Where Are They Now? Catching Up With March Madness Viral Heroes of the Past

Every March, unlikely heroes are born and hearts are crushed in the annual men’s and women’s NCAA college basketball tournaments.

Bench players from small unknown universities who happen to sport a mustache have become household names after taking down a championship favorite. Fans who shed tears in the stands after devastating upset losses have become memes that have lived on for over a decade.

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This year, the college basketball world has made a ripped Florida fan into one of these viral March Madness folk heroes.

7'9 Olivier Rioux linked with the Florida buff guy 😭

When two #MarchMadness legends collide 🔥

(via r/AbsoluteUnits) pic.twitter.com/gPVQ7PBPsW
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2026

What a picture. Perhaps in five years, we’ll be writing about what 7’9” phenom Olivier Rioux and Random Ripped Florida Guy are up to. For now, though, we’ll look to the past to catch up with a few of our favorite March Madness heroes:

Doug Edert, Saint Peter’s guard

What we remember: During No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s miraculous Cinderella run to the Elite Eight in 2022, Edert found himself in the national spotlight due to his scoring off the bench and, of course, his mustache.

“It was a complete joke at first,” Edert told Sports Illustrated of his mustache in a recent interview.

“Dougie Buckets” went off for 20 points in the Peacocks’ 85–79 victory over No. 2 seed Kentucky, 13 points in a 70–60 victory over No. 7 seed Murray State and 10 points in Saint Peter’s 67–64 upset of No. 3 seed Purdue.

Where is he now? Edert transferred to Bryant following the 2021-22 season and spent the final two years of his college career there, averaging 5.0 points in 62 games. These days, Edert is a basketball trainer and coach at his alma mater, Bergen Catholic High School in New Jersey. Edert is the head coach of Bergen Catholic’s JV team, which has gone a perfect 50–0 over the past two years and does not shy away from repping its coach’s iconic look.

The Bergen Catholic High School JV team proudly rocks mustaches in honor of their coach, Doug Edert. | Sports Illustrated

Edert got married earlier this month to his wife, Olyvia.

Florida Gulf Coast University’s 2013 ‘Dunk City’ Team

Eddie Murray, Sherwood Brown and Chase Fieler led FGCU to a shocking 78-68 win over Georgetown in the opening round in 2013. | Eileen Blass-USA TODAY

What we remember: In just its sixth season at the Division I level, FGCU put itself on the map with one of the most fun and memorable Cinderella runs this century. Dubbed “Dunk City” because of the team’s high-flying style of play, No. 15 seed FGCU upset No. 2 seed Georgetown 78–68 in the opening round of the 2013 tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 two days later with an 81–71 victory over No. 7 San Diego State.

Where are they now? FGCU head coach Andy Enfield left the program after the 2013 run and spent the next 11 seasons at USC before leaving in 2024 for SMU. The Eagles’ leading scorer, Sherwood Brown, spent a few years in the NBA G League before playing in Romania, Finland, Canada and Portugal. He told Sports Illustrated in a recent interview that he is currently focused on building out his basketball facility. The other members of the starting five: Bernard Thompson is a basketball trainer, Chase Fieler is playing professional hoops in Japan, Brett Comer started his coaching career in 2015 and is currently an assistant at Jacksonville University, and Eric McKnight played professional basketball internationally for a few years.

Amir Khan, McNeese State basketball manager

What we remember: Amir Khan first went viral before the 2025 NCAA tournament for carrying a boom box and rapping Lud Foe’s “In and Out” while leading the McNeese State men’s basketball team out to the floor before a game in February. His star shined even brighter in March when McNeese State upset Clemson in the first round and advanced to the Round of 32. He became the first student manager to sign an NIL deal and, as is life in the mid-2020s, had offers to work with many brands. He now has nearly 100,000 followers on Instagram.

Never felt this much hype before a game—easily one of my all-time favorite filming moments😂🔥@McNeeseMBB x #BayouBandits pic.twitter.com/NSqphtjFlP
— “Who is PJ?” 🎞 (@Phil_UpOnMe) February 24, 2025

Where is he now?: Following McNeese State’s NCAA tournament appearance, coach Will Wade was hired away by NC State. Khan initially decided to follow Wade to NC State but later opted to return to McNeese State, telling Front Office Sports he did so to be closer to home and because many of his credits didn’t transfer to NC State.

Khan and McNeese State were crowned Southland Conference champions again in ‘26 and advanced to the NCAA tournament as a No. 12 seed, but the Cowboys fell 78–68 to No. 5 seed Vanderbilt in the opening round.

John Phillips, Northwestern crying kid meme

What we remember: Northwestern made the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history in 2017 as a No. 8 seed and defeated No. 9 Vanderbilt 68–66 in the opening round. Their hopes of going on a deep Cinderella run were dashed in the second round when the Wildcats ran into 34–1 Gonzaga team and lost 79–73. In the second half of that loss to the Bulldogs, CBS Sports cameras panned several times to seventh-grader John Phillips, the son of then-Northwestern AD Jim Phillips. The youngster went viral for his wide range of emotions during the Wildcats’ loss. What kid hasn’t had a similar reaction to a devastating loss?

Where is he now?: Phillips used his viral moment as the topic of his admissions essay to get into Harvard. According to his LinkedIn page, Phillips is the president of the Harvard Catholic Center and plays club soccer at the Ivy League school. His dad, Jim Phillips, is currently the ACC commissioner.

Roxanne Chalifoux, Villinova’s crying piccolo girl

Villanova crying piccolo girl — Despite welling up in tears, Chalifoux fought her way through a song at the end of Villanova’s crushing loss to NC State. | TBS

What we remember: Roxanne Chalifoux went viral following No. 1 seed Villanova’s 71–68 loss to No. 8 seed NC State in the second round of the 2015 NCAA tournament. Chalifoux, who played the piccolo in Villanova’s marching band, had to fight through tears as she played a song after the final buzzer in the aftermath of the Wildcats’ crushing loss.

“I’m looking up at the jumbotron, and I saw myself on it,” Chalifoux explained on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon a few days after her viral moment. “All I could think about is my dad was at the game, and I didn’t want him to see me crying. Then, it turned into everyone saw me crying.”

Where is she now?: Her college basketball heartbreak is long in the past. Chalifoux was in attendance to watch Villanova win the national championship in both 2016 and ‘18. She now works as an optometrist in Virginia.

Jack Gohlke, Oakland guard

What we remember: Gohlke’s star shined bright in March 2024. During No. 14 seed Oakland’s upset of No. 3 seed Kentucky in the first round—a contest that ended up being coach John Calipari’s final game coaching the Wildcats—Gohlke scored 32 points off the bench on 10-of-20 shooting from beyond the arc. He also drained six three-pointers in the second round, but it wasn’t enough as Oakland’s Cinderella story ended with a 79–73 overtime loss to No. 11 seed NC State.

Where is he now?: Gohlke has spent the past two seasons bouncing around from league to league. He played 26 games in the G League in 2024–25, and has appeared in eight games for the G League’s Texas Legends this year. In addition, Gohlke has also played in Montenegro, Mexico and Brazil.

D.J. Burns, NC State forward

What we remember: Speaking of that memorable 2024 tournament, D.J. Burns joined Gohlke as another player to grab the spotlight in March. With his giant 6’9”, 260-pound frame clogging the paint, Burns propelled No. 11 NC State to a surprise Final Four run. The Wolfpack defeated No. 6 seed Texas Tech, No. 14 seed Oakland, No. 2 seed Marquette and No. 4 seed Duke en route to a Final Four matchup against No. 1 seed Purdue, which they lost 63–50. But along the way, Burns was involved in plenty of viral moments, like when he trolled Duke fans toward the end of the Wolfpack’s 76–64 victory in the Elite Eight.

DJ Burns clowning Duke fans at the end of the Elite 8 game.

- "Your season is over"
- "It's over"
- Slit-throat motion

We don't deserve this man. pic.twitter.com/xuo5iBWP3m
— College Sports Only (@CSOonX) April 1, 2024

Where is he now?: Burns went undrafted in the 2024 NBA draft and played for the Cavaliers in the NBA Summer League. In 2024, he played in Korea for the Goyang Sono Skygunners. Burns was acquired by the Hornets’ G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm, back in October, but was waived several days later. He has played 16 games in Israel’s top professional basketball league—the IBPL—this season.