Washington State and Arizona State will play in the 2025 edition of the Maui Invitational presented by Novavax, filling two holes in the eight-team field, tournament runner KemperSports Live announced on Thursday.
Baylor of the Big 12 and Oregon of the Big Ten were part of the initial field announcement in May but are no longer listed on the Maui Invitational website. The other teams in the 2025 Maui field are North Carolina State, Seton Hall, Texas, UNLV, USC and host Chaminade.
Baylor dropped out over the summer to join the NIL-driven Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, according to CBS Sports. Oregon is participating in the inaugural Players Era Festival this season; it is unclear what its plans are next season instead of the Maui Invitational.
The Maui Invitational has rarely fallen victim to apparent poaching from other exempt tournaments; it has been considered the premier early-season college basketball for most of its existence since 1984.
But it is a rapidly changing time in the sport. The Players Era Festival, according to its website, pledges $9 million in NIL “to college basketball players in 2024 for their engagement in activities separate and apart from competition.” Players on teams that place in the top four are set to split upward of an additional $1 million per team, according to the site.
Baylor coach Scott Drew gave a testimonial on the Players Era’ website, "We are thrilled to be part of the Players Era Festival. Not only is this a top-notch event, featuring some of the best teams in the country, but it also provides terrific opportunities and experiences for our student-athletes beyond the basketball court."
The upcoming 2024 edition of the Maui tournament is a typically loaded one: two-time defending national champion and AP preseason No. 3 Connecticut is joined by No. 5 Iowa State, No. 9 North Carolina, No. 11 Auburn, Michigan State, Memphis, Dayton and Colorado at the Lahaina Civic Center Nov. 25 to 27.
The Players Era Festival has rapidly assembled a comparable lineup for its first field: No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Houston, No. 12 Texas A&M, No. 15 Creighton, No. 25 Rutgers, San Diego State, Notre Dame and Oregon from Nov. 26 to 30.
November's tournament on Maui will be the first at Lahaina Civic since the Aug. 8, 2023 wildfires destroyed much of historic Lahaina town and killed more than 100 people. The 2023 edition of the tournament was held at the Stan Sheriff Center on Oahu.
Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.