.
Carolina will face each team over the course of three days from November 27-29 in a round-robin format. Dates and times for each matchup will be announced at a later date.
This is the second time UNC will have played in Cancun under head coach Courtney Banghart. The Tar Heels played there in 2019 during Banghart’s first season in charge, defeating Temple and Missouri to win the title. The 2025-26 team will be a season removed from another destination tournament title, having won the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas last fall.
Kansas State, South Dakota State and Columbia each won at least one game in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, with the Wildcats advancing to the Sweet 16. Columbia was one game away from facing the Tar Heels in Carmichael Arena, but fell to No. 6 seed West Virginia in the Round of 64.
The matchup with Kansas State will be the second in three seasons for UNC. The two teams faced off in the 2023 Fort Myers Classic, with the Wildcats winning 63-56. The Tar Heels have never faced Columbia or South Dakota State.
Fans interested in purchasing ticket packages can find more information here.
Featured image via Associated Press/LM Otero
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