Charlotte, NC - The highly regarded 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament is underway and will run through the first week of April. Across all qualifying men's teams, there are a total of 139 former NJCAA student-athletes and coaches that continued their success to the four-year level. This includes 75 players, 11 head coaches, 4 associate head coaches and 49 assistant coaches.
Due to ongoing disparity between the NCAA and the NJCAA, those numbers are far lower than they could be. Until changes are made at the four-year level, Two-Year College Student-Athletes will continue to be limited on their opportunities to further their athletic and academic success. Read more on #SameGameSameRules campaign click here.
Among all former NJCAA athletes and coaches in the NCAA Tournament, there are quite a few that have stood out. One in particular has made some loud noise at the beginning of the tournament. Micah Simpson from Alabama State captured the attention of the masses as he delivered an incredible game-winning pass against Saint Francis with only 2.7 seconds left on the clock. Simpson made a near full-court pass to win the game with a layup from teammate, Amarr Knox to advance Alabama State out of the First Four of the tournament. Simpson began his college career at the NJCAA level at Walters State Community College. In addition to Simpson, Alabama State is home to seven other NJCAA Alumni.
Indian Hills Community College has proven to cultivate an avenue of success for their student-athletes. Eight former Warriors are currently participating in the NCAA Tournament. One notable athlete is Tyon Grant-Foster from Grand Canyon University. While at GCU, he has made a great impact on his team. In 2023-24, he was named the WAC Player of the Year, the first GCU player to do so. He set multiple records while also leading his team in many categories such as scoring, minutes, blocks and free throws made. During his time at Indian Hills, he earned NJCAA All-America Honorable Mention honors while averaging 16.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
J'Vonne Hadley made his mark on Indian Hills Basketball and the University of Louisville. Beginning his collegiate career at Indian Hills, Hadley had quite the impact on the Warriors. He earned First Team All-America honors in the 2021-22 season. He was selected as the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference Player of the Year. Louisville currently harbors four NJCAA Alumni and are the #8 seed in the South Region of the NCAA Tournament.
Current SIU Edwardsville standout, Myles Thompson, has exemplified the mission of the NJCAA. After making an impact on Barton Community College, Thompson has continued his success at the four-year level. While at Barton, he was honored as the NJCAA Foundation Champion Award Winner, an award that is given to a member of the NJCAA community who shows resilience, excellence and passion. He excelled on the court and led the Cougars to the NJCAA Division I National Championship in the 2023-24 season. SIUE is the #16 seed in the Midwest Region of the tournament.
As talented players lace up to take the court, so do coaches who played or coached at the NJCAA level. Grant McCasland, head coach of Texas Tech, is one coach who has been imperative to the success of multiple institutions. McCasland took his first head coaching job at Midland College. His impact there was unparalleled as he led the Chaparrals to an NJCAA Division I National Title in 2007. While at Texas Tech, McCasland has led his team to 20 or more wins in his first year, becoming just the third head coach to do so in program history. Texas Tech has landed as the #3 seed in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament.
Tyler Junior College was once home to Omaha Head Coach, Chris Crutchfield. Under his leadership, Omaha is the #15 seed in the West Region the Tournament. Crutchfield's first head coaching position was in 1999-01 at Tyler. That was a starting point for him to build a long and fruitful career in coaching. With over 20 years of experience, Crutchfield became the head coach of Omaha in 2022. Before his stint at Tyler, he served as a coach in 1995-96 for Omaha, then as assistant coach at the University of Texas – San Antonio.
Dana Altman, head coach of Oregon, has seen many sides of the NJCAA. He started out as a student-athlete at Southeast Community College. He played from 1976-78 before becoming the head coach a few years later in 1982-83. His time as head coach of the Bobcats came to a close after one season when he took a head coaching position at Moberly Area Community College. He stayed there for three years before seizing his next opportunity. Now having been head coach at Oregon for 15 years, Altman has made an undeniable impact on the program. He is one of three active coaches at the NCAA Division I level with 27 consecutive winning seasons. Altman is the winningest head coach in the history of Oregon. Altman looks to lead the Ducks to victory as they are the #5 seed in the East Region of the tournament.
One stand-out coach in March Madness is Brad Underwood of Illinois. Underwood had a strong presence in the NJCAA before turning to coaching at the four-year level. As an athlete, Underwood played at Independence Community College where he helped to lead the Pirates to the NJCAA Men's DI Basketball Championship game in 1984 where they finished runners-up. In 1990-93, Underwood coached at Dodge City. He garnered a record of 57-63 during his four years there. He later found himself as the head coach of Daytona State from 2004-06. His experience at Daytona State set up the success of his career as he gathered an overall record of 70-24. Underwood has been the head coach of Illinois since 2017. Underwood's staff with the Fighting Illini includes former Southeastern Student-Athlete and Daytona State Assistant Coach Geoff Alexander. As the #6 seed in the Midwest Region tournament, they look to lead Illinois to a National Title.
See the complete list of former NJCAA student-athletes and coaches in the 2025 NCAA Division I National Tournament click here.