The Surprise Stars of the 2026 Men’s March Madness Tournament
The first week of the 2025-2026 men’s March Madness Tournament is almost at an end. There have already been memorable upsets with surprising players who stepped up when the lights were the brightest. Even though unlikely wins have a good chance of having a surprising display from a player, wins by the favored team could also have statement performances from an unlikely player. While there have been upsets, there have also been close scores in matchups where a heavily one-sided battle was expected. This can also lead to a surprising performance from an unlikely player. A ‘surprising star’ is going to be defined as a player who is not the leading scorer of the team, has scored around 10 more points than their average, and has been a significant force to help their team win.
Perhaps the performance that stands out the most is from Terrence Hill Jr. Although the VCU guard leads the team in points with 15 per game, he was easily the standout player in the Rams’ 82-78 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Round of 64. Coming off the bench, Hill had 34 points, five rebounds, five assists, and shot an efficient 13 for 23 from the field while shooting seven for 10 from the three-point line. He outscored every single one of the starters for VCU and had more than double the points of the second leading scorer for the team, who had 16. What also makes this a surprising performance is just how much Hill stood out from the rest of the team. It was an eight-man rotation for the Rams, and only three players had double-digit points, with one starter having zero and another only having two points in 23 minutes. Although VCU lost its next game against Illinois, it would not have even had the opportunity to play if Hill hadn’t stepped up when it mattered most.
Another standout performance came from David Mirkovic in Illinois’s massive 105-75 win against Penn. The freshman forward is averaging 13.6 points per game this season, and he had 29 points with 17 rebounds, while also shooting an impressive 11-for-17 from the field and 4-for-7 from behind the arc. This is a good example of a team that had a 97.2% chance to win, but still had the non-leading scorer for the team be the leading force. While the Fighting Illini probably could have won without this performance, there might have been as much comfort in the win without him. This game shows that even in a heavily favored win, any player can step up and become notable.
A third surprising display is from another Illinois player. Andrej Stojakovic had a significant performance for the Fighting Illini in their 76-55 win over VCU in the Round of 32. The California native came off the bench and had 21 points on an inspiring seven of 12 shooting. Stojakovic is averaging 13.5 points and led the team in scoring in this matchup. While this was another blowout win for Illinois, it further proves the point that anybody can step up during any game, and it also shows how unpredictable March Madness can be. When it comes to the tournament, heroes can show up on any team at any time. No matter if it is fourth-ranked Illinois or 11th-ranked VCU, any player can become the star of the team.
