The NCAA mens basketball tournament starts this week and Prolific Prep has four alumni players and one alumni coach in the field of sixty-four. Aden Holloway (Auburn), Coleman Hawkins (Illinois), Yves Missi (Baylor), Nate Bittle (Oregon), and graduate assistant Nick Sullivan’s (Gonzaga) teams all made the bracket of 64 trying to win a National Championship.
Aden Holloway and his Auburn Tigers team are seeded #4 in the East and take on the #13 seed Yale Bulldogs in Spokane Washington Friday night at 8:15pm PST. Holloway is a 2023 alumni of Prolific Prep of Napa Christian and lead his team to a Grind Session championship as well as a berth in the Geico Nationals in 2023. Aden was the 9th Prolific Prep player to be named a McDonald’s All American.
Coleman Hawkins and the Fighting Illini, #3 seed in the East, are matched up against the #15 seed Morehead State Eagles on Thursday evening in Omaha Nebraska at 7:10 MST. Coleman played for Prolific Prep from 2018-2020 for each Billy McKnight and coach Joey Fuca. Hawkins 2020 team won the Grind Session Championships and was picked for the Geico Nationals, but due to Covid-19 the Geico event was cancelled.
Yves Missi and his #3 seed Baylor Bears are matched up against the #14 seed Colgate Raiders in the West bracket. The two will battle it out in Memphis Tennessee at the FedEX Forum at 4:40pm MST Friday afternoon. Yves played his senior year at Prolific Prep of Napa Christian and helped lead his team to a Grind Session championship as well as getting picked for the Geico Nationals. Yves was born in Belgium, but grew up in Cameroon. He averaged 9.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game for Prolific Prep his senior year.
Nate Bittle and the #11 seed Oregon Ducks are looking to upset the #6 seed South Carolina Gamecocks Thursday night at 8pm EST in the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. Bittle played his senior season for Prolific Prep and helped lead the Crew to its second trip to the Geico Nationals. Bittle was the 6th player to be named a NcDonld’s All American in 2021 for prolific Prep. Nate has been sidelined by injuries this year at Oregon and is hoping to battle his way back on to the court.
Nick Sullivan is a graduate assistant coach at Gonzaga for the second year this season under coach Mark Few. The Bulldogs are seeded #5 in the midwest bracket and will be playing the #12 seed McNeese State Cowboys. The game is at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City and will be played at 11:25pm MST. The Zags were 25-7 overall in 2024 and 14-2 in conference play. They finished in 2nd place in the WCC conference play.
