The Basketball Tournament 2025: Yogi Ferrell, DJ Burns Jr. Among Players to Watch

The Basketball Tournament is back!

Twenty-six games from the highly-anticipated hoops tournament will be broadcast live on FOX, FS1 and FS2, with the action kicking off on Friday. There will be 64 teams competing for the $1 million prize, with the championship game set for August 3.

TBT, an annual basketball tournament between teams mainly composed of former college stars, is brimming with elite talent once again this year. The field, which is split into eight regions, includes alumni teams representing powerhouse programs like Indiana, Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Ohio State, Syracuse, UConn and many more. 

That said, here are 10 headliner names to watch out for this year:

Montrezl Harrell won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year after starring at Louisville. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Harrell, a former Louisville standout and eight-year NBA veteran, is set to return to The Ville once again this summer. Harrell made his debut for The Ville in 2024, averaging 12.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game en route to helping the team win the Louisville Regional and advance to the quarterfinals.

Harrell spent three years at Louisville from 2012-15, appearing in 112 games. As a sophomore, he produced 12 double-doubles, including 11 in his final 22 games, and led the American Athletic Conference in field goal percentage (.609).

Harrell was selected in the second round (No. 32) of the 2015 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets, with whom he spent two seasons with. He then joined the LA Clippers, where he won the NBA Sixth Man of the Year honors in 2020. After leaving the Clippers in 2021, Harrell bounced around to a few different NBA teams before making the move overseas. 

Willie Cauley-Stein, La Familia (Kentucky alumni)

Willie Cauley-Stein was a top-10 pick in the NBA Draft after a standout career at Kentucky. (Photo by Andrew Snook/Icon SMI/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Kentucky’s former 7-foot center spent seven seasons in the NBA after being drafted sixth overall by the Sacramento Kings in 2015. He also spent time with the Golden State Warriors, Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets. Over his seven seasons, he averaged 8.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game on 54.4% shooting. When LA Familia joined TBT in 2024, so did Cauley-Stein, who helped lead his team to the semifinals. That year, he swatted 14 blocks, which earned him Defensive Player of the Year in the tournament.

Archie Goodwin was productive in his one year at Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Goodwin, who was Cauley-Stein’s teammate at Kentucky, will be teaming up with his former college teammate in TBT this year. Goodwin declared for the NBA Draft in 2013 after averaging 14.1 points in his freshman year. He was selected in the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder, though he was immediately traded to the Phoenix Suns, where he spent three seasons before short stints with the New Orleans Pelicans and Brooklyn Nets.

Melo Trimble, Shell Shock (Maryland alumni)

Melo Trimble is one of the top scorers in Maryland basketball history. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Trimble is one of the top Maryland men’s hoops players over the past decade. He’s one of just four players in program history to have 1,600 points, 400 assists and 150 steals. After earning first-team All-Big Ten in his sophomore and junior seasons, he declared for the draft in 2017. He went undrafted but played briefly with the Minnesota Timberwolves. This is Trimble’s first TBT appearance. Can he help lead Shell Shock to the million-dollar prize?

Jason Preston led Ohio to a MAC title and an upset win in the NCAA Tournament in 2021. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

After leading Ohio to a conference title and winning Mid-American Conference Tournament MVP honors in 2021, Preston declared for the draft and was selected in the second round by the Orlando Magic, though he was immediately traded to the LA Clippers. Preston played 14 games with the Clippers in the 2022-2023 season before signing a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz the following season, spending most of his time in the G-League.

DJ Burns Jr. became a household name during the 2024 NCAA Tournament. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

Burns, who became a household name during the 2024 NCAA Tournament, is back playing basketball in the United States with Challenge ALS. The former North Carolina State star helped the Wolfpack reach the Final Four during the 2023-24 season — their first appearance since 1983. Despite Burns’ March dominance, he didn’t land an NBA contract after his stint in the Summer League with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he took his skills overseas. This is Burns’ first year playing in TBT, where he’ll suit up alongside his former teammate D.J. Horne and will be coached by NC State’s Brandon Chambers.

[MORE: March Madness Hero DJ Burns to Play in The Basketball Tournament]

Buddy Boeheim’s 3-point shooting helped him become one of the ACC’s top scorers during his time at Syracuse. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Boeheim, the son of legendary Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, was one of the top players in the ACC by the end of his college career in 2022. He emerged as an elite 3-point shooter during the 2020-21 campaign, making an ACC-leading 38.3% of his 3-pointers that year. That helped Boeheim put up a team-high 17.8 points per game, as he was the catalyst for Syracuse’s two upset wins in the NCAA Tournament that year en route to the Sweet 16. A year later, he led the ACC in scoring by putting up 19.2 PPG, which earned him first-team All-ACC honors. This will mark Boeheim’s first appearance in TBT. He’ll also get to play alongside his brother, Jimmy Boeheim.

Yogi Ferrell was one of the Big Ten’s best players in his final two seasons at Indiana. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

For the second straight year, Ferrell will headline Assembly Ball’s roster. The former Indiana guard was a star during his four years (2012-16) in Bloomington, starting every single game in his college career as the Hoosiers made a brief resurgence in the mid-2010s. He averaged at least 16.0 points per game in each of his final three seasons and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors twice. He helped Indiana win two regular-season Big Ten titles and reach the Sweet 16 twice. In his professional career, Ferrell, an undrafted rookie, bounced around the NBA for five seasons. He made the NBA’s All-Rookie second team in 2017, recording 11.3 points and 4.3 assists per game with the Dallas Mavericks. Last year, Ferrell’s 20.3 points per game was the second-best mark of any player (min. three games) in TBT, helping Assembly Ball reach the third round before losing to Eberlein Drive.

Zaire Wade, DuBois Dream

Zaire Wade is seeking a breakthrough in his professional basketball career. (Photo by Julien Bacot/NBAE via Getty Images)

Wade, who is making his TBT debut this year with DuBois Dream, garnered a lot of attention as a high-school recruit, receiving offers to play at DePaul and Nebraska, among others. He ultimately opted to go pro, though. To this point, Wade’s only professional experience stateside has been with the Salt Lake City Stars of the G League. At just 23 years old, TBT could help serve as a breakthrough for Wade, the son of Basketball Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade.

Ryan Boatright, Stars of Storrs (UConn alumni)

Ryan Boatright helped UConn win the national championship in 2014. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The 2014 national champion is playing for UConn once again, this time seeking to lead Stars of Storrs to similar glory. Boatright started all but one game in his final three seasons at UConn. He averaged 12.1 points and 3.4 assists per game during the 2013-14 title-winning season, with his defense being viewed as a key reason for the Huskies’ surprise NCAA Tournament run. Boatright followed that up by scoring a team-high 17.4 PPG as a senior in 2014-15.