Kansas City is well represented at NCAA tourneys — in men’s and women’s editions
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Multiple Sweet Sixteen rosters feature KC-area players shaping NCAA Tournament storylines.
- Illinois’ Keaton Wagler and Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz could meet in the South Regional.
- Former Kansas, Missouri and KC high school stars fuel teams’ historic runs to Round of 16.
College basketball season is over for most programs. But Kansas City’s hoops connections to March Madness are widespread — and remain — in both the men’s and women’s NCAA tournaments’ Sweet Sixteens.
The men’s tournament is highlighted by projected NBA first-round picks Keaton Wagler of Illinois, who starred at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, and Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz, a former standout at Liberty High. Their college teams could actually play each other in the Elite Eight this weekend at the South Regional in Houston.
Wagler’s rise has been prolific — he’s gone from being a prep recruit ranked near the 400s nationally to potential lottery pick. How did so many blueblood hoops programs miss on this 6-foot-6 shooter who led Shawnee Mission Northwest to back-to-back Kansas state titles? Today, he’s an All-America freshman and one of the best players in the country, averaging 17.8 points per game while shooting 45% from the floor and 40% from 3-point range.
No. 3 seed Illinois faces No. 2 seed Houston on Thursday at 9:10 p.m. on TBS/TruTV.
Stirtz, a senior, is one of the last active players from head coach Ben McCollum’s dynasty at Division II Northwest Missouri State. Stirtz followed McCollum from Maryville to Drake, and then on to Iowa City. They’re among the prime reasons for the Hawkeyes’ historic run. Iowa has reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1999.
Other Hawkeyes players from KC and its surroundings who followed McCollum from Drake to Iowa include:
- Cam Manyawu from Staley High, a 6-foot-9 junior forward.
- Tavion Banks, who attended three area high schools before attending Minnesota Prep Academy; he’s a 6-7 senior forward averaging 10 points and 5 rebounds per game.
- Kael Combs, Nixa, a 6-4 junior guard.
- Isaia Howard, Plattsburg, a 6-5 sophomore guard.
- Joey Matteoni, Blue Valley Northwest, a 6-9 freshman forward.
The No. 9-seeded Hawkeyes, who also have former Kansas State guard Brendan Hausen coming off the bench, face fourth-seeded Nebraska in a round-of-16 game at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Toyota Center in Houston. The Big Ten rivals split their season series in 2025-26.
The Cornhuskers are on their own historic run, having made the Sweet Sixteen on a last-second layup by redshirt freshman Braden Frager — you guessed it, another KC local. He was born in Liberty and spent his early years there. His father, Rick, was boys hoops coach at Pembroke Hill before the family moved to Lincoln.
Frager, a 6-7 forward, is an efficient scorer for the Huskers. He’s averaging 11.7 points on 48% shooting, hitting nearly 34% of his 3-point attempts.
Other familiar names as the NCAA field narrows include some former Kansas and Missouri players. A couple are in the midst of leading their respective teams on historic runs: St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor, for instance, was central in KU’s expulsion from the tournament, while former Mizzou Tiger Trevon Brazile now puts up shots for John Calipari at Arkansas.
In the women’s tournament, the Oklahoma Sooners feature two seniors who are Kansas City natives: Bishop Miege alum Payton Verhulst and St. Thomas Aquinas product Beatrice Culliton. Verhulst has been a starter for the Sooners since transferring from Louisville four years ago. No. 4 seed OU faces top seed South Carolina Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPN.
Former K-State guard and Barstow alum Brylee Glenn spent her graduate season in the rotation for No. 4 seed Minnesota, helping the Golden Gophers reach their first Sweet Sixteen in 21 years. They face 1 seed UCLA at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
And former Mizzou standout Ashton Judd leads No. 1-seeded Texas in a game against fifth-seeded Kentucky on Saturday at 2 p.m. on ABC.
