While no Mississippi team advanced to the 2025 Final Four in either the men’s or women’s NCAA Tournament, there are still plenty of Magnolia State connections on college basketball’s ultimate stage.
From players on the floor to coaches on the bench, a number of Mississippi-connected difference-makers will appear during the final stage of the tournaments.
Houston guard Kordelius Jefferson | Bogue Chitto
While Jefferson hasn’t been a key piece of the No. 1-seeded Cougars run to the Final Four, averaging just 3.8 minutes and 0.2 points per game, the Mississippi native seems to have a bright future ahead of him.
Jefferson moved from Bogue Chitto to Texas in sixth grade, going on to attend Arlington (Texas) Martin High School. Out of Arlington Martin, Jefferson was ranked the No. 7 player in the state of Texas and a top 100 player nationally.
Texas forward Madison Booker | Ridgeland
Speaking of key pieces, Booker has been one of the best in all of America throughout the 2024-25 season. The Germantown High School product was the first player to ever win Big 12 Player of the Year as a true freshman, going on to become one of four finalists for the WBCA Wade Trophy, given annually to the nation’s top women’s basketball player.
The all-everything sophomore enters a final four matchup against SEC foe South Carolina, averaging 16.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting 41% from three-point range. Friday’s showdown will be Booker’s first appearance in the Final Four.
Florida guard Alijah Martin | Summit
Martin’s final year of college basketball has been an illustrious one, building on a long list of accomplishments gathered in four previous years at Florida Atlantic under Dusty May. The graduate senior is the Gator’s second-leading scorer at 14.5 points per game, adding 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest.
After making a run to the 2024 Final Four with FAU, in which he poured in 26 points against San Diego State, the south Mississippi product has his eyes set on competing for a national championship in his last go-round at the college ranks.
Texas head coach Vic Schaefer | Former Mississippi State head coach
Before trading Starkville for Austin in 2020, Schaefer led the Bulldogs on a historic run that included national championship game appearances in 2017 and 2018. Schaefer built Mississippi State into a juggernaut in those eight years, compiling a 221-62 record, making five NCAA Tournament berths, and making five consecutive appearances in the SEC Tournament – tying a league record.
The former Bulldog boss has continued to be among the best in women’s college basketball, taking Texas to three Elite 8s in his first four seasons. He’ll look to advance to his first national championship game since he took the maroon and white there in 2018.
Texas assistant coach Blair Schaefer | Former Mississippi State player, assistant coach
Schaefer is another familiar face to Mississippi State fans and a Bulldog legend in her own right. Before joining her father on staff at Texas, she was a part of one of the winningest MSU classes in program history, compiling a 126-22 record and two national finalist finishes.
As a junior, Schaefer helped lead the Bulldogs to the program’s first Final Four and national title game appearance. The following year, she made the second-most three-point baskets (97) in school history and ranks third all-time in three-point field-goal percentage (38.5%). Schaefer joined her father’s Texas staff in 2021 after spending time working as an assistant coach at Mississippi State in 2019-20, along with a stint as a broadcaster for ESPN.
Texas sports performance coach Zack Zillner | Former Southern Miss Director of Strength and Conditioning
Zillner has established himself as one of the premier strength and conditioning coaches in women’s college basketball, and he is now in his seventh year at UT-Austin. Before joining Schaefer’s staff and time as the assistant director of strength and conditioning at Kansas, Zillner played a part in one of the best seasons in Southern Miss women’s basketball history.
While he only served as the Director of Strength and Conditioning at Southern Miss for a single year, it ended in one of the most prolific postseason runs ever in Hattiesburg. The Lady Eagles advanced to the WNIT Quarterfinals – then the program’s deepest ever run.
Duke assistant coach Mike Schrage | Former Ole Miss men’s assistant coach
Before a lengthy tenure at Duke under legend Mike Krzyzewski, he spent the 1998-99 season as director of basketball operations at Ole Miss under Rod Barnes. That lone season was a good one for the Rebels, finishing third in the SEC and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Schrage returned to Duke under Jon Scheyer as the special assistant to the head coach and is looking for his second national championship as a college basketball coach.
A full schedule of the men’s Final Four can be found here, while the schedule for the women’s Final Four can be seen here.
