As college basketball’s March Madness prepares to tip off, several teams will include members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints looking to show off their skills on the basketball court.
In the men’s NCAA Tournament, No. 6 seed Brigham Young University will face either Texas State or North Carolina State on Thursday, March 19 in Portland, Oregon. Team members who completed the mission included:
Sanders and Baker both suffered season-ending injuries during the season.
Utah State, the No. 9 seed and Mountain West Conference champion, will face No. 8 seed Villanova on Friday, March 20 in San Diego, California.
Aggie junior guard Mason Falslev was the conference player of the year and starred for Mission Scottsdale, Arizona and Santos, Brazil.
Darrin Hall’s third-seeded Virginia Cavaliers will face No. 14 seed Wright State on Friday, March 20th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The former BYU guard is from Plain City, Utah, and served in the California Fresno Mission.
For No. 13 Hawaii, Hunter Erickson of Provo, Utah, served in the Charlotte, North Carolina Mission, and Isaac Johnson, of American Fork, Utah, served in the Cincinnati, Ohio Mission. The Rainbow Warriors will play fourth-seeded Arkansas on Thursday, March 19th in Portland.
Tanner Toolson, a resident of Vancouver, Wash., started his collegiate career at BYU before transferring to Utah Valley University and now plays at TCU. His ninth-seeded Horned Frogs will face No. 8 Ohio State on Thursday, March 19 in Greenville, South Carolina. Toolson is the son of former BYU star Andy Toolson, who served at the Jacksonville Mission in Florida.
Jake Wallin, a Provo native, served a mission in Lithuania. His No. 8 seed Clemson Tigers will play No. 9 seed Iowa on Friday, March 19 in Tampa, Florida.
Colin Chandler of Farmington, Utah, served a mission in Sierra Leone, West Africa, and London, England. The seventh-seeded Kentucky Wildcats, led by former BYU coach Mark Pope, open the tournament against No. 10 Santa Clara on Friday, March 19 in St. Louis, Missouri.
American Fork senior forward Jackson Kohler is a Latter-day Saint who will play at Michigan State University. The third-seeded Spartans will face No. 14 North Dakota State in the first round on Thursday, March 19 in Buffalo, New York.
Utah Valley earned the No. 4 seed in the National Invitational Tournament and will host George Washington on Wednesday, March 18 in the first round of the tournament. The UVU players who completed the mission are:
Isaac Hawkins, Puerto Rico San Juan Mission. Jackson Holcomb, California Sacramento Mission. Braden Housley, Texas Fort Worth Mission. Trevan Leonhart served in the Scottsdale Arizona Mission and Chile. Tyler Medaris, Houston, Texas, serving in Peru; AJ Riggs, British Leeds Mission. Jackson Roberts, Mission Madrid South, Spain. Tyler Weaver, Mission Porto Alegre, Brazil. Hayden Welling, Mission Gilbert, Arizona;
The BYU women’s basketball team will compete in the Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament, with the Cougars taking on Alabama A&M in the first round on Thursday, March 18th.
