March Madness: 10 players with Long Island ties in the NCAA men's basketball tournament

Meet the 10 men’s basketball players with Long Island roots who will compete in the NCAA Tournament:

Jacob Brandly, Queens University

The freshman guard from Holtsville is the all-time leading scorer in Combine Academy (N.C.) history with 1,800 points. He played in one game this season for the Royals.

First game: Brandly and his 15th-seeded Royals will meet second-seeded Purdue in a West Regional game Friday.

Preston Edmead, Hofstra

The Deer Park product followed his Coastal Athletic Association Rookie of the Year award-winning season by earning  Most Outstanding Player honors in the conference tournament. He started 34 games and averaged 15.9 points.

First game: 13th-seeded Hofstra takes on fourth-seeded Alabama Friday in a Midwest Regional contest.

Bryce Harris, Howard

A grad student from Brentwood, Harris is one of the keys to the Bison’s attack; his 17.1 points per game tied for the team lead with reserve guard Cedric Taylor III. Harris also started in every game for Howard  and led the team in rebounds  with an average of 6.9 per contest.

First game: Harris and the 16th-seeded Bison tip off against fellow 16th seed UMBC on Tuesday in a First Four matchup.

Tajae Jones, Siena

The 6-8 sophomore from Long Island Lutheran played in 31 games as a reserve this season. Jones, who splits time between small forward and power forward, averaged 10 minutes per game.

First game: Jones and the 16th-seeded Saints will meet the tournament’s top overall seed, Duke, on Thursday in an East Regional matchup.

Khalil London, Tennessee State

London, who played for St. Dominic in high school, averaged 6.3 points in 15.1 minutes off the bench for the Tigers. He scored a career-high 23 points against Eastern Illinois.

First game: London and his 15th-seeded Tigers will play second-seeded Iowa State on Friday in a Midwest Regional game.

Eddie Munyak, LIU

The Eagle Academy For Young Men II product played in one game this season for the Sharks, their 83-61 rout of Le Moyne on Jan. 29 at the Steinberg Wellness Center.

First game: Munyak’s 16th-seeded Sharks tip off against the West Regional’s top seed, Arizona, on Friday.

Danny Murray, Siena

The walk-on from Deer Park backs up at both the point and shooting guard positions. He played in four games in 2025-26 for the Saints. He saw eight minutes of action and took one shot, a three-pointer, in those contests.

First game: Murray and the 16th-seeded Saints will meet the tournament’s top overall seed, Duke, on Thursday in an East Regional matchup.

Nico Onyekwere, Villanova

The 7-1, 240-pound freshman from Long Island Lutheran did not play for the Wildcats this season, but Villanova coach Kevin Willard believes Onyekwere can develop into a quality Big East player.

First game: Eighth-seeded Villanova meets ninth-seeded Utah State in a West Regional game on Friday.

Jayden Pierre, TCU

The Long Island Lutheran product started all 33 games for the Horned Frogs and averaged 10.5 points and 2.7 assists.

First game: Pierre leads the East Regional’s ninth seed into a matchup against eighth-seeded Ohio State on Thursday.

Jayden Ross, UConn

The reserve forward who played at Long Island Lutheran is strong defender who recorded 23 steals and 14 blocks in 543 minutes of action this season spanning 32 contests.

First game: Ross and the second-seeded Huskies begin tournament play on Friday against 15th-seeded Furman in an East Regional contest.