RXIV TOURNEY STARTS TODAY | Both KC teams sit out day one; tourney brackets, streaming links inside

The grind that Region XIV Conference teams have to put themselves through – men’s or women’s divisions – is similar to Southeastern Conference football, in that the stronger teams beat each other up, especially late down the stretch, and even the teams at the bottom of the standings can jump up and bite when it’s least expected.

So the Kilgore College Rangers, seeded second for this week’s Region XIV Conference Tournament on the campus at Lee College in Baytown are in a bit of a precarious position: a first-round bye is great, but it’s an awful look, especially to the committee planning the national tournament, to lose that first-round game. That could even, though doubtful, keep a team from making the national tourney’s field.

Coach Stephanie Williams and the Lady Rangers, remember, won the women’s tournament in Baytown a year ago, then did some damage in the national tournament. Williams’ Lady Rangers look to defend their tournament title later this week, with women’s games starting Wednesday.

All men’s games can be seen online, live streaming, right here: 2026 Region 14 Men’s Basketball Tournament – TSBN Sports.

All women’s games can also be seen online, and that’s right here: 2026 Region 14 Women’s Basketball Tournament – TSBN Sports.

For those planning to go, tickets are only sold at the gate and are cash only.

Tickets are $15 each, with children under five years old admitted free; seniors older than 65 are admitted at $5 each, and veterans, same price.

A tournament pass, which is admission for the entire event, is $50. T-shirts are $15 each, and tournament programs are $5 each.

Here is the tournament packet: Region-XIV-Basketball-Tournament-INFO-PACKET.pdf.

Men’s tournament

Men’s first-round games are today in Baytown, with eight seed Navarro taking on ninth-seeded Paris at 1 p.m.; No. 5 Panola against No. 12 Coastal Bend at 3; hometown team and seventh seed Lee meeting No. 10 Lamar State at 6 p.m.; and six-seed Angelina College meeting No. 11 Bossier Parish in the nightcap, beginning around 8 p.m.

It’s single elimination, so the losing teams are out; the winners advance to the quarterfinals on Thursday, and that’s where four teams are now: top-seeded Trinity Valley, second-seeded KC, third-seeded Tyler Junior College and fourth seed Blinn all have first-round byes, meaning they won’t have to play today, and are waiting until Thursday for opponents.

KC will get the winner of the Lee-Lamar State contest; that game will be Thursday at 6 p.m. Before that, Trinity Valley takes on either Navarro or Paris at 1; and the Coastal Bend / Panola winner will face Blinn at 4. In the final game of the day on Thursday, either Angelina or Bossier Parish at 8.

The winners advance to the two semifinal games, to be played Friday night at 6 and 8, and the final two teams, of course, will play in the tournament’s championship game on Saturday at 4.

Coach Robert Byrd’s Rangers seek not only a tournament championship and the momentum that goes with it, but a trip back to the NJCAA National Tournament.

Women’s tournament

The women’s tournament doesn’t actually begin until Wednesday, and there are no byes: the top eight teams in the Region XIV Conference make up the tournament field.

KC’s Lady Rangers, like the men’s team, are also seeded second, so they don’t play until Wednesday night.

The first game of the women’s tournament is Wednesday at 1 p.m., with top seed Trinity Valley (men’s and women’s teams both seeded first) meeting eighth seed Coastal Bend.

No. 4 seed Blinn faces fifth-seeded Panola College at 3 p.m.; KC, seeded second, meets No. 7 Angelina at 6 p.m. Wednesday night; and No. 6 Paris Junior College faces No. 3 Tyler in the final game of the night.

Again, all games can be viewed online, live-streamed, at the link above.

The women’s division gets a break on Thursday with men’s games throughout the day.

Semifinal games for the ladies will be Friday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., and then the women’s tournament championship is at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The winner, of course, not only gets the honor of being the Region XIV tournament champion, but also advances to the national tournament.