A month removed from the Seattle Seahawks winning the Super Bowl, the next major event on the American sports calendar is March Madness. The NCAA men’s and women’s college basketball brackets are now set, with play-in games starting on Tuesday and the main draw beginning on the men’s side on Thursday. Many brackets will be filled, many brackets will be destroyed roughly a couple of hours after they’ve been filled, and there will be a sharp downturn in work productivity in cubicles all across the country. For our Pacific Northwest contingent, the Washington Huskies and Washington State Cougars didn’t come remotely close to a tournament bid, and Oregon’s best hope was Portland State University, and they crashed out of their conference tournament. It’s Gonzaga or bust for the PNW on the men’s side, whereas the women at least sent UW, Oregon, and Gonzaga.
As a fun exercise during the slow period of the NFL offseason, I went through the most up-to-date Seahawks roster (including all free agent signings but excluding Chazz Surratt and Cody White, who were neither signed nor tendered) to see how many players have attended schools from this year’s men’s field of 68. There are a few transfers who’ve attended multiple tournament teams; the likes of Zach Charbonnet, who played for Michigan and UCLA, have been accordingly double counted and italicized.
Seattle Seahawks players who went to 2026 March Madness schools
Alabama (No. 5 seed, Midwest Region)
QB Jalen Milroe
FB Robbie Ouzts
OL Amari Kight
DL Jarran Reed
CB Josh Jobe
Arkansas (No. 4 seed, West)
LB Chris Paul Jr (note: later transferred to Ole Miss)
Central Florida (No. 10 seed, East)
OL Amari Kight
Connecticut (No. 2 seed, East)
OL Christian Haynes
Duke (No. 1 seed, East)
WR Jake Bobo
Georgia (No. 8 seed, Midwest)
RB Kenny McIntosh
Houston (No. 2 seed, South)
OL Josh Jones
Illinois (No. 3 seed, South)
CB Devon Witherspoon
Iowa (No. 9 seed, South)
OL Mason Richman
Iowa State (No. 2 seed, Midwest)
DL J.R. Singleton
Kansas (No. 4 seed, East)
OL Logan Brown
OL Bryce Cabeldue
Miami (FL) (No. 7 seed, West)
TE Elijah Arroyo
Michigan (No. 1 seed, Midwest)
RB Zach Charbonnet
DE Mike Morris
TE A.J. Barner
OL Olu Oluwatimi
Michigan State (No. 3 seed, East)
WR Montorie Foster
WR Ricky White III (note: later transferred to UNLV)
Missouri (No. 10 seed, West)
QB Drew Lock
North Carolina State (No. 11 seed, West play-in)
LB Drake Thomas
North Dakota State (No. 14 seed, East)
OL Grey Zabel
OL Jalen Sundell
Ohio State (No. 8 seed, East)
WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Tennessee (No. 6 seed, Midwest)
RB Velus Jones Jr
Texas (No. 11 seed, West play-in)
P Michael Dickson
DL Byron Murphy II
UCLA (No. 7 seed, East)
RB Zach Charbonnet
WR Jake Bobo
Virginia (No. 3 seed, Midwest)
OL Olu Oluwatimi
Wisconsin (No. 5 seed, West)
OL Logan Brown
March Madness teams with at least one current Seahawks alumnus: 23 of 68
Total Seahawks players who attended one March Madness 2026 school: 30
Alabama has the highest Seahawks representation with five, while Michigan is the runner-up with four alums. We could see an Alabama vs. Michigan Sweet 16 matchup, which could make for intense viewing within the Seahawks roster. Had Yale and Montana not lost their Conference Championship games, Rodney Thomas II and Patrick O’Connell would’ve been added to the list. Auburn also narrowly missed out on the tournament, which would’ve meant the inclusion of Derick Hall, Nehemiah Pritchett, and Noah Igbonoghene. This list could grow if Seattle re-signs both Surratt (North Carolina) and White (Michigan State).
How does this compare to other NFL teams and their March Madness ties? I don’t have that kind of time on my hands. But if you want to fill out your bracket based on whether or not they have current Seahawks alums, be my guest.
And for one last shameless plug: I will be covering March Madness on location in Portland for SB Nation! There will be four opening round games on Thursday and two second-round games on Saturday. If you want to get some advice from our college basketball experts, check out SBN’s new March Madness Feed! I’ve already filled out my bracket and have Arizona knocking off Duke in the championship game in Indianapolis. For the local PNW contingent, I’ve got Gonzaga in the Elite 8 losing to the eventual national champions.
Build Your Winning Bracket!
SB Nation’s CBB expert Mike Rutherford and resident bracketologist Chris Dobbertean will answer all your questions this week and help guide you to bracket glory!
On one final note: Did you know former Seahawks tight end Jimmy Graham used to play basketball? It’s true.