TBT Returns to Lexington: La Familia (including Willie Cauley-Stein) to Host at Memorial Coliseum

The Basketball Tournament (TBT) was one of the highlights of 2024. La Familia, Kentucky’s alumni team, reached the TBT semifinals, knocking off rival The Ville, the Louisville alumni team, in the process. This summer, the former Cats are running it back in their old stomping grounds.

TBT will return to Lexington this summer. Lexington will once again serve as a regional location for the 64-team, $1 million winner-take-all event, with La Familia as the featured team in the eight-team regional from July 18-23. This year, the games will take place at Historic Memorial Coliseum instead of Rupp Arena. Memorial re-opened in the fall of 2024 after an extensive, $84 million renovation.

One of the stars of La Familia’s 2024 run has already signed on. Willie Cauley-Stein, TBT’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, will suit up again this summer. Cauley-Stein, Eric Bledsoe, the Harrison Twins, and Nate Sestina led the former Cats to the TBT semifinals in Philadelphia after beating The Ville in front of a record 14,506 fans at Freedom Hall. Twany Beckham, who played for Kentucky from 2011-13, returns as general manager.

“We can’t wait to welcome back some Wildcat legends for TBT, because last summer was electric,” Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope said in a press release. “I know Big Blue Nation and our team will be ready to help create an epic environment in Memorial and help the guys chase a championship.”

“La Familia and their fan base took TBT by storm last year, ” said TBT founder and CEO Jon Mugar. “Twany rapidly built a fan favorite that contended for the championship, which is nearly impossible to do in the first year of TBT. We look forward to partnering with the University of Kentucky to host games in the newly renovated Memorial Coliseum. Big Blue Nation will have it rocking.”

“We had a great time competing in TBT,” said La Familia general manager Twany Beckham. “The support from the university, the community, Big Blue Nation and our partners was incredible. We’re excited to compete again this year and look forward to making another deep run in the tournament!”

The winner of the Lexington Regional will advance to TBT’s quarterfinals on July 28. The semifinals will be held on July 31, and TBT’s $1 million championship will be played on Aug. 3.

For the first time, TBT will give each host team the opportunity to have home-court advantage for the quarterfinals, semifinals, and the $1 million championship game. Should two regional hosts face off, the tiebreaker will be determined by which host sells 4,000 tickets the fastest.

In addition to Cauley-Stein, La Familia will make additional roster announcements in the spring via their social media pages, @LaFamiliaTBT. Tickets for the 2025 Lexington Regional will go on sale May 6. Fans can sign up for ticket and team notifications at tbthoops.com/tickets/notifications. For more information on this year’s TBT or La Familia, visit tbthoops.com.

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