ARLINGTON, Texas – UT Arlington men's basketball Head Coach KT Turner, along with student-athletes Stoney Hadnot and Mier Panoam, will represent the Mavericks at the 2026 United Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tip-Off Event.

The annual event brings together head coaches and student-athletes from across the conference ahead of the 2026-27 season and serves as the official launch of the UAC men's basketball campaign. All interviews with ESPN+ will air on Tuesday, October 27, beginning at 6 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. CT.

UAC's 18 head coaches and 36 student-athletes will gather to celebrate the beginning of basketball season through unique local activations, creative content, and media availability. They will also meet with Jeff Goodman and Rob Dauster from The Field of 68, along with Talia Goodman, for one-on-one interviews.

Turner enters his fourth season leading the Mavericks after guiding UTA to an 18-14 record and a berth in the WAC Tournament semifinals during the 2025-26 season. Since returning to his alma mater in March 2023, Turner has led the Mavericks to 51 victories, including a 20-win season and a trip to the WAC Tournament Championship Game in his first year at the helm.

A former UTA student-athlete, Turner brings more than two decades of collegiate coaching experience. Before returning to Arlington, he served on staffs at Kentucky, Oklahoma, Texas, SMU and Wichita State. During his coaching career, Turner has been part of a Final Four team at Wichita State, conference championship teams at Texas and SMU, and multiple NCAA Tournament appearances.

Hadnot will make his first appearance at conference media day after redshirting during the 2025-26 season due to injury. Before arriving at UTA, the Houston native played one season at South Dakota State, where he appeared in 32 games and averaged 6.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per contest while shooting 54.5 percent from the floor.

A product of Cypress Springs High School, Hadnot was a UIL 6A All-Region selection and two-time District 16-6A Offensive Player of the Year. He scored more than 1,000 career points in high school and was ranked among the top recruits in Texas by multiple recruiting outlets.

Panoam joins the Mavericks after spending the 2025-26 season at Xavier and previously earning Summit League Honorable Mention honors at North Dakota in 2024-25. During his sophomore season with the Fighting Hawks, Panoam started all 33 games and averaged 13.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game while ranking among the team's leaders in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals.

The Norcross High School product scored in double figures 24 times and posted six 20-point performances during the 2024-25 campaign, including a career-high 28-point outing at Denver. He also recorded four games with 10 or more rebounds and averaged more than 20 points per game during a seven-game stretch in January.

The UAC Tip-Off Event will feature preseason polls, all-conference team announcements, and media availability with coaches and student-athletes from across the league as teams prepare for the start of the 2026-27 season.
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