March Madness 2025: NCAA Tournament players from Greater Cincinnati

The NCAA Tournament is one of the best and most chaotic times of the year. During the first weekend, we get 12 straight hours of basketball before the field quickly pares down over the course of three weeks.

This season, there are a number of former Greater Cincinnati standouts who have helped their teams punch a ticket to the big dance. They will now look to win a national championship, whether they're on a No. 1-seed or playing in the First Four games.

Here's which former local high school hoopers are suiting up for March Madness, listed alphabetically by school.

Akron Zips

Nate Johnson had quite the moment when his layup won the Mid-American Conference championship game for the Zips, sending them to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four seasons. The Lakota East product had a breakout junior season, averaging 14 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.6 steals and two assists. He was named to the All-Mac first team and defensive team.

At Lakota East, he was a two-time All-Greater Miami Conference first-team selection, earning player of the year honors as a junior.

Princeton graduate Bowen Hardman transferred to Akron before the season. He has played in all 34 games, averaging 6.7 points and 1.1 rebounds. As a senior at Princeton, he averaged 10.5 points and 1.9 rebounds.

Moeller graduate Eric Mahaffey is redshirting this season. As a senior, he averaged 8.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game to help the Crusaders to a 26-2 record and a regional final appearance.

Akron will play Arizona at 7:35 p.m. Friday in Seattle, Washington.

Ball State Cardinals

Marie Kiefer has had a memorable career in Muncie. She has started every game in each of the last three seasons (130 in total) and is the Cardinals' all-time leader in career blocks with 197 and counting. This season, she is averaging 7.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

As a senior at Bishop Brossart, she led the Lady 'Stangs to a 21-6 record and their first 10th Region title since 2021. She scored 1,768 points and grabbed 1,058 rebounds.

The Cardinals play Ole Miss at 6 p.m. Friday at Baylor University.

Florida Gulf Coast Eagles

After missing the second half of the 2023-2024 season, Indian Hill graduate Maddie Antenucci had big plans for her senior year. However, she was sidelined after six games with an undisclosed injury. She was averaging 10.8 points and 3.5 rebounds. She had a season-high 12 points, five rebounds and two assists against Cincinnati on Nov. 24.

At Indian Hill, Antenucci was a four-time Cincinnati Hills League first-teamer and the league player of the year as a junior and senior. She was named to the DII All-Ohio first team as a junior and third team as a senior.

The Eagles play the Oklahoma Sooners at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Norman.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Makira Cook is one of three Mount Notre Dame graduates in this year's tournament. The fifth-year senior last played on Dec. 8 against Ohio State. She was averaging 11.9 points, 3.6 assists and 1.9 rebounds this season.

At MND, she was a member of the 2017 and 2019 state championship teams. As a senior, she averaged 7 points and 4.6 assists, and was a defensive menace as the Cougars won the eighth of their nine titles.

Eighth-seeded Illinois plays ninth-seeded Creighton at 7:15 p.m. Saturday in Austin, Texas.

Kentucky Wildcats

Grant Darbyshire is one of two Sycamore Aviators on this list. He is a walk-on for the Wildcats and has appeared in one game this season.

Third-seeded Kentucky plays Troy at 7:10 p.m. Friday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Lehigh Mountain Hawks

Whitney Lind has had a solid career at Lehigh so far. She averaged 4.5 points and 2.7 rebounds as a freshman and has contributed 5.9 points and 2.2 rebounds this season.

She was one of the faces of the emergence of Cooper's girls team. As an eighth-grader, the Jaguars won just three games. By the time she was a senior, she had helped them to back-to-back state tournaments and a 2022 state semifinal appearance. From the first time she stepped on the floor, she was Cooper's leading scorer and rebounder. She is second in career points with 2,258 and pulled down 1,000 career rebounds.

Lehigh plays Duke at 8 p.m. Friday in Durham.

Liberty Flames

Fellow Cooper graduate Maleah Alexander redshirted this season for the 26-6 Flames, who are headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.

At Cooper, she was a key defensive piece on the Jaguars' 2022 and 2024 state semifinal teams.

Liberty plays the Kentucky Wildcats at 12 p.m. Friday in Lexington.

Louisville Cardinals

St. Xavier graduate Kobe Rodgers redshirted this year for the Cardinals after suffering an injury in the 2024 NCAA Tournament while playing at the College of Charleston. He played for Elder standout Pat Kelsey last year, then followed him to Louisville.

Rodgers was the 2020-2021 Greater Catholic League-South co-Player of the Year, averaging 18 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.7 steals per game.

Louisville and Creighton open the first full day of NCAA Tournament play, tipping off at 12:15 p.m. Thursday in Lexington, Kentucky.

Michigan Wolverines

Over the course of her career in Ann Arbor, Springboro graduate Jordan Hobbs has played an increasingly valuable role. She has played in 116 games over four years, starting 76 of them. This season, she is averaging 13.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

At Springboro, Hobbs led the Panthers in scoring as a sophomore, junior and senior. She averaged 12.3 points per game for her four-year career and was named to the Greater Western Ohio Conference first team as a junior and senior.

Sixth-seeded Michigan plays the winner of Iowa State and Princeton at 11:30 a.m. Friday in South Bend, Indiana.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

K.K. Bransford has been an integral role player for the Fighting Irish over the last two years, but took a medical redshirt this season to address an ongoing lower leg injury. She is averaging 7.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and shooting 43.4 percent from the field.

Her career at Mount Notre Dame features a laundry list of achievements. She led the Cougars to state titles in 2019 and 2021, was named Ohio Ms. Basketball in 2021 and 2022, was a McDonald's All-American in 2022, and is the school's all-time leading scorer with 2,172 points. The Cougars amassed a 111-3 record, including a 98-game winning streak, during her tenure.

Notre Dame, a 3-seed in this year's tournament, hosts Stephen F. Austin at 2 p.m. Friday.

Ohio State Buckeyes

Winton Woods graduate Chance Gray has started all 31 games this season after transferring from Oregon. She is averaging 12.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and shooting 34 percent from behind the 3-point line.

Gray played at Lakota West for three seasons before transferring to Winton Woods as a senior. She was a 2022 McDonald's All-American and Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year, a Naismith Player of the Year finalist, and a three-time All-Ohio first team member.

Seini Henry is redshirting this season for the Buckeyes. At Purcell Marian, she averaged 8.9 points, three rebounds and 1.8 steals in nine games to help the Cavaliers to the 2024 DII state championship. As a junior at West Clermont, she averaged 13 points, 10 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.5 assists to help the Wolves to an undefeated regular season.

The Buckeyes host Montana State at 5:30 p.m. Friday.

Purdue Boilermakers

Head coach Matt Painter has an affinity for height and Raleigh Burgess is no exception. He stands 6-foot-11 and has played in 31 games this season, averaging about six minutes, 1.9 points and 1.3 rebounds.

Burgess broke out as a sophomore at Sycamore, averaging 10.5 points, six rebounds and 1.8 blocks. By his senior year, he was averaging 15.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, 1.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He was named to the GMC player of the year and an All-Ohio special mention.

The Boilermakers play High Point at 12:40 p.m. Thursday in Providence, Rhode Island.

St. Francis (PA) Red Flash

Hamilton grad K.J. Swain has played in seven games this season. He is averaging 1.7 points but scored 7 against Penn St.-Shenango, then had 2 points, two rebounds and two assists in a win over Franciscan. As a senior at Hamilton, he averaged 10.2 points, two assists and 1.6 rebounds.

Zachary Jones, a freshman out of Indian Hill, has played in four games this season. He scored 4 points in a win over Franciscan on Dec. 19.

The Red Flash are in the First Four in Dayton, playing Alabama State tonight at 6:40 p.m.

South Florida Bulls

One of two Mason graduates on this list, Sammie Puisis was the Comets' first McDonald's All-American, earning the honor in 2019. She was a three-time GMC Player of the Year and averaged 17.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.3 assists as a senior.

Puisis played just one game for South Florida in the 2023-2024 season but has played every game this season, starting all but three. The graduate student is averaging 14.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and shooting 39.5 percent from 3-point range.

The Bulls take on Tennessee at 8 p.m. Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

Texas Longhorns

Kyla Oldacre picked up where Puisis left off at Mason. After transferring from Princeton, she averaged 14.9 points and 9.1 rebounds as a junior, and 15.3 points and 9.3 rebounds as a senior. She was the GMC Defensive Player of the Year as a freshman at Princeton and was one of three Cincinnatians to play in the 2022 McDonald's All-American game.

After transferring to Texas from Miami, she has averaged 8.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game this season. She had 13 points, six rebounds, two steals, an assist and a block in a Feb. 9 win over South Carolina.

Mount Notre Dame graduate Laila Phelia transferred to Texas from Michigan, where she was an All-Big Ten first team selection as a junior. She appeared in eight games this season, but hasn't played since Dec. 11 after having surgery for a detached retina. She was averaging 6.1 points and 2.1 rebounds.

At MND, she won state titles in 2019 and 2021, and averaged 16.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game as a senior.

Texas is a No. 1-seed this year and will play the winner of High Point and William & Mary at 9:45 p.m. Saturday in Austin.

TCU Horned Frogs

Maddie Scherr is at her third school after previously playing at Oregon and Kentucky. While she is taking a medical redshirt due to a back injury, the Horned Frogs received a No. 2-seed in the tournament. Scherr plans to use a sixth year of eligibility for the 2025-2026 season.

Scherr graduated as Ryle's all-time leader in scoring (2,297), rebounding (1,095) and assists (629). She was the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year in 2019 and 2020, Kentucky Ms. Basketball as a senior, a McDonald's All-American, and the Sweet 16 MVP as the Raiders won the 2019 state title.

TCU hosts Fairleigh Dickinson at 3:30 p.m. Friday.

Xavier Musketeers

The end of Xavier's bench is filled with local talent. Villa Madonna's Henry Thole and Badin's Ian Sabourin are both walk-ons, and Moeller graduate Brad Colbert earned a scholarship before this season.

Colbert has appeared in three games this season. His 3-pointer against Morgan State helped set the Cintas Center record for points in a single game. As a junior at Moeller, he averaged 1.8 points on the Crusaders' 2019 state championship team.

Sabourin has played in two games this season. As a senior at Badin, he averaged 6.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.

Thole has appeared in one game this year. He totaled 1,571 points and 1,041 rebounds at Villa Madonna and had a school-record 50 points in a game on Feb. 17, 2023. He was the Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference DIII Player of the Year as a senior.

Xavier will play in the First Four for the first time since 2014. The Musketeers face Texas at approximately 9:10 p.m. Wednesday at the University of Dayton Arena.