NBA legend Chris Bosh overses an NBA Academy Africa clinic in Senegal in 2019.

Both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments are underway this week as 68 teams will compete for a coveted NCAA title. This season, there is a strong contingent of international players from the NBA Academy competing in the NCAA Tournament.

The NBA Academy is a year-round basketball development program that provides top high school-age athletes from outside the United States with a pathway to maximize their potential. The program includes four academies across Australia, India, Mexico and Senegal for the premier athletes from their respective countries and continents.

The program builds on the NBA’s other international basketball developmental initiatives, including Basketball Without Borders. BWB is the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program that has seen more than 90 former campers drafted into the NBA or signed as free agents since 2001.

At the Academy, athletes learn the game of basketball and gain invaluable lessons from coaches with professional, collegiate, and international coaching experience. Players in the program compete against top competition and play for travel teams in international tournaments and exhibitions as well. While the program focuses on improving players’ skills and preparing them for the next level, it also allows them to work on health and wellness, character development, and learning life skills. Additionally, each Academy member is a full-time student and receives a full scholarship.

Four NBA Academy graduates are NBA players: Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey (Australia; NBA Global Academy), New Orleans Pelicans forward Dyson Daniels (Australia; NBA Global Academy), Portland Trail Blazers center Ibou Badji (Senegal; NBA Academy Africa) and Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin (Canada; NBA Academy Latin America).

In total, over 90 NBA Academy participants (52 men and 42 women) have committed to or gone on to attend NCAA Division I schools. And in this year’s NCAA Tournaments, there are 40 Academy alums eyeing the top prize in college basketball.

In this year’s men’s NCAA tournament, there are 20 NBA Academy alumni from 15 countries. This includes the Pac-12’s Most Improved Player, Oumar Ballo of Arizona (Mali), Tennessee’s All-SEC First-Team guard Santiago Vescovi (Uruguay) and Duke’s starting point guard, Tyrese Proctor (Australia).

Tennessee guard Santiago Vescovi is an NBA Academy alum who will be playing in the NCAA Tournament.

On the women’s side, there are 20 NBA Academy alumni from 11 countries participating in the women’s tournament. Notable alumni include Virginia Tech’s All-ACC First-Teamer Georgia Amoore (Australia), UConn’s all-time single-season assist record holder Nika Muhl (Croatia) and her teammate Aaliyah Edwards (Canada).

NBA Academy alum Nika Muhl and the UConn Huskies are the No. 2 seed in the Seattle region.

Chris Ebersole, head of elite basketball at the NBA, is thrilled to see the growth of the program, which has now expanded to 40 Academy alumni playing in this year’s NCAA Tournaments.

“It’s rewarding to see the hard work of these young men and women pay off,” Ebersole said in a statement.

“In 2018, Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Francisco Caffaro became the first NBA Academy graduates to commit to NCAA Division-I programs before going on to each win an NCAA Championship.”

“We’re excited to see who will follow in Jonathan’s and Francisco’s shoes as the next NCAA Champion. More importantly, we’re incredibly proud of our alumni, who are not only great ambassadors for the NBA Academy program but also role models for aspiring players from their home countries around the world.”

Come early April, a men’s and women’s national champion will be crowned. Perhaps an NBA Academy alumni or two will become the next Cinderella story or even a national champion.