Picking an NCAA Tournament bracket based on the Yankees
03/19/2025 08:30 AM
Time to a use a very scientific method to help you pick some basketball games.
If we look at the world of sports outside of baseball for a moment, you may know that this week is the start of the NCAA Basketball Tournaments. Traditionally, the NCAA Tournaments have been one of the most followed things in sports for reasons that aren't 100 percent focused on the actual games being played.
Every year, the release of the NCAA Tournament brackets are cause for people to have some fun predicting them and filling them out to take part in bracket pools. As the jokes traditionally go, usually the person who follows college basketball and uses logic and knowledge to make their picks never wins their pool, and instead it's the person who just picks what mascot they like better or something. That got me thinking about another non-basketball way you could pick a bracket.
If you're entering a pool this year and have no idea what to pick, I have crunched the numbers to try and find a Yankee-related way to pick a bracket. Without further ado, here is an entire NCAA Tournament bracket picked solely by what colleges have the best Yankee connections.
(Note: this was conceived and written before some of the play-in games began on Tuesday, so I may already be wrong.)
South Region
Play In Games
- Alabama State def. St. Francis
- San Diego State def. North Carolina
Round of 64
- #1 Auburn def. #16 Alabama State
- #8 Louisville def. #9 Creighton
- #5 Michigan def. #12 UC San Diego
- #4 Texas A&M def. #13 Yale
- #11 San Diego State def. #6 Ole Miss
- #3 Iowa State def. #14 Lipscomb
- #7 Marquette def. #10 New Mexico
- #2 Michigan State def. #15 Bryant
Round of 32
- #8 Louisville def. #1 Auburn
- #5 Michigan def. #4 Texas A&M
- #11 San Diego State def. #2 Iowa State
- #2 Michigan State def. #7 Marquette
Sweet 16
- #5 Michigan def. #8 Louisville
- #11 San Diego State def. #2 Michigan State
Elite 8
- #5 Michigan def. #11 San Diego State
The toughest choice in the South Region was probably the play-in game between San Diego State and North Carolina. While the Tar Heels produced a number of good Yankees like Snuffy Stirnweiss and Andrew Miller, the Aztecs produced a borderline Hall of Fame Yankee in Greig Nettles, which led them to the win and all the way to the Elite 8. Louisville was another solid contender, having been the college of Chad Green, but also former trainer Steve Donohue, who also used to work with the Cardinals' basketball team. In the end though, they all fall short of Michigan, who gave us not only the likes of Jim Abbott and Steve Howe, but was also where a certain Derek Jeter would've played baseball had he not signed with the Yankees out of high school.
West Region
Round of 64
- #1 Florida def. #16 Norfolk State
- #9 Oklahoma def. #8 UConn
- #5 Memphis def. #12 Colorado State
- #4 Maryland def. #13 Grand Canyon
- #6 Missouri def. #11 Drake
- #3 Texas Tech def. #14 UNC Wilmington
- #10 Arkansas def. #7 Kansas
- #2 St. John's def. #15 Omaha
Round of 32
- #9 Oklahoma def. #1 Florida
- #4 Maryland def. #5 Memphis
- #3 Texas Tech def. #6 Missouri
- #10 Arkansas def. #2 St. John's
Sweet 16
- #9 Oklahoma def. #4 Maryland
- #3 Texas Tech def. #10 Arkansas
Elite 8
- #9 Oklahoma def. #3 Texas Tech
The bottom half of the West Region isn't the strongest, with most teams only having a player or two. The top half is quite strong, with all of Florida, Maryland, and Oklahoma capable of making a deeper run were they elsewhere in the bracket. In the end, the Sooners win thanks to Bobby Murcer — who never actually played there, but would have had he not joined the Yankees — and Lindy McDaniels' combined 19 years in pinstripes, along with Bob Shirley and a couple other Yankees coming from the school.
East Region
Play-in Game
- American def. Mount St. Mary's
Round of 64
- #1 Duke def. #16 American
- #8 Mississippi State def. #9 Baylor
- #5 Oregon def. #12 Liberty
- #4 Arizona def. #13 Akron
- #11 VCU def. #6 BYU
- #3 Wisconsin def. #14 Montana
- #10 Vanderbilt def. #7 Saint Mary's
- #2 Alabama def. #15 Robert Morris
Round of 32
- #1 Duke def. #8 Mississippi State
- #4 Arizona def. #5 Oregon
- #11 VCU def. #3 Wisconsin
- #10 Vanderbilt def. #2 Alabama
Sweet 16
- #4 Arizona def. #1 Duke
- #10 Vanderbilt def. #11 VCU
Elite 8
- #4 Arizona def. #10 Vanderbilt
With 108 MLB players in total, a ton of Arizona Wildcats have gone on to play in MLB, including a number of Yankees. On that list is current Yankees Triple-A manager Shelley Duncan, Rob Refsnyder, J.T. Snow, Tony Clark, and Kenny Lofton, who actually played basketball at the U of A, even helping them to the 1988 Final Four.
Midwest Region
Play-in Game
- Texas def. Xavier
Round of 64
- #1 Houston def. #16 SIU Edwardsville
- #9 Georgia def. #8 Gonzaga
- #5 Clemson def. #12 McNeese State
- #4 Purdue def. #13 High Point
- #11 Texas def. #6 Illinois
- #3 Kentucky def. #14 Troy
- #7 UCLA def. #10 Utah State
- #2 Tennessee def. #15 Wofford
Round of 32
- #9 Georgia def. #1 Houston
- #4 Purdue def. #5 Clemson
- #3 Kentucky def. #11 Texas
- #7 UCLA def. #2 Tennessee
Sweet 16
- #4 Purdue def. #9 Georgia
- #7 UCLA def. #3 Kentucky
Elite 8
- #7 UCLA def. #4 Purdue
The Sweet 16 matchup between UCLA and Kentucky is arguably the hardest fought matchup in this bracket. Kentucky produced Jim Leyritz, James Paxton, and a fun fact that the Yankees have won the World Series six times in the same year Kentucky has won the NCAA basketball championship. (That streak did not quite hold when the Wildcats won the 2012 national title, though.) However, UCLA gave us not only current — injured — Yankees ace Gerrit Cole but Chris Chambliss, Bobby Brown, and a host of others.
Final Four
Semifinals
- Michigan def. Oklahoma
- UCLA def. Arizona
Final
- UCLA def. Michigan
In the end, it's tough to overlook the Bruins. Besides Cole, they had another 2024 Yankee in Cody Poteet, who helped the Yankees land Cody Bellinger in a trade. It was also the college of Cole's brother-in-law Brandon Crawford, and Jackie Robinson, who was part of many memorable moments against the Yankees. UCLA is a pretty historic baseball college, so it's not a huge shock that they've had a ton of players relevant to the Bronx Bombers.
