The American Athletic Conference needs a new bully on the block. In recent years, teams like Houston, Cincinnati, and SMU have moved on to power conferences. That’s left a vacuum at the top of the conference that someone needs to fill.
Memphis won both the regular season and conference tournament last year, but can they repeat with a lot of roster turnover? UAB had its roster raided this offseason. Can the Dragons rebuild? Isn’t North Texas always in the mix? Could Tulane step up? We have the answer and a best bet for the 2025-26 American Athletic Conference regular season champion.
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2025-26 American Athletic Conference (AAC) Champion Best Bets
Memphis to win the American Athletic Conference (AAC): +200
Memphis is the best bet in the AAC by default. North Texas and South Florida both have a first-year head coach with a portal roster. Tulane has an AAC Player of the Year candidate in Rowan Brumbaugh, but lacks front-court depth to really compete. Wichita State is solid, but is clearly a team in transition. UAB is looking to rebuild after experiencing a raid this past offseason. The rest of the conference isn’t in a clear position to compete for the top of the AAC.
That leaves Memphis. The Tigers don’t return anyone from last year’s roster. However, they built a team in the portal that is the most talented in the AAC on paper. That goes a long way when the other teams are also rebuilding.
Memphis brought in a group of guys that either played key roles on mid-majors or came from a Power 5 school…or both. Dug McDaniel will run the point for the 2025-26 Tigers. Next to McDaniel in the backcourt will be Quante Berry from Temple or Julius Thedford from Western Kentucky.
At the wings, expect to see Hasan Abdul Hakim from UTRGV and Mason Matthews, a sharp shooter who makes the jump from D2, play key roles. Penny Hardaway’s son, Ashton, transferred back to Memphis after a season with St. Mary’s. He could also be in the mix to start on the wing for Memphis.
In the middle, Aaron Bradshaw moves to Memphis from Ohio State. Bradshaw should function as the Tigers’ primary rim protector and inside presence.
The Tigers’ bench boasts multiple former Power Five players and several quality prospects. Coach Hardaway will need to utilize his non-conference schedule to fine-tune his rotation, but the pieces for a conference championship are in place.
Memphis boasts a remarkably complete roster for a team that was largely assembled through the transfer portal.
Catching a Tigers program at 2-to-1 odds in a conference that has most of the perennial winners rebuilding feels unfair. The Tigers will be the fastest team in the AAC. They will have nights when they run the opposition out of the building. They’ll also have nights, most of them early in the season, when they struggle. Look for the Tigers to have their rotation figured out by the time conference play starts, and they should roll through a lot of the other teams in conference. Lock up Memphis now before the number dips closer to even money.
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