ORLANDO, Fla. – The Sunshine State is well represented in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. If your favorite team didn’t make the Big Dance this year, there may be a player from your community competing for a national title you can root for.
Auburn:
CJ Williams (DeLand): The shooting guard played 11 minutes total in eight of the Tigers’ 33 games this year, scoring one basket all season.
(1) Auburn plays the winner of (16) Alabama State - St. Francis (PA) Thursday at 2:50 p.m.
Michigan:
L.J. Cason (Lakeland): The guard scored 8 total points, including hitting a pair of threes, and grabbed another 5 rebounds off the bench in the Wolverines’ Big Ten Championship win over Wisconsin.
Sam Walters (The Villages): The forward played in 23 of the Wolverines’ 34 games this season, scoring an average of 5 points per game.
(5) Michigan looks to hold off the red-hot (12) UC San Diego Thursday at 10 p.m.
Texas A&M:
Jace Carter (Titusville): The guard saw action in all 31 games for the Aggies, averaging 3.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.
(4) Texas A&M will try to hold off (13) Yale Thursday at 7:25 p.m.
Yale:
Isaac Celiscar (Winter Haven): The forward played a key role in the Bulldogs’ Ivy League Championship win over Cornell, scoring 9 points and grabbing 4 rebounds off the bench.
(13) Yale looks to upset (4) Texas A&M Thursday at 7:25 p.m.
Florida:
Denzel Aberdeen (Orlando): The guard was a key role player for the Gators all season, averaging 20 minutes and playing in all but one game this year. He scored 9 points and dished a pair of assists in Florida’s SEC Championship win over Tennessee.
Sam Alexis (Apopka): The forward contributed in in 23 of the Gators’ 34 games, scoring 4.9 points and grabbing 3.6 rebounds per game.
Isaiah Brown (Orlando): The guard played in half of Florida’s games this season, averaging 2 points and 1 rebound per game, in an average of 4 minutes played per game this season.
(1) Florida looks to keep their momentum going against (16) Norfolk State Friday at 6:50 p.m.
Mississippi State:
Riley Kugel (Orlando): The guard played in all but one of the Bulldogs’ games this year, averaging 9.2 points per game this year and grabbing another 3 rebounds over an average of 22.3 minutes played per game.
(8) Mississippi State plays in a coin-flip game against (9) Baylor Friday at 12:15 p.m.
Georgia:
Dylan James (Winter Haven): The forward played in 31 of the Bulldogs’ 32 games this year, averaging 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds while playing 13.5 minutes per game.
(9) Georgia takes on another squad of Bulldogs from (8) Gonzaga Thursday at 4:35 p.m.
High Point:
Abdoulaye Thiam (Orlando): The guard contributed in all of the Panthers’ 34 games this year, averaging 6 points in 13.9 minutes per game. He scored the third-most points on the team (12) in their Big South Championship win over the Wintrhop Eagles.
(13) High Point looks to upset (4) Purdue Thursday at 12:40 p.m.
North Carolina:
Van-Allen Lubin (Orlando): The forward led the Tar Heels in rebounds per game (5.6), playing in every game this season. He also led the team in points (20) and rebounds (10) in the Tar Heels’ ACC Tournament Semifinal loss to Duke.
(11) North Carolina plays (11) San Diego State Tuesday at 9:10 p.m. in a play-in game to get into the NCAA Tournament. The winner plays (6) Ole Miss Friday at 4:05 p.m.
A number of alumni from Montverde Academy in Lake County are also playing in the NCAA Tournament:
Cooper Flagg - Duke
Robert Wright III - Baylor
Omar Adegbola - Baylor
Kwame “KJ” Evans - Oregon
Jackson Cook - Arizona
Liam McNeeley - Connecticut
Derik Queen - Maryland
Asa Newell - Georgia
Ryan Nembhard - Gonzaga
Ja’Vier Francis - Houston
To meet the Central Floridians competing in the Women’s NCAA Tournament, click here.
