Parker, Dorsett Shine At The Sun Belt Championships

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NASSAU, BAHAMAS – NCAA Outdoor Conference Championships are underway, and a pair of Bahamians delivered record-setting performances in the Sun Belt Conference.

Devine Parker and Shatalya Dorsett helped to rewrite the Eagles’ record books at the Sun Belt Championships in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

In her first conference championship in two years, Parker took first place in the 200m and claimed the conference title in a new personal best, 23.07 seconds.

Dorsett also reached the medal podium in the race and finished third in another new personal best, 23.24 seconds.

In the 100, Parker finished fourth in another personal best, 11.33 seconds, while Dorsett was seventh in 11.41 seconds.

The duo teamed up to help the Eagles power to a record-setting performance in the 4x100m.

Their time of 43.73 seconds was a new Sun Belt meet record and program record, which was just set at the Penn Relays a few weeks ago.

Dorsett opened the race on the first leg and handed it off to Parker on the backstretch.

They also returned to run in the 4x400m relay. This time, Parker was third, and Dorsett anchored a seventh-place finish for the Eagles in 3:44.20 seconds.

The Eagles finished fourth at the meet, their highest finish since they joined the conference in 2014.

Parker, the veteran senior, is with her third program of her collegiate career, and Dorsett, the sophomore, is fresh off her fourth CARIFTA appearance last month in Trinidad and Tobago, where she won bronze in the 100m and was fourth in the 200m.

We’re hours away from learning the possible path for Team Bahamas as they begin the qualification process for the 2027 FIBA World Cup.

Of course, Los Angeles 2028 is in sight—but before the Senior Men’s National Team reaches that milestone, first comes the road to Qatar.

The FIBA World Cup 2027 Qualifiers Draw will take place in Doha on May 13, in preparation for the first-ever World Cup to be held in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The Bahamas hopes to be one of 32 teams in Qatar to pursue the Naismith Trophy.

The first step in the process—figuring out your opponents for the qualifiers.

From November 2025 to March 2027, there will be six dedicated windows featuring 420 games across the globe, as 80 national teams battle to earn their tickets to Qatar.

In the Americas region, 16 teams will play across six windows, and seven will advance to the World Cup.

Those teams are then placed into eight pots based on a combination of geographical principles and the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike.

The eight teams from North and Central America will be in four dedicated pots, as will eight teams from South America.

The Bahamas is in Pot 5 and will be placed in either Group A or B.

There will be four groups of four teams, playing in a home-and-away series, and the top three teams from each group will advance to the second round.

In the second round, the results will be carried over, but the groups will be reformatted.

The top three teams in each group, along with the best-placed fourth team, will advance to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027.

Buddy Hield and the Golden State Warriors face a pivotal Game Four tonight, and if they are to tie the series, Hield knows the only true way to replace two-time MVP Steph Curry—is by committee.

BUDDY HIELD – GUARD, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
“Nobody can cover for Steph Curry and what he does. There’s no pressure. You come in and think you’re going to follow his role, you’re crazy, because he does so much for his team. Everyone would like to do it, you know. He’s touched by an angel, you know. He’s touched by God. He’s blessed.”

Curry suffered a hamstring strain in Game One, and his timetable to return is no earlier than Game Six.

Hield scored 14 points and made four three-pointers in a 102-97 loss in Game Three.