The 2025 NCAA Tournament enters the Sweet 16, and teams on Thursday and Friday will be playing for a chance at reaching the Elite Eight. We've got 16 talented teams in the round, including the No. 1 seeds in Florida, Duke, Houston and Auburn all still competing.
All eyes will also be on the likes of Alabama, BYU, Texas Tech, Arkansas, Michigan State and Ole Miss, as well. As far as players go, Florida's Walker Clayton Jr., Maryland's Derik Queen and Kentucky's Koby Brea have all stood out so far.
But what about some of the more veteran leaders? There are plenty of older players excelling in this year's tournament, like Arizona's Caleb Love, BYU's Trevin Neal and Auburn's Chad Baker-Mazara.
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Let's run though some of the oldest players in this year's Sweet 16.
BYU guard Trevin Knell, 26
No. 6 BYU is set to take on No. 2 Alabama on Thursday evening.
Knell's college basketball journey is a unique one, and he is the oldest player in this year's tournament. He was a high school recruit from the class of 2017, ranked as a 3-star recruit per 247Sports. He was the No. 3 overall prospect out of the state of Utah and initially signed with Cal. But he was released from his NIL deal after the Bears fired their head coach Cuonzo Martin and ultimately signed with BYU.
But his collegiate career was delayed for two years, as he took Mormon mission trips before his first season with the Cougars in 2019-20. He also took a medical redshirt during his 2022-23 season due to a shoulder injury.
During his senior season at BYU, he turned 26 years old and he's been married since 2021. He's having one of the best seasons of his career yet with the Cougars, averaging 9.1 points per game and shooting 44 percent from the three-point line. He had a buzzer-beating three pointer against Wisconsin in the second round:
BYU three to beat the half-time buzzer ‼️
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2025
Cougars are DIALED IN 😤#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/jgpbx45HgB
BYU will need a big performance like Knell's 14-points against the Badgers if the Cougars want to upset the Tide.
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Auburn's Chad Baker-Mazara and Denver Jones, 25
Auburn will look to make it to the Elite Eight for the third time in school history, drawing No. 5 Michigan on Friday evening.
Auburn has a pair of two talented guards in Chad Barker-Mazara and Denver Jones. Both came to Auburn via the transfer portal. They both took the JUCO route out of high school, too—Jones spent a season at Garden City C.C. before playing for FIU from 2021-2023.
Barker-Mazara started his collegiate career at JUCO Northwest Florida State College, then spent a season at Duquesne, followed by a year at San Diego State from 2021-2022. Both guys joined the Tigers' prior to the 2023 season.
One thing to keep an eye on for Barker-Mazara, he left Auburn's game against Creighton after taking a hard fall on his hip. Pearl sad after the game that he likely got a "pretty good bruise" and hopefully that's all it was.
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Arizona guard Caleb Love, 24
The No. 4 seeded Arizona Wildcats are taking on the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils on Thursday evening.
Wildcat senior guard Caleb Love is one of the oldest players in the Sweet 16. At 24, he brings a ton of experience to Arizona's frontcourt. He leads the Wildcats with 16.8 points per game, adding another 4.4 rebounds per game. Prior to playing Arizona the last two seasons, he spent the first three seasons of his career at North Carolina.
In Arizona's first two tournament games, he's had a combined 39 points with 16 rebounds and eight assists. He'll need to have a big game going up against the Blue Devils' defense, which ranks fourth overall in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency.
Ole Miss forward Jaemyn Brakefield, 24
Ole Miss is in the midst of an impressive tournament run, having just knocked off No. 3 Iowa State in the second round.
The Rebels can rely on the veteran experience of senior forward Jaeym Brakefield. He's second on the team in points per game, averaging 11.1 per contest. He's shooting an impressive 51.2 percent from the floor, too.
Brakefield is a former 4-star recruit out of the class of 2020, and was the No.1 overall prospect out of West Virginia and the No. 6 overall power forward for 2020. He spent his first season at Duke but played in just 22 games as a true freshman. He transferred to Ole Miss before the 2021 season.
Oldest players in 2025 Sweet 16 round of NCAA Tournament
Let's take a look at the oldest players remaining in the NCAA Tournament.
| Player | School | Age |
| Trevin Knell | BYU | 26 |
| Chad Baker-Mazara | Auburn | 25 |
| Denver Jones | Auburn | 25 |
| Jaemyn Brakefield | Ole Miss | 24 |
| Caleb Love | Arizona | 24 |
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