The 2026 March Madness tournament stole the headlines on Monday after the No. 2-seeded UConn Huskies mounted a spectacular comeback to defeat the No. 1-seeded Duke Blue Devils in the Elite Eight on Sunday evening. UConn freshman Braylon Mullins iced the game with an iconic shot from 35 feet to seal a heart-stopping win and complete the Final Four bracket.
Alex Karaban will be playing in his third Final Four, but which player has made the most appearances in NCAA Tournament history?
Christian Laettner Among Players With 4 Final Four Appearances
There are four players who have appeared in four Final Fours: UCLA’s Ralph Drollinger and Duke’s Christian Laettner, Brian Davis, and Greg Koubek. Laettner was the only of this bunch to start in every Final Four appearance.
A number of other players have played in three Final Fours in their careers, including the legendary UCLA Bruins teams coached by John Wooden in the 1970s. Those teams won seven consecutive national championships and 10 titles in 12 years while led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (formerly known as Lew Alcindor).
Most recently, UConn forward Alex Karaban appeared in his third Final Four appearance. During an interview on “The Pat McAfee Show” over the weekend, UConn coach Dan Hurley lavished praise on Karaban’s longevity and accomplishments at UConn.
“He’s like a coach on the floor, he’s a coach in the facilities, he’s a coach in the dining room,” Hurley said. “He’s a coach in the apartments where the players live. It’s like having an associate head coach that’s with his teammates every second of the day. His mind for the game is head coach level for the way he can break it down.
“His habits rub off on everyone in the program in terms of his teammates. He peer-pressures them into film study. I’ll never coach another player like him, I’ll never have another run of success. This guy has the greatest career of any player that’s ever played at UConn’s men’s basketball.”
After the Huskies were denied a three-peat by the eventual champions, the Florida Gators, last season, Karaban tested the NBA Draft waters before opting to return to Storrs for an extra season. Now, after advancing to the national championship game once again, Karaban and Co. are one win away from their third title in four years.
UConn will face Michigan in the national title game on Monday at 8:50 p.m. ET at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
