Arkansas knows who they’ll be playing before the 2026-27 college basketball season ever officially tips off and the field is a pretty interesting one.
Arkansas will compete in four exhibition games as part of the 2026 Baha Mar Hoops Summer League from July 31 through Aug. 4 at the Baha Mar Resort in Nassau, The Bahamas.
The Hogs will square off against an international mix that includes a national team, two Canadian university programs and a professional club out of South America.
Breaking down schedule
The full slate lines up this way:
- July 31 (Fri): vs. The Bahamas National Team — 6 p.m.
- Aug. 1 (Sat): vs. Carleton University — 5 p.m.
- Aug. 3 (Mon): vs. Toros del Valle — 5 p.m.
- Aug. 4 (Tues): vs. University of Calgary — 11 a.m.
Arkansas isn’t the only NCAA program involved. Cincinnati, South Carolina, Valparaiso and Texas A&M are also taking part in the summer league.
They just won’t be on the schedule for the Hogs to face.
The Razorbacks open things up against The Bahamas National Team, which will be assembled from national team players across multiple age groups.
It’s a fitting first test given the event’s location, a resort destination that’s become a popular offseason destination for college programs looking to get extra practice time.
Canadian champion and Colombian title-holder
Carleton University out of Ottawa, Ontario brings some serious hardware to Nassau.
The Ravens are the reigning Canadian national collegiate champion after going 27-9 overall and 17-5 in conference play to win the Ontario University Athletics title last season.
Carleton earned a berth to the 2026 U Sports Men’s Final 8 Basketball Tournament as the No. 6 seed, then ran through three straight wins.
They defeated Laval Rouge et Or 85-69 in the first round, TMU Bold 58-52 in the semifinals and Bishop’s Gaiters 78-75 in the championship game.
That title was the program’s 18th Canadian Men’s Basketball National Championship, which says something about the culture Carleton has built.
The Hogs’ Monday night opponent, Toros del Valle, comes in as the reigning champion of the Liga WPlay de Baloncesto, the top professional basketball league in Colombia.
The club, based in Cali, topped two-time defending champions Los Paisas de Medellin, 3-1, in a best-of-five series to claim the 2026 Apertura title this past June.
Toros del Valle went 12-2 in the regular season, the best mark in the league, and outscored opponents by 280 points (1,104 to 824) during that stretch.
That’s not a team showing up just to play tourist.
Arkansas will wrap up the trip on Tuesday, Aug. 4 against the University of Calgary.
The Dinos, based in Calgary, Alberta, qualified for — and hosted — the 2026 U Sports Men’s Final 8 Basketball Tournament. Calgary lost its opening-round matchup to Victoria 100-86 and fell in the consolation semifinal to Acadia 88-77.
The program was the U SPORTS runner-up in 2025 and also competed in last year’s Baha Mar Summer League, so the Dinos aren’t new to this stage.
What it means for Hogs heading into 2026-27
Four games in five days against a mix of international competition gives the Arkansas coaching staff a chance to evaluate the roster in live action before the regular season gets underway.
The Hogs will get a look at national team-caliber competition on opening night, then transition to a pair of well-established Canadian programs and close out against a professional squad that just finished a championship run.
It’s a meaningful block of work for a program that’ll be looking to build on what it accomplished last season and sort out its rotation heading into a new year in the SEC.
Key takeaways
- The Razorbacks will play four exhibition games July 31-Aug. 4 at the Baha Mar Resort in Nassau, The Bahamas, facing The Bahamas National Team, Carleton University, Toros del Valle and the University of Calgary
- Carleton University arrives as the reigning Canadian national collegiate champion with 18 total national titles, while Toros del Valle enter as the 2026 Apertura champions from Colombia’s top professional league
- Arkansas joins Cincinnati, South Carolina, Valparaiso and Texas A&M as the NCAA programs competing in the 2026 Baha Mar Hoops Summer League
