March Madness 2024: 6 Texas teams in men's NCAA Tournament feature these 39 Texas high school basketball products

From Baylor's Ja'Kobe Walter to Houston's L.C. Cryer, these men's college basketball players are set to play in 2024 Big Dance

The 68-team men's NCAA Tournament bracket was released Sunday afternoon, setting in place the bracket for 2024.

Five Texas colleges were included in the field, headlined by No. 1 seeded Houston, and 39 former Texas high school basketball standouts are spread across the Lone Start State's teams going dancing.

Dallas Jesuit leads the way with five former players in the NCAA Tournament, including former Rangers standout Max Abmas, who is leading 6-seed Texas with 17.1 points per game.

Former McKinney standout Ja'Kobe Walter, a McDonald's All-American who played his senior season at Link Academy, leads Baylor with 14.2 points per game.

The first four takes place Tuesday and Wednesday and the first round is spread across Thursday and Friday.

Here are the six Texas college teams in the field, and all 39 Texas high school basketball products among them:

BAYLOR BEARS (3)

Baylor guard Ja'Kobe Walter (4) shoots the ball during the second half against the Iowa State Cyclones at T-Mobile Center on Friday.
Baylor guard Ja'Kobe Walter (4) shoots the ball during the second half against the Iowa State Cyclones at T-Mobile Center on Friday / Photo by William Purnell, USA TODAY Sports

Seed: 3; Region: West; First round: Against 14-seed Colgate

Ja'Kobe Walter, McKinney/Link Academy, shooting guard, fr.

Langston Love, Cibolo Steele/Montverde, guard, r-soph.

Caleb Lohner, Flower Mound/Wasatch Academy, forward, sr.

TEXAS LONGHORNS (10)

Texas guard Max Abmas drives to the basket while defended by Oklahoma's Rivaldo Soares during a game at the Moody Center.
Texas guard Max Abmas drives to the basket while defended by Oklahoma's Rivaldo Soares during a game at the Moody Center / Photo by Scott Wachter, USA TODAY Sports

Seed: 7; Region: Midwest; First round: Against (10-seed play-in winner) Virginia/Colorado State.

Dylan Disu, Hendrickson, forward, sr.

Chendall Weaver, Mansfield Timberview, guard, soph.

Max Abmas, Dallas Jesuit, guard, gr.

Gavin Perryman, Dallas Jesuit, guard, r-soph.

Alex Anamekwe, Mckinney, forward, soph.

Preston Clark, Westlake, forward, r-fr.

Ze'Rik Onyema, San Antonio John Jay, forward, jr.

Devon Pryor, PSAT-XEA Academy, forward, fr.

Jackson Prince, Duncanville, guard, fr.

Brock Cunningham, Westlake, forward, gr.

TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (3)

Texas Tech Red Raiders forward Robert Jennings (25) dunks the ball during the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum.
Texas Tech Red Raiders forward Robert Jennings (25) dunks the ball during the first half against the West Virginia Mountaineers at WVU Coliseum / Photo by Ben Queen, USA TODAY Sports

Seed: 6; Region: South; First round: Against No. 11 NC State

Jack Francis, Austin Anderson, guard, soph.

KyeRon Lindsay, Denton Guyer, forward, soph.

Robert Jennings, Texas Alliance of Christian Athletes, forward, soph.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES (5)

Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor IV was a 2,000-point scorer at Lancaster High School / Photo by Christopher Hanewinckel, USA TODAY Sports

Seed: 9; Region: South; First round: Against 8-seed Nebraska

Hayden Hefner, Nederland, guard, sr.

Wade Taylor IV, Lancaster, guard, jr.

Jaelyn Lee, Paris, guard, r-fr.

Julius Marble, Dallas Jesuit, forward, sr.

Manny Obaseki, John Paul II, guard, jr.

HOUSTON COUGARS (7)

L.J. Cryer, who leads Houston in scoring, set a Morton Ranch High School record with 1,164 points in his senior season. He finished with 3,488 career points in high school — a Houston-area public school record / Photo by Troy Taormina, USA TODAY Sports

Seed: 1; Region: South; First round: Against 16-seed Longwood

Jamal Shead, Manor, guard, sr.

Ramon Walker Jr., Shadow Creek, guard, jr.

L.J. Cryer, Morton Ranch, guard, sr.

Kordelious Jefferson, Arlington Martin, guard, fr.

Ryan Elvin, Round Rock Cedar Ridge, guard, sr.

Terrance Arceneaux, Beaumont United, guard, soph.

Joseph Tugler, Cypress Falls, forward, fr.

TCU (11)

Micah Peavy (No. 0) was the Texas coaches association's Class 6A state player of the year and led Duncanville to a state title in 2019.
Micah Peavy (No. 0) was the Texas coaches association's Class 6A state player of the year and led Duncanville to a state title in 2019 / Photo by Ben Queen, USA TODAY Sports

Seed: 9; Region: Midwest; First round: Against 9-seed Utah State

Micah Peavy, Duncanville High School, guard, sr.

Isaiah Manning, Mansfield Legacy High School, forward, fr.

Avery Anderson III, Justin Northwest High School, guard, sr. 

Trevian Tennyson, Mansfield Legacy High School, guard, sr.

Xavier Cork, Sulphur Springs High School, forward, sr.

JaKobe Coles, Denton Guyer, forward, jr.

Tyler Lundblade, Grapevine Faith Christian School/Greensboro Day (N.C.), guard, soph.

Darius Ford, Dunbar YMLA, guard, jr.

Trey Stuart, Brock High School, guard, soph.

Jace Posey, Strake Jesuit (Houston), guard, fr.

Zach Gonsoulin, IMG Academy/Ridge Point High School, guard, soph.

As Baylor commit Ja’Kobe Walter’s high school career winds down, his next stop is coming into focus

-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx


Published
Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports
ANDY BUHLER, SBLIVE SPORTS

Andy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees. He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.