March Madness is supposed to be about winners, but for NBA scouts, it’s just as much about what we learn from the guys who go home early. Some flame out. Others show flashes before their teams fall short. But the tournament can provide both good and bad glimpses of what’s to come.

So let’s build an All-March Sadness team with five starters and two reserves. From microwave scorers with tunnel vision to late-bloomers making a lottery push, here’s what we learned about seven prospects on college basketball’s biggest stage.

For a two-round mock draft and a top 60 big board with full scouting reports, check out my NBA Draft Guide.

G: Tre Johnson, Texas

There’s a moment burned into my brain that crystallizes the worry with Tre Johnson’s NBA future. Late in Texas’ First Four loss to Xavier, down one with 17 seconds still on the shot clock, Johnson sized up his man and launched a heavily contested step-back 3. He held his pose as the ball clanged off the back iron, taking himself completely out of the play. Xavier grabbed the board, fired an outlet over Johnson’s head, and seconds later he was fouling the breakaway scorer for an and-one that buried Texas. It was a trailer for every concern scouts have had about Johnson: erratic shot selection, shaky decision-making and a disengaged defensive motor.

And yet, I can’t forget the highs. Yes, he takes bad shots, but he makes a lot of them. Coming off screens, pulling up, step-backs, leaning 3s. It doesn’t matter. He’s a microwave scorer trapped in Rodney Terry’s unimaginative Texas offense. It’s hard to fault a guy for trying to create his own spark when the system gives him nothing.

Johnson could be another shot-maker archetype bust prospect like the OJ Mayo, Shabazz Muhammad, and Dion Waiters types that came before him. But then you see the flashes. The moments where he makes the right read. The possessions where he locks in on defense. The emotional swings — his joy when things go well, his frustration when they don’t — suggest a player who cares deeply. And that might mean there’s more to tap into to make him a shot-making success story like Jamal Murray, Devin Booker, or Jayson Tatum. But without a stable structure and good vets, the habits that held him back at Texas might just be the ones that define him.

G: VJ Edgecombe, Baylor

I can’t imagine what it was like to tune into a Baylor game and see VJ Edgecombe play for the first time. You’d see him slingshot off a handoff into the paint, looking like an NBA All-Star plopped onto a college team. But then you’d watch the next 10 minutes and just see him stand in the corner, waiting for the ball to come to him, and wonder what happened to that freakish athlete you just saw.

This is the Edgecombe experience though. Too often, he doesn’t assert himself and instead fades into the background. Will this be a trend moving forward? Or is this a good soldier falling in line behind some upperclassmen teammates? Either way, it’s a bit worrisome that in the biggest games of the season Edgecombe didn’t take greater control, or wasn’t even asked by his head coach to be the man. We know so much about what Edgecombe can do, especially with his downhill attacking, drawn fouls, and some strong defensive stops against Mississippi State. But all season, his shot creation has been limited, and he wasn’t able to provide it in a 23-point second-round loss against Duke.

F: Liam McNeeley, UConn

Maybe things would have been different for McNeeley had Cooper Flagg elected to attend Connecticut instead of Duke. Without him, McNeeley was forced into a go-to guy role for the Huskies. But he’d be better off in a Klay Thompson-style role — playing off others, spacing the floor, and making quick decisions as a secondary option.

But March wasn’t kind. He missed 18 of his last 21 3-pointers and went just 11-of-28 on twos. For a guy billed as a shooter, the shots didn’t fall when the lights got brighter.

That said, it was still a productive year. McNeeley showed real value as a big wing with shooting, connective passing and versatility. He moves the ball, he knows where to be and his shot mechanics are clean. But there’s no getting around the fact that many of those late-season bricks came against the type of athletes he’ll see every night in the NBA. And that’s the part that lingers.

F: Nique Clifford, Colorado State

March Madness was a success for Clifford as an individual. He looked ready to step on an NBA floor today by displaying his defensive versatility, fighting through screens, rotating off-ball and he intercepted two passes. And on offense, he made a positive impact by scoring at the rim and slinging the ball around the floor with 12 assists over two games.

At the end of a second-round game, he made an over-the-head bullseye pass that put Colorado State ahead before Derik Queen scored on the other end with a buzzer-beater to win it for Maryland.

That moment is why Clifford is on this list. He put his team ahead. Colorado State was on the verge of being in the Sweet 16, and he would have had another chance against Florida, who barely squeaked by UConn, to show why he’s a worthy lottery pick.

Nonetheless, Clifford has shown more than enough to warrant selecting him in the first round. And he could go much higher than expected.

C: Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

Kalkbrenner did his job against Auburn center Johni Broome in the round of 32, stonewalling him on post-ups while also offering his typical rim protection in drop coverage. At 7-foot-2, the Creighton super senior is massive and naturally projects as a rotation big for an NBA team because of his defense alone.

But his offense is intriguing. He can score inside and run the floor, while also hitting a handful of open 3s. He showed all these goods in the tournament, but nothing that scouts didn’t already know. Some team in need of a rotation big will take him, and odds are we’ll be seeing more of the same for years to come in the NBA.

6th Man: Ian Jackson, North Carolina

For a seven-game stretch in the middle of the season, Jackson averaged 22.7 points in 34.3 minutes per game as a starter. It looked like the freshman was trending toward becoming a lottery pick, draining 3s and midrange jumpers off the dribble with great flare and efficiency. But then he hit a wall, lost his playing time, and averaged 8.1 points in 18.3 minutes over his final 14 games. This includes only 27 total forgettable minutes combined in North Carolina’s First Four win and opening round loss to Ole Miss.

North Carolina’s defensive rating was 14.7 points better with Jackson off the floor, per CBB Analytics. It’s not all his fault, but he often played like he was checked out which is why his minutes dwindled as the season wore on. And unfortunately, he didn’t help himself in March with two dud performances. Returning to school or transferring should be his next move, otherwise he risks getting lost in the shuffle of an NBA roster as a second-round pick that a team takes a flyer on.

7th Man: RJ Luis, St. John’s

It’s quite unbelievable that Luis went from the Big East Player of the Year to betting benched in the closing minutes of St. John’s second-round loss to Arkansas. Head coach Rick Pitino was dragged by the media for not plugging Luis back in the game as Arkansas pulled away, outscoring St. John’s in the final five minutes.

But man, Luis was horrible all game long. He shot 3-for-17 from the floor. And he let his horrific shooting performance hurt his normally sound defense. He stopped boxing out. His effort declined. He looked like a deer in the headlights under the bright lights of March Madness.

Luis is only a junior and he can return to college if he chooses to. He should. There are more lessons to learn about how to deal with adversity and battle on the biggest stage before things get even harder at the next level.

For a two-round mock draft and a top 60 big board with full scouting reports, check out my NBA Draft Guide.

March Madness is supposed to be about winners, but for NBA scouts, it’s just as much about what we learn from the guys who go home early. Some flame out. Others show flashes before their teams fall short. But the tournament can provide both good and bad glimpses of what’s to come.

So let’s build an All-March Sadness team with five starters and two reserves. From microwave scorers with tunnel vision to late-bloomers making a lottery push, here’s what we learned about seven prospects on college basketball’s biggest stage.

For a two-round mock draft and a top 60 big board with full scouting reports, check out my NBA Draft Guide.

G: Tre Johnson, Texas

There’s a moment burned into my brain that crystallizes the worry with Tre Johnson’s NBA future. Late in Texas’ First Four loss to Xavier, down one with 17 seconds still on the shot clock, Johnson sized up his man and launched a heavily contested step-back 3. He held his pose as the ball clanged off the back iron, taking himself completely out of the play. Xavier grabbed the board, fired an outlet over Johnson’s head, and seconds later he was fouling the breakaway scorer for an and-one that buried Texas. It was a trailer for every concern scouts have had about Johnson: erratic shot selection, shaky decision-making and a disengaged defensive motor.

And yet, I can’t forget the highs. Yes, he takes bad shots, but he makes a lot of them. Coming off screens, pulling up, step-backs, leaning 3s. It doesn’t matter. He’s a microwave scorer trapped in Rodney Terry’s unimaginative Texas offense. It’s hard to fault a guy for trying to create his own spark when the system gives him nothing.

Johnson could be another shot-maker archetype bust prospect like the OJ Mayo, Shabazz Muhammad, and Dion Waiters types that came before him. But then you see the flashes. The moments where he makes the right read. The possessions where he locks in on defense. The emotional swings — his joy when things go well, his frustration when they don’t — suggest a player who cares deeply. And that might mean there’s more to tap into to make him a shot-making success story like Jamal Murray, Devin Booker, or Jayson Tatum. But without a stable structure and good vets, the habits that held him back at Texas might just be the ones that define him.

G: VJ Edgecombe, Baylor

I can’t imagine what it was like to tune into a Baylor game and see VJ Edgecombe play for the first time. You’d see him slingshot off a handoff into the paint, looking like an NBA All-Star plopped onto a college team. But then you’d watch the next 10 minutes and just see him stand in the corner, waiting for the ball to come to him, and wonder what happened to that freakish athlete you just saw.

This is the Edgecombe experience though. Too often, he doesn’t assert himself and instead fades into the background. Will this be a trend moving forward? Or is this a good soldier falling in line behind some upperclassmen teammates? Either way, it’s a bit worrisome that in the biggest games of the season Edgecombe didn’t take greater control, or wasn’t even asked by his head coach to be the man. We know so much about what Edgecombe can do, especially with his downhill attacking, drawn fouls, and some strong defensive stops against Mississippi State. But all season, his shot creation has been limited, and he wasn’t able to provide it in a 23-point second-round loss against Duke.

F: Liam McNeeley, UConn

Maybe things would have been different for McNeeley had Cooper Flagg elected to attend Connecticut instead of Duke. Without him, McNeeley was forced into a go-to guy role for the Huskies. But he’d be better off in a Klay Thompson-style role — playing off others, spacing the floor, and making quick decisions as a secondary option.

But March wasn’t kind. He missed 18 of his last 21 3-pointers and went just 11-of-28 on twos. For a guy billed as a shooter, the shots didn’t fall when the lights got brighter.

That said, it was still a productive year. McNeeley showed real value as a big wing with shooting, connective passing and versatility. He moves the ball, he knows where to be and his shot mechanics are clean. But there’s no getting around the fact that many of those late-season bricks came against the type of athletes he’ll see every night in the NBA. And that’s the part that lingers.

F: Nique Clifford, Colorado State

March Madness was a success for Clifford as an individual. He looked ready to step on an NBA floor today by displaying his defensive versatility, fighting through screens, rotating off-ball and he intercepted two passes. And on offense, he made a positive impact by scoring at the rim and slinging the ball around the floor with 12 assists over two games.

At the end of a second-round game, he made an over-the-head bullseye pass that put Colorado State ahead before Derik Queen scored on the other end with a buzzer-beater to win it for Maryland.

That moment is why Clifford is on this list. He put his team ahead. Colorado State was on the verge of being in the Sweet 16, and he would have had another chance against Florida, who barely squeaked by UConn, to show why he’s a worthy lottery pick.

Nonetheless, Clifford has shown more than enough to warrant selecting him in the first round. And he could go much higher than expected.

C: Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton

Kalkbrenner did his job against Auburn center Johni Broome in the round of 32, stonewalling him on post-ups while also offering his typical rim protection in drop coverage. At 7-foot-2, the Creighton super senior is massive and naturally projects as a rotation big for an NBA team because of his defense alone.

But his offense is intriguing. He can score inside and run the floor, while also hitting a handful of open 3s. He showed all these goods in the tournament, but nothing that scouts didn’t already know. Some team in need of a rotation big will take him, and odds are we’ll be seeing more of the same for years to come in the NBA.

6th Man: Ian Jackson, North Carolina

For a seven-game stretch in the middle of the season, Jackson averaged 22.7 points in 34.3 minutes per game as a starter. It looked like the freshman was trending toward becoming a lottery pick, draining 3s and midrange jumpers off the dribble with great flare and efficiency. But then he hit a wall, lost his playing time, and averaged 8.1 points in 18.3 minutes over his final 14 games. This includes only 27 total forgettable minutes combined in North Carolina’s First Four win and opening round loss to Ole Miss.

North Carolina’s defensive rating was 14.7 points better with Jackson off the floor, per CBB Analytics. It’s not all his fault, but he often played like he was checked out which is why his minutes dwindled as the season wore on. And unfortunately, he didn’t help himself in March with two dud performances. Returning to school or transferring should be his next move, otherwise he risks getting lost in the shuffle of an NBA roster as a second-round pick that a team takes a flyer on.

7th Man: RJ Luis, St. John’s

It’s quite unbelievable that Luis went from the Big East Player of the Year to betting benched in the closing minutes of St. John’s second-round loss to Arkansas. Head coach Rick Pitino was dragged by the media for not plugging Luis back in the game as Arkansas pulled away, outscoring St. John’s in the final five minutes.

But man, Luis was horrible all game long. He shot 3-for-17 from the floor. And he let his horrific shooting performance hurt his normally sound defense. He stopped boxing out. His effort declined. He looked like a deer in the headlights under the bright lights of March Madness.

Luis is only a junior and he can return to college if he chooses to. He should. There are more lessons to learn about how to deal with adversity and battle on the biggest stage before things get even harder at the next level.

For a two-round mock draft and a top 60 big board with full scouting reports, check out my NBA Draft Guide.

Washington Nationals prospect Brad Lord is going from hauling dirt to pitching on it.

Lord has reportedly made the Nationals’ Opening Day roster, just months after supporting his baseball dreams with an offseason job at Home Depot, per multiple reports. Lord, a right-handed pitcher, will join Washington’s bullpen for the team’s home opener against the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.

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Prior to joining the Nationals’ camp, the Tallahassee, Florida, native spent the winter working at the home improvement store lugging mulch and Christmas trees, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The winter before, Lord worked at a Publix, making money at the Florida-based grocery store chain, per the Washington Post’s Spencer Nusbaum.

Lord was selected by the Nationals in the 18th round of the 2022 MLB Draft. He’s spent the past two seasons bouncing between Washington’s minor league affiliates, making his way up to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings last year.

The 24-year-old attended the Nationals’ camp as a non-roster invitee, marking his first major league camp. In addition to the rest of his pitching arsenal, Lord improved his fastball to 98 mph this spring, per MLB.com. Lord pitched in 13.1 innings across nine games, finishing with eight strikeouts and a WHIP of 1.43, seemingly impressing Washington’s staff with his outing.

The rest of the Nationals’ Opening Day roster has yet to be announced.

This time last year, many in the baseball industry knew who Jackson Merrill was. Having been selected by the San Diego Padres in the 2021 MLB Draft, the then-20-year-old was considered a top prospect and a rising star to keep an eye on. Even so, the player himself wasn’t sure when or even if he’d get his opportunity to break out.

But sometimes a team need creates an individual opportunity, and that’s what developed last spring in front of the former first-round pick.

The 2024 Padres needed a center fielder, and so, with very few options in sight, they looked to Merrill to make a massive change during spring training: Move from shortstop, where he had played his entire career, to a new position in center.

“That was crazy,” Merrill recalled to Yahoo Sports.

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Did he ever consider saying no?

“It wasn’t even a thought in my mind,” Merrill said. “I never said no to myself. I never said no to anybody. It was like, ‘You wanna play center?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m out there. I’m out there for you guys.’”

Looking back, you might say that the possibility of a position change had always existed somewhere in the back of the young player’s mind.

“When I got drafted, I said I’d play anywhere. I actually asked when we [first] got out to Arizona. I said, ‘Can I take some outfield drills?’ and the coach was like, ‘No, you’re not allowed to,’” Merrill remembered with a smile.

[Watch the full interview: Jackson Merrill sits down with Yahoo Sports]

When the situation called for it, the Padres’ new center fielder was up for the challenge, and not only did he accept his new reality, but he also flourished almost immediately. Beginning in his debut against the Dodgers in the Seoul Series, Merrill quickly showed all of baseball that he’s a force to be reckoned with. And at a time when the Padres’ lineup needed a jolt coming off a dismal 2023, Merrill, who will turn 22 in April, delivered.

In his first MLB season, Merrill slashed .292/.326/.500 in 156 games and led all rookies in batting average, hits (162), home runs (24), extra-base hits (61) and RBI (90). He also thrived defensively, rating +11 in outs above average in center. Merrill became the first Padres rookie to make the All-Star Game, finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting behind Paul Skenes and helped power San Diego to 93 wins and a spot in the postseason.

That’s to say nothing of the young slugger’s six game-tying or go-ahead home runs in the seventh inning or later.

“I think having confidence leading up to that moment is huge, but in the moment, it’s a blackout,” he said of his clutch hits. “If you’re locked in and you’re focused, there’s nothing that’s gonna take you off. Like, you don’t even think about anything. You’re up there trying to hit a pitch and trying to do something for your team, so that was me in every moment.”

[2025 MLB preview: Expert picks for World Series, Cy Young, MVP, more]

Once October arrived, Merrill didn’t shrink from that moment, either. In his first seven career postseason games — before the Padres were eliminated by the Dodgers in Game 5 of the NLDS — Merrill went 6-for-24 with three walks, a double, a triple and a home run. His first hit of the wild-card series against Atlanta made him the youngest player in Padres history with a postseason hit, a distinction that previously belonged to teammate Fernando Tatis Jr. 

Merrill added his first playoff home run in the wild Game 2 of the NLDS against the Dodgers.

“It was like the Coliseum. You ever seen ‘Gladiator’?” Merrill said when asked about the atmosphere that night at Dodger Stadium. “… But I think it was good for us. We needed that boost. We needed some anger in our lives. …

“Obviously, it didn’t end the way we wanted, but that was a huge moment for us.”

Going into 2025, Merrill is a fixture in San Diego’s lineup and out in center field at Petco Park. And with a healthy roster, the Padres hope to be among the contenders in the National League again. But their young star hasn’t let his meteoric rise stop him from continuing to learn about himself and the game along the way.

Asked what he might want to do differently in his sophomore season, Merrill had an answer ready.

“Share it with people. I think sharing it with people is what I want to do more,” Merrill said. “More with my family, more with my girlfriend, I think sharing it with people will be huge this year. Last year was kind of hard for me to find my feet, find where I was at.

“Even if it didn’t look like it, it was still a process to get used to the new life.”