
Farm to table March Madness. Support your local college basketball standouts.
The Holy Cross women’s team is the only Massachusetts program to reach the D1 NCAA tournament after winning the Patriot League title. Both the Penn men and Richmond women are tied with three players who hail from Massachusetts.
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Here are five MetroWest and greater Milford stars in the NCAA tournament and other standouts from across the commonwealth:
The graduate student and former Tri-Valley League MVP at Medway is playing in her third straight NCAA tournament for the Stags. She is a two-time MAAC All-Academic team selection. Beach started the first five games of the season before coming off the bench. She’s averaging 3.7 points per game and 2.8 rebounds per contest to go along with 20 steals and 17 assists.
Lauren Beach #15, Kaety L’Amoreaux #4 and Janelle Brown #3 of the Fairfield Stags celebrate after their team’s 80-72 victory against the South Florida Bulls in a 2025 WBCA Challenge game at Michelob ULTRA Arena on November 13, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ian Maule/Getty Images)
Alex Karaban, UConn
The senior from Southborough has put together one of the Huskies most storied men’s careers. His number 11 was retired on senior day. Karaban is a two-year captain and a national champion. He was named all Big East after averaging 12.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. UConn is the No. 2 seed in the East region and will face No. 15 Furman at 10 p.m. Friday.
UConn forward Alex Karaban (11) reacts after a play during the Huskies’ 71-67 Senior Night win against Seton Hall at Gampel Pavilion.
Payton Richard, Richmond
The Bolton native that played at the Rivers school will make her second NCAA Tournament appearance for the No. 11 Spiders, who will face Nebraska in a First Four game at 7 p.m. Wednesday. She has played 147 minutes this season and shot 26.7 percent from the field.
Acton-Boxborough freshman Grace O’Sullivan defended against Newton South’s Amaris Mills, Feb. 5, 2021.
Grace O’Sullivan, Princeton
The freshman was a NEPSAC Class B Tournament MVP at Rivers, where she collected over 1,200 points and 500 rebounds. The Acton native was a two-time NEPSAC all-star. She has appeared in 22 games this season and shoots 48.1 percent from the field in nearly 10 minutes per game. O’Sullivan averages 1.5 points and 1.2 rebounds per game with nine assists and eight steals. The No. 9 Tigers will face No. 9 Oklahoma State at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Sacramento.
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Megan Roche, Holy Cross
The freshman is from Millis and played five years at Dexter Southfield, where she was a two-time team captain and NEPSAC honorable mention. She has appeared in eight games for the Crusaders and has yet to score but grabbed four rebounds. The Crusaders are the No. 15 seed in the Fort Worth region and play No. 2 Michigan at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
Cinderella?: Can No. 14 Vermont women’s basketball upset No. 3 Louisville in March Madness?
Massachusetts NCAA tournament connections
Ryan Altman, Penn (Chestnut Hill)
Kalu Anya, Saint Louis (Worcester)
Dion Brown, Saint Louis (Great Barrington)
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Kaelyn Carroll, Kentucky (Dedham)
Jasmyn Cooper, Syracuse (North Easton)
C.J. Cox, Purdue (Lexington)
Sam Dewey, Richmond (Melrose)
Caroline Ducharme, UConn (Milton)
Reid Ducharme, Siena (Milton)
‘Talent is on full display’: BYU’s AJ Dybantsa returns home to play UConn at TD Garden
Kendall Eaddy, Holy Cross (Haverhill)
Jay Jones, Penn (Chestnut Hill)
Taina Mair, Duke (Boston)
Kailee McDonald, Fairleigh Dickinson (Lowell)
Marvin Musiime-Kamali, Akron (Brockton)
Tennessee State forward Aaron Nkrumah looks to move the ball against Tennessee during the first half of a game on Nov. 20, 2025.
Aaron Nkrumah, Tennessee State (Worcester)
Blake O’Grady, Missouri State (Brookline)
Oluchi Okananwa, Maryland (Boston)
Maddie Oliver, James Madison (Norwell)
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Christina Phan, Fairfield (Boston)
Penn Quakers forward TJ Power, looks to pass during the second half against Rutgers.
Jaeden Roberts, Hofstra (Boston)
Joson Sanon, St. John’s (Fall River)
Rachel Ullstrom, Richmond (Auburn)
Sophia Vital, Rhode Island (Cambridge)
Repping New England: Rhode Island women’s basketball is in March Madness. Who will they play?
Alex Wilkins, Furman (Mattapan)
Sebastian Wilkins, Duke (Boston)
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Alex Karaban of UConn leads local March Madness basketball contingent
