National high school mascot bracket, Sweet 16: Vote Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds or Morse Shipbuilders

Newport Central Catholic (Kentucky) is a 6 seed and Morse (Maine) is a 7 seed in High School On SI's NCAA Tournament-style contest

Mike Swanson | Apr 4, 2025

The Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (Kentucky) take on the Morse Shipbuilders (Maine) in our national high school mascot bracket Sweet 16. / Graphic by Jesus Baca

March Madness has turned to April Sweetness in High School on SI's 2025 NCAA Tournament-style bracket to crown the best high school mascot in America.

Complete national high school mascot bracket

Vote below for the No. 6-seeded Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (Kentucky) or the No. 7-seeded Morse Shipbuilders (Maine) to advance beyond the Sweet 16.

The winner will face either the Key Obezags (Maryland) or Frankfort Hot Dogs (Indiana) in the Elite 8.

The Thoroughbreds outlasted the Clarkston Bantams (Washington) in Round 1 and beat the Crisfield Crabbers (Maryland) in Round 2.

The Shipbuilders beat the Clay-Battelle Cee Bees (West Virginia) in Round 1 and the Hutto Hippos (Texas) in Round 2.

Voting for this matchup will conclude Friday, April 11, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

High School On SI voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll.

6. Newport Central Catholic Thoroughbreds (Kentucky)

South Carolina and Florida also have Thoroughbreds as high school mascots, but how can we not choose a Kentucky school to wear the nickname best? It's 103 miles away from Churchill Downs, but that seems like a stone's throw on the first Saturday in May.

7. Morse Shipbuilders (Maine)

Bath, Maine, home of Morse High School, became a haven for shipbuilding in the early 1600s, so the choice of Shipbuilders for Morse's mascot was an easy one.

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Published Apr 4, 2025

MIKE SWANSON

Mike Swanson is the VP of Content for High School On SI. He's been in journalism since 2003, having worked as a reporter, city editor, copy editor and high school sports editor in California, Connecticut and Oregon.