SAINT LEO, Fla. – The Saint Leo men's basketball team is ready to tip off the 2026-27 campaign as the Lions open their regular season Friday, November 13, hosting Fort Valley State at 7 p.m. inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center. The contest marks the beginning of the South Region Crossover, presented by Hilton Garden Inn.
Head coach Spencer Henke and the Lions enter the season with a roster featuring a combination of experienced veterans, returning contributors and new faces, providing depth and versatility across the lineup.
Saint Leo enters the regular season following three exhibition contests against challenging competition. The Lions opened their preseason with road matchups against NCAA Division I opponents USF and Florida A&M before returning home to close out exhibition play against Southeast Christian.
After falling 104-72 at USF and narrowly dropping a 66-63 decision at Florida A&M, the Lions responded emphatically in their final tune-up, earning a commanding 122-75 victory over Southeast Christian on November 6.
The South Region Crossover opens with a pair of home contests, as Saint Leo welcomes Fort Valley State on Friday before hosting Tuskegee on Saturday, November 14. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Marion Bowman Activities Center.
Following the opening weekend, the Lions will travel to Eckerd on November 18 before returning home to face Barry on November 21. Saint Leo will also welcome Warner on November 23 ahead of the Mocs Thanksgiving Classic in Lakeland, where the Lions will take on Minnesota Crookston and North Georgia on November 27-28.
The Green and Gold will continue their non-conference slate in December with matchups against Middle Georgia and Trinity (Fla.) before turning their attention toward the heart of Sunshine State Conference play in January.
The conference schedule features home-and-away matchups against some of the region's top competition, including Tampa, Florida Southern, Nova Southeastern, Eckerd, Barry, Rollins, Lynn, Florida Tech, Palm Beach Atlantic and Embry-Riddle.
Saint Leo will close out its regular-season schedule at home against Florida Tech on Saturday, February 27 at 4:30 p.m.
