The FGCU basketball teams are both looking to return to March Madness.
The men haven’t competed in the NCAA Tournament since 2017, while the women are aiming to keep a lengthy streak of eight straight appearance dating back to 2017. Both teams played some ambitious opponents in nonconference action, looking to prepare them for the much easier ASUN slate.
Here are our midseason assessments of both the FGCU men’s and women’s basketball programs, along with grades for each team thus far:
FGCU Men’s Basketball
Notable wins: None
Notable losses: No. 5/6 Illinois, Florida Atlantic, FIU, Kennesaw State, New Mexico, UCF
Analysis: The Eagles (10-13, 4-6 ASUN) have largely been a mid-tier team in the ASUN Conference, sitting at 4-6 in conference so far which is good enough for to be atop a five-way tie for fifth place. FGCU’s already played the top four teams in the conference in Austin Peay, Lipscomb, Central Arkansas, and Queens, going 0-6 in those contests. JR Konieczny left with a injury to his left side in the Jan. 15 date against Queens, and returned for the first time against Jacksonville on Saturday, Jan. 31, scoring 9 points off the bench in 25 minutes of action. The sample size is getting bigger and bigger for for coach Pat Chambers, who was given a three-year contract extension through the 2028-29 season despite having not won an ASUN Tournament game. In conference play, Chambers is 32-30 while being 60-61 overall in his 3 1/2 years thus far. Between Quad 1, Quad 2, and Quad 3 teams this year, the Eagles are 0-10 and are ranked in the high 200s in KenPom. Locals want to see this team win the conference, but it looks like they could very well be waiting for a while if this track continues. If the Eagles come up short, keeping Rahmir Barno, Jordan Ellerbee, and other impact players out of the transfer portal have to be a priority for Chambers and the coaching staff.
Alex’s overall grade: C-
FGCU Women’s Basketball
Notable wins: Stanford
Notable losses: No. 3 South Carolina, Columbia, Davidson, George Mason
Analysis: The Eagles (10-11, 6-4) are achieving a handful of firsts under first-year coach Raina Harmon that aren’t necessarily ideal. FGCU has lost double digit games for the first time in program history, and have lost four conference games already, which is the most during the Eagles’ time in the ASUN. What was once a conference that saw FGCU dominate for years on end under Karl Smesko is now one that has the Eagles hovering around .500 in conference action. After winning the first 37 games against Lipscomb, the Eagles also lost their first game to the Bison earlier this year. There was expected to be a fall off in part due to Harmon having to fill a vast majority of her roster via the transfer portal, but it’s unclear how many people expected the program to be fighting as hard as they have against what were once inferior squads. Sinai Douglas, Nay Staton, Cerina Rolle, Eve Alexander, and Karina Gordon have been solid pieces, all making respective contributions with Douglas averaging 11 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per contest. The Eagles will get plenty of opportunities down the stretch to prove they’ve made progress over the course of the season, especially against Eastern Kentucky on Feb. 19. The Colonels have yet to lose an ASUN game this year (10-0) and have rolled to a 19-4 record.
Alex’s overall grade: C+
Follow Sports Reporter Alex Martin on X: @NP_AlexMartin. For the best sports coverage in Southwest Florida, follow @newspresssports and @ndnprepzone on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Grading the FGCU men’s and women’s basketball teams so far in 2026