SARASOTA, Fla. — New College of Florida Women's Basketball has announced its 2026-27 schedule, featuring an expanded non-conference slate, three scrimmages against NCAA opponents and two matchups against teams that reached last season's NAIA National Tournament.

Head coach Brian Cruz and the Mighty Banyans will enter their fourth season in program history after Cruz launched the program in 2023. The 2026-27 schedule includes nine non-conference games against NAIA opponents, an increase from just two last season.

"I am very excited to announce our schedule for the 2026-27 season," Cruz said. "Last season made it clear where the gap was. We competed well outside our conference, but conference play is where we need to take the next step. That's what shaped this year's schedule.

"Every team on last year's schedule pushed us and helped us grow, and we're thankful for that competition. This year, we intentionally scheduled a higher level of competition in the non-conference to prepare us for what we'll face in conference play. If we're testing ourselves against tougher opponents now, we'll be sharper and ready when conference games start."

NCF will open the season Oct. 30 against Andrew College in Lake Wales before facing Thomas University the following afternoon.

The Mighty Banyans will make their home debut Nov. 6 against NCAA Division III opponent St. Catherine University at 5 p.m. NCF will return to the court the following day for a 2 p.m. home matchup against Florida Polytechnic University.

A road scrimmage against NCAA Division II Lynn University on Nov. 9 will be followed by a visit to Florida National University on Nov. 10. NCF will then host Trinity College of Jacksonville on Nov. 14 before opening Sun Conference play at Keiser University on Nov. 20.

The Mighty Banyans' other NCAA Division II scrimmage will come Nov. 24 at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

NCF will play its first home conference games Dec. 2 against Ave Maria University and Dec. 5 against Southeastern University. Southeastern is one of two opponents on the schedule that advanced to the 2026 NAIA National Tournament.

The December slate will also include home non-conference games against Florida National on Dec. 9 and the University of the Cumberlands on Dec. 15. The Cumberlands also competed in last season's NAIA National Tournament.

NCF will close the pre-holiday portion of its schedule with games against Clarke University on Dec. 18 and Aquinas College on Dec. 19 in Lake Wales.

The Mighty Banyans' final tuneup before the heart of conference play will come Dec. 28 with a road scrimmage against NCAA Division I Florida Gulf Coast University.

NCF will resume Sun Conference action Jan. 2 at Florida Memorial University. The Mighty Banyans will play home conference games against Warner University, Webber International University, Keiser, Coastal Georgia, Florida Memorial and St. Thomas during the second half of the season.

The regular season concludes Feb. 20 when NCF hosts St. Thomas University at 2 p.m.