New Faces, New Places: Transfers, Freshmen Leading Way At Final Four

It may be April, but March Madness is still at the center of the sports world. This season’s NCAA Tournament has been full of strong play by the nation’s best teams. While there were not many “Cinderella stories” or 16 seeds topping one seeds, the last 60 games brought us even more: unimaginable performances by new faces.

Saturday’s Final Four features the best of the best: the Florida Gators, Duke Blue Devils, Auburn Tigers and Houston Cougars. A common theme among the four? All are No. 1 seeds coming out of their respective region. A national semifinal round comprised of all one seeds has happened just once before, back in 2008, when Kansas defeated Memphis in overtime 75-68.

Each team’s roster is stacked in its own way, but one thing is for sure: each program should be thanking its freshmen and transfers for their contributions. Along the course of the tournament, each of the remaining teams has seen incredible showings from a newcomer. Duke’s Cooper Flagg and Florida’s Alijah Martin stand out on paper, but they aren’t the only fresh faces impacting the hardwood.

Florida Gators

The Gators finished the regular season with a 27-4 record. They came out of the SEC Tournament on top, earning their fifth conference title and first since 2014. UF has since defeated Norfolk State, UConn, Maryland and Texas Tech in the tournament. The leading scorer in three of those four games was none other than standout senior point guard Walter Clayton Jr.

Walter Clayton Jr.

Clayton is a second-year Gator out of Iona University who took the tournament by storm after his 30-point performance in the Elite Eight over Texas Tech. The Florida native was named an AP First-Team All-American, the first Gator to earn the major achievement. His highly decorated senior campaign continues as he will try to lead Florida to its third national championship.

Alijah Martin

Senior and first-year Gator Alijah Martin is familiar with the Sunshine State. He led the Florida Atlantic Owls to their first Final Four appearance in 2023 during his junior year. Martin averages 14.5 points this season, the most in his five-year college career. The guard brings the energy for the Gators on both sides of the ball. Martin picked up at least one steal in five of Florida’s last seven games.

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Reuben Chinyelu

The sophomore from Nigeria is one of the more under-the-radar players on this Gators roster, even though he has made a big impact. The center is in the midst of his first season with Florida after spending his freshman year with Washington State. Chinyelu has always been a winner and has already picked up a title. The 21 year old led the NBA Academy Africa team to a first-place finish in the 2022 NBA Academy games. He averages just over six points per game in orange and blue, but is a monster on defense and the glass.

Duke Blue Devils

The Blue Devils continued their historic stature with another ACC title. Their 23rd conference tournament win earned them the top seed in the East Region where they dominated in all categories. They trampled every opponent they faced and defeated each by an average of 24 points, including a 44-point first round victory. The most impactful player on the court in blue and white, or in the country, is freshman Cooper Flagg.

Cooper Flagg

Flagg was named AP Player of the Year on Friday and is expected to head to the NBA Draft as a possible first-overall pick. He would join Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant as a one-and-done freshman to the pros. Flagg put up some of the best numbers by a first-year: averaging 20 points and eight rebounds in the tournament alone. With a 6-foot-9 and 205-pound build, the 18 year old is almost impossible to defend and is even harder to score on. The Montverde Academy graduate has dominated in every facet of the game.

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Kon Knueppel

The other half of the Blue Devil’s freshman duo is guard Kon Knueppel. The five-star prospect out of Wisconsin Lutheran High School has played a major role in Duke’s impressive season. He has posted at least 20 points in the last two tournament games and averaged 21 in the ACC tournament. The Flagg/Knueppel duo may be one of the best freshman pairs the program has seen.

Auburn Tigers

After a strong regular season, the Tigers came up short in the SEC Tournament. Although that has not stopped them from defeating their opponents by an average of nearly 13 points in the NCAA Tournament. The team is led by Johni Broome, who is in his third year with the program. The forward, while with Auburn for the majority of his college career, transferred from Morehead State in 2022 and made a name for himself as a Tiger. He averages a double-double with 18.7 points and 10.9 rebounds.

Tahaad Pettiford

Freshman Tahaad Pettiford hit the ground running with the Tigers and solidified himself as one of the best to wear the uniform this year. Coming out of Hudson Catholic Regional High in New Jersey, Pettiford averages more than 17 points over the course of March Madness. The first-year Tiger has showed plenty of promise for the program’s future.

Miles Kelly

Senior Miles Kelly is a recent addition to the Auburn squad. He transferred from Georgia Tech and is shooting better than ever before. The guard shot 40% through the regular season and added 23 points to the Tigers’ opening-round win against Alabama State.

Houston Cougars

It is the Houston Cougars’ seventh Final Four appearance in program history. The school has yet to win the title, but sees itself as the top seed for the third straight year. The Big 12 champions did well in the transfer portal with a couple of strong notable additions.

L.J. Cryer

Senior L.J. Cryer spent his last two seasons with the Cougars, but was previously a Baylor Bear for three years. The guard has seen the most action of his career with the Cougars where he averages more than 15 points and is shooting 40%. Cryer had a huge impact in Houston’s region final matchup with the Tennessee Volunteers, where he posted 30 points in a five-point victory to advance in the tournament.

Milos Uzan

Junior and first-year Cougar Milos Uzan has been a solid addition. He has shot 48% throughout the tournament and played 83% of all minutes in the same span. Uzan was previously with the Oklahoma Sooners where he made the 2023 Big 12 All-Freshman team and was a No. 1 overall prospect in the state of Nevada.

Final Four Action

Florida will take on Auburn in the first slate of action on Saturday with tip-off at 6:09 p.m. on CBS. On the other side of the bracket features Duke facing off against Houston. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:49 p.m. on the same network. The National Championship is Monday at 8:50 p.m. where two of the remaining teams will compete for the NCAA title.

The new faces of the Final Four will look to bring their team to the pinnacle of “The Big Dance.”

Your 2025 Final Four pic.twitter.com/ZXIC8coJjQ

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 30, 2025