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Among the many aspects of March Madness that annually makes it the NCAA Tournament the best postseason in all of sports is the possibility that an unforeseen star will emerge and take on the role of Cinderella. No, not a Disney character who was horribly mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters before eventually emerging as a princess. Instead, we're talking about someone who rises from unexpected origins to go on to star in the NCAA Tournament. The Big Dance to Cinderella's Ball, if you will.
The best thing about the yearly quest to find the tournament's singular cinderella superstar is that they come in all shapes and sizes. They could be from a low-major school who doesn't seem to have a prayer to even make it out of the opening round. They could be one of the best mid-major players in the country. It could be a number one option from an overlooked Power Five school that is primed to make a deep March run. If you can dream up a Cinderella run, I promise you, it can certainly come true.
Below are seven possible versions of a Cinderella story that may unfold this March, all with a noteworthy historical precedent we can look back on as inspiration for whatever spectacular update we get this year.
Bennett Stirtz (Drake) – Stephen Curry (2008, Davidson)
The most obvious comparison on the board is Drake's Bennett Stirtz to the NBA's all-time three-point shooting king, Stephen Curry. Once upon a time, Curry was just a sophomore at little-known Davidson College, the Southern Conference champions who came into the 2008 NCAA Tournament with the longest winning streak in the country. Of course, by the end of the 1st Round, Curry would become a household name thanks to a 40-point performance against Gonzaga. Just a little over a week later, the baby-faced assassin had transformed into full-blown basketball superstar.
If anyone in the 2025 NCAA Tournament is going to skyrocket from humble origins and relative obscurity to full-fledged stardom over the course of two weekends, it's likely going to be Stirtz, the Missouri Valley Player of the Year whose importance to the Drake Bulldogs offense is on par with how heavily Davidson relied on Curry's off-ball movement 17 years ago. Stirtz is the straw that stirs the drink, and he's got a green light to pull the trigger whenever he'd like.
Curry is the gold standard for any singular player who has Cinderella ambitions. No star has captured the collective imagination like Steph did back in 2008, and it's unlikely that anyone will again. But of this year's crop of players, Stirtz is the one who has the best chance.
Nate Bittle (Oregon) – Kevin Pittsnogle (2005, West Virginia)
Come on, are you really trying to tell me that the game and general aesthetic of Nate Bittle isn't giving you major Kevin Pittsnogle vibes? The height, the silky three-point stroke, the questionable hair/facial hair combination, and the potential for complete and total March Madness destruction?
People Forget, @WVUhoops‘ Kevin Pittsnogle was one of the most entertaining players March Madness has ever seen. pic.twitter.com/zo8s19d7qM
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 23, 2018
Oh yeah, just like the West Virginia Mountaineers legend did 20 years ago, Nate Bittle might take a damn ice axe to your bracket if you're not wise enough to push the Ducks through to at least the Sweet Sixteen. And just like Pittsnogle did, Bittle has the luxury of playing on a well-coached power conference contender with plenty of teammates who are equally ready to slip their foot into the glass slipper.
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones (UC San Diego) – Thomas Walkup (2016, Stephen F. Austin)
Both Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones and Thomas Walkup are undersized forwards who stuff the stat sheet and get to the free throw line a ton, and in Walkup's case, the steady trips to the free throw line is what in large part catapulted Stephen F. Austin to a stunning upset of the West Virginia Mountaineers in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The Lumberjacks, a 14-seed, were led by Walkup's 33 points in the 70-56 win, 19 of which came from the free throw line.
In the next round, a doozy of a game against Notre Dame, Walkup scored 21 points and was a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line in a one-point loss to an Irish squad that would go on to make the Elite Eight.
Nobody in the country has made more free throws (222) this season than Tait-Jones, who was named the Big West Player of the Year and Tournament MVP. He also ranked in the top 20 in the conference in points, rebounds, assists, steals and field goal percentage.
The Tritons are a trendy upset pick to defeat the Big Ten Tournament champion Michigan Wolverines, and if they're going to get the job done in their first NCAA Tournament appearance, they'll need their star to deliver a similar performance and equally impressive stat line as Thomas Walkup did nine years ago.
Chase Hunter (Clemson) – Sindarius Thornwell (2017, South Carolina)
Because South Carolina resides in the mighty SEC and was only a 7-seed, their run to the 2017 Final Four sometimes gets lost in the mix of all-time unexpected tournament runs. Remember, the Gamecocks had to defeat Marquette, Duke, Baylor and Florida in four consecutive rounds to make their first ever Final Four appearance, where they were narrowly edged out by Gonzaga — also appearing in their first Final Four — by just four points in the National Semifinal.
Leading the way was a 6-foot-4 combo guard by the name of Sindarius Thornwell who quietly put together a four-game run on the Final Four that was as impressive as it was quiet. Thornwell averaged nearly 26 points per game on 50 percent shooting during the East Regional, in which Thornwell was named the Most Outstanding Player.
It's easy to envision Chase Hunter, a 1st-Team All-ACC guard, going on a similarly impactful and equally under the radar run if Clemson is going to make good on my prediction. That's right, I've got the Tigers making it all the way to the Final Four this year, and a big reason why is because I believe the sixth-year senior is capable of stringing together a series of games just as impressive as Thornwell's eight years ago.
Marquel Sutton (Omaha) – Sherwood Brown (2013, Florida Gulf Coast)
So in Marquel Sutton, we've got a reigning Conference Player of the Year who is leading a rowdy 15-seed into their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and doesn't give a damn if you think they're going to be overmatched against an opening round opponent out of the Big East. Where have we seen that before?
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As an FGCU graduate myself, I can tell you that the swagger Sherwood Brown displayed on the biggest stage of the NCAA Tournament was no act. He oozed it on a daily basis around campus, so it was no surprise to me when he exploded — and the rest of an Eagles team that never lacked confidence — into the national consciousness during FGCU's run that has come to be defined by the term ‘Dunk City.'
Knocking off this particular St. John's team would be no easy feat, and the Mavericks will need Sutton to perform like the Summit League Player of the Year in order to do so. Given their penchant for destroying trash cans after wins, maybe we would start calling Omaha ‘Junk City' if they were to make a similar run to the Sweet Sixteen.
Augustus Marciulionis (Saint Mary's) – Gordon Hayward (2010, Butler)
What we're looking for out of a Gordon Hayward-esque run is not necessarily eye-popping numbers or any one particular noteworthy performance. Instead, we're looking for a player from a well-established mid-major that has yet to break through to prove to be the best player on program-defining run, just as Hayward was in 2010 when Butler made their first of two consecutive National Championship Game appearances.
Of course, had Hayward's half-court heave in the final seconds of the National Championship Game against Duke gone down, this would be a much different conversation, as he'd be the catalyst of what would without question be the greatest moment in NCAA Tournament history.
Throwback to when Gordon Hayward and Butler almost took down Duke to win the NCAA Championship 🤯
(via @MarchMadnessMBB)pic.twitter.com/fqeWbiHHyx
— FanDuel (@FanDuel) March 3, 2023
(Holy hell that was close)
Augustus Marciulionis doesn't need that shot to go down to be remembered the way Hayward is, but he would need to lead the Gaels to a similarly deep run as Hayward did, solidifying himself as the steadying presence of a defensive-minded Saint Mary's squad that will look to grind games out and get one or two clutch plays from their leader in crunch time.
RJ Davis/Seth Trimble (North Carolina) – Jaime Jaquez/Johnny Juzang (2021, UCLA)
We wrap things up with a two-man combination from the University of North Carolina that feels eerily similar to a duo from UCLA that just four years ago carried the Bruins from the First Four to the Final Four, and had it not been for a Jalen Suggs buzzer-beater, may have made it all the way to the National Championship Game.
On top of the fact that we're talking about a pair of the most prestigious programs in college hoops history who “earned” a bid into the NCAA Tournament with a questionable — some would say “weak” — resume, just look at the combined numbers of RJ Davis and Seth Trimble compared to the combined numbers of Johnny Juzang and Jaime Jaquez during these respective seasons.
Davis/Trimble – 29.0 points, 13.4 rebounds/assists per game
Jaquez/Juzang – 28.3 points, 13.5 rebounds/assists per game
That's undeniable, if you ask me.
And what's also undeniable is the fact that despite what everyone thought on Selection Sunday, the Tar Heels are in the NCAA Tournament field, even though many believed they didn't deserve an invite to the Big Dance, just like once upon a time, Cinderella wasn't supposed to go to the Ball.
