From Massachusetts To March Madness: 18 Players Competing In NCAA Tournament

MASSACHUSETTS — The Bay State is well represented in March Madness this year, with 18 players suiting up for teams across the tournament bracket.

Some are on championship favorites, others are on upstart mid-major hopefuls while one is on a team fighting to break into the main tournament field during a First Four game in Dayton.

This year, Patch has dug into the rosters of all 68 teams selected to compete in the tournament and compiled a list of those with ties to Massachusetts. These could be born and raised locals, those who transferred in at some point during their prep career or, as is becoming more common in the college basketball landscape, people who began their college career here before transferring to their current team.

Here are the 18 athletes competing this week:

Danny Wolf, Michigan

Northfield Mount Hermon

An Illinois native, Wolf transferred to Northfield Mount Hermon to finish his prep career, earning a McDonald's All-American nomination.

The 7-footer started his career at Yale before transferring to Michigan this year, where he's averaged 13 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game for the Big 10 champions.

Wolf was a member of the Israeli national team at the 2023 FIBA Under-20 European Championships.

Jahki Howard, Auburn

Boston, Mass.

Howard was born in Boston but spent time in Georgia, graduating from Atlanta’s Overtime Elite Academy in 2024 after also attending Donda Academy and Norcross High School.

He's averaged 4.7 points in his freshman campaign for the top-seeded Tigers, who could be looking at a national championship run.

Tre Norman, Marquette

Boston, Mass.

A Worcester Academy product, Norman is a solid depth guard for the Golden Eagles, who've had two of the best guards in the country during Norman's two years in Milwaukee.

The sophomore was part of the NEPSAC Class AA championship team at Worcester Academy, going for 19.3 points and 7.5 rebounds during that season.

Trevor Mullin, Yale

Wellesley, Mass.

Mullin, who along with teammate Casey Simmons is back in the tournament for a second consecutive year, has seen an uptick in minutes this year.

He's played in 11.5 minutes a game averaging 3 points and 1 rebound.

As a high schooler, Mullin was named the 2023 NEPSAC Class A Player of the Year at St. Sebastian’s School.

A New Englander through and through, his gameday superstition is a staple of any regional home: Peanut butter and fluff sandwiches.

Casey Simmons, Yale

Milton, Mass.

Simmons is averaging nearly 9 points and 5 rebounds a game during his junior season for the Bulldogs.

A four-star recruit, Simmons was ranked the number one prospect in Massachusetts during his senior year. He transferred back to New England from Northwestern.

Kur Teng, Michigan State

Bradford Christian Academy

A Manchester, New Hampshire, native, Teng was a top-75 recruit after his final season at Bradford Christian Academy.

Teng played sparingly in his freshman campaign, but expected more in the future from the 6'4" guard.

Alex Karaban, UConn

Southborough, Mass.

Karaban has become a consistent figure in the NCAA Tournament as a serious contributor to Connecticut's back-to-back championships. The Huskies aren't in nearly as good a shape coming into this tournament, but stranger things have happened.

Karaban didn’t spend all that much time in Massachusetts during his high school career, but did stay in New England.

He began his prep career at Algonquin Regional High before moving on to New Hampton School in New Hampton, New Hampshire, where he was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year. He finished his prep years at Florida’s IMG Academy.

Karaban has dealt with injury in a year that's seen him put more on his shoulders than in years past. He's averaging 14 points, 5 rebounds and nearly 3 assists in his junior campaign.

Souleymane Diaby, UConn

Springfield, Mass.

Diaby joined the Huskies as a walk-on junior from Lewis & Clark Community College. He played high school ball at Sabis International Charter School in Springfield before a post-graduate year at the MacDuffie School in Granby, Massachusetts.

Brycen Goodine, Oklahoma

New Bedford, Mass.

The New Bedford native should be a familiar name for those who follow the Providence College Friars.

Goodine was a major recruit out of St. Andrew's School and Bishop Stang High School. He was the 2017-2018 Gatorade Player of the Year in Rhode Island and won a Division III Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association state championship in 2016.

His college career wasn't as favorable until late in his career. Goodine spent a freshman year at Syracuse before transferring to Providence, where he played sparingly across two seasons.

A transfer to Fairfield proved fruitful after a season-ending injury in 2022-2023, as he was named the MAAC sixth man of the year in 2023-2024.

Now at Oklahoma, Goodine is averaging 8 points per game on 43 percent shooting from three.

Tafara Gapare, Maryland

University of Massachusetts Transfer

Originally from New Zealand, Gapare attended the South Kent School in Connecticut before committing to UMass. He spent only one year there before transferring to Georgia Tech and, now in his junior year, to Maryland.

Gapare is averaging 3 points per game across 10 minutes for Maryland this season.

Bo Montgomery, UNC-Wilmington

Holy Cross Transfer

Montgomery spent four years in Worcester before using his graduate transfer year to move south to UNC-Wilmington.

During his final season at Holy Cross he ranked sixth in the Patriot League in three-point percentage, ninth in assists, 16th in scoring and 19th in rebounding.

Montgomery has been a valuable contributor this year, averaging 9 points and nearly 4 rebounds per game.

Jason Asemota, Baylor

Lynn, Mass.

The five-star prospect from Lynn spent his high school years at Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix before attending Baylor.

As a freshman, he's played in about 6 minutes per game, averaging 1 point and 1 rebound across the season.

Marvin Musiime-Kamali, Akron

Brockton, Mass.

Musiime-Kamali, now in his second year at Akron, played at Cushing Academy and was part of the Middlesex Magic program.

He spent his freshman season as a walk-on at Akron and, since, has averaged nearly 9 minutes per game this season. Akron has a history of developing walk-ons. Enrique Freeman walked onto the team and found himself a First Team All-Mac selection in 2023.

Joe Pridgen, Montana

Winchendon, Mass.

A graduate of Winchendon School and Governor’s Academy, Pridgen has made his mark across New England basketball.

He began his college career at Holy Cross where he was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year after averaging 17 points, nearly 7 rebounds and 2 assists per game.

He then transferred to UNC-Wilmington, where he averaged 12 points and 8 rebounds across 14 games.

Pridgen then spent two years at Northeastern, where he averaged nearly 8 points and 5 rebounds across two seasons.

At Montana, Pridgen is averaging 12 points and 7 rebounds.

C.J. Cox, Purdue

Lexington, Mass.

The Milton Academy product is in his freshman year at Purdue and has already become a contributor for the Boilermakers.

Across 18 minutes per game, Cox is averaging 6 points and 3 rebounds while shooting 38 percent from three.

Cole Bott, Texas

Northfield Mount Hermon

Bott, a graduate student from Colorado, spent a post-graduate year at the Northfield Mount Hermon School.

He's played in 11 games across his four seasons at Texas.

George Turkson Jr. and Andre Mills, Texas A&M

Turkson and Mills are both highly touted recruits from Massachusetts who haven't played for the 4-seed Texas A&M Aggies.

Turkson, from Lowell, attended Bradford Christian Academy, where he became a top 100 prospect nationally after being named a New England Prep School Athletic Conference All-League selection three times.

Mills, from Boston, attended Brimmer and May School and was the NEPSAC Player of the Year as a senior in 2024.

Bith played for the Mass Rivals AAU program.