Ranking all 68 of the 2025 men's March Madness teams by mascot

[ASFN Admin]

That’s right, friends: With the bracket being revealed, March Madness is officially HERE.

And we know the next few days until the first round of the 2025 NCAA men’s tournament will be spent with you filling out your bracket, erasing it, filling it out again, tweaking it, tweaking it again and then making last-second changes before the first game after the First Four tips off on Thursday.

If you’re into doing deep research with stats, rankings, and history? Well, I’m sorry. This isn’t the list for you.

This is the ninth (!) annual version of the list to help you pick your bracket based on team nicknames or mascots.

My completely non-scientific system is based on a combination of moniker creativity, how threatening the mascot is and, sometimes, the look of the costumed thing.

Let’s jump right in:

68. San Diego State Aztecs​

We've talked about this for years: no mascot, bad ranking. We're still waiting for San Diego State to replace the offensive Aztec Warrior.

67. Illinois Fighting Illini​

They also got rid of their offensive mascot and the Kingfisher isn't official yet.

66. Michigan Wolverines​

No mascot! Get a scary wolverine! It's so easy!

65. Kentucky Wildcats​

My gripe every year: too many Wildcat names.

64. Arizona Wildcats​

63. Auburn Tigers​

Too many Tigers.

62. Clemson Tigers​

61. Memphis Tigers​

60. Missouri Tigers​

59. High Point Panthers​

More big cats? Yawn.

58. BYU Cougars​

57. Houston Cougars​

56. SIU Edwardsville Cougars​

55. Baylor Bears​

Bears are scarier IMO.

54. UCLA Bruins​

53. Montana Grizzlies​

52. Georgia Bulldogs​

I know there are too many Bulldogs, but DOGS ARE THE BEST!

51. Mississippi State Bulldogs​

50. Yale Bulldogs​

49. Gonzaga Bulldogs​

48. Drake Bulldogs​

47. Bryan Bulldogs​

46. UConn Huskies​

45. Wofford Terriers​

44. American Eagles​

Birds of prey are no joke.

43. Marquette Golden Eagles​

Bonus points for gold.

42. NC Wilmington Seahawks​

Fun fact: Seahawks aren't an actual bird. We've reached the "cool names, but there are issues" tier.

41. St. John's Red Storm​

I want, like, a storm mascot. Instead, Johnny Thunderbird is a bird.

40. Iowa State Cyclones​

I want, like, a cyclone mascot. Instead, Cy the Cardinal is a bird.

39. Liberty Flames​

I want, like, a flame mascot. Instead, Sparky the Eagle is a bird.

38. Creighton Bluejays​

This always bothers me. It's a typo. They'd be higher if it was spelled "Blue Jays."

37. Colorado State Rams​

36. VCU Rams​

35. Norfolk State Spartans​

Defeated by the other Spartans (see below).

34. Louisville Cardinals​

We've reached the bluebloods tier. Classic mascots where you can't go wrong.

33. Maryland Terripans​

32. Tennessee Volunteers​

31. Florida Gators​

30. Duke Blue Devils​

29. North Carolina Tarheels​

28. Texas Longhorns​

27. Wisconsin Badgers​

Shoutout to my mom, a proud Wisconsin alum.

26. Oregon Ducks​

Shoutout to FTW's Bryan Kalbrosky, a proud Oregon alum.

25. Kansas Jayhawks​

Shoutout to FTW's Andrew Joseph and Blake Schuster, proud Kansas alums.

24. Michigan State Spartans​

Shoutout to FTW's Michelle Martinelli, a proud Michigan State alum.

23. Vanderbilt Commodores​

Shoutout to FTW's Christian D'Andrea, a proud Vanderbilt alum.

22. Alabama Crimson Tide​

Shoutout to me, the biggest Steely Dan fan.

21. Oklahoma Sooners​

I just love that their mascot is a big wagon. Quirky!

20. Arkansas Razorbacks​

19. Purdue Boilermakers​

The tier of "these mascots freak me out so I have to rank them higher."

18. Robert Morris Colonials​

17. Lipscomb Bisons​

16. Ole Miss Rebels​

15. Omaha Mavericks​

14. Alabama State Hornets​

Hornets are scary as heck.

13. McNeese Cowboys​

Rowdy the Cowboy was named after Clint Eastwood's Rawhide character. Extra points.

12. Texas A&M Aggies​

Reveille is a live mascot, which is the best, and then there are the rules about her:

Company E-2 has the privilege of taking care of Reveille. If she is sleeping on a cadet's bed, that cadet must sleep on the floor. Cadets address Reveille as "Miss Rev, ma'am." If she is in class and barks while the professor is teaching, the class is to be immediately dismissed.

11. Saint Mary's Gaels​

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I just love this guy.

10. Texas Tech Red Raiders​

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And this guy.

9. Troy Trojans​

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And this guy, whose name is T-Roy. LOL.

8. Xavier Musketeers​

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How can you not love D'Artagnan's mustache?

7. Utah State Aggies​

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Big Blue rules.

6. New Mexico Lobos​

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So goofy, I had to put this one here.

5. Akron Zips​

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A kangaroo!

4. Grand Canyon Lopes​

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An antelope!

3. Mount Saint Mary's Mountaineers​

As it turns out, the MAAC Mascot Game was predictive of the MAAC Tournament champion.

Emmitt S. Burg - this is your moment https://t.co/wguqzZOV0lpic.twitter.com/Vj0nM7NHjF

— Sam Federman (@Sam_Federman) March 16, 2025

His name is Emmitt S. Burg (because the university is in Emmitsburg). And he's glorious.

2. St. Francis Red Flash​

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SO CLOSE TO WINNING. LOOK AT THAT FACE!

1. UCSD Tritons​

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How can I not give it to the god? Too perfect. I bow down to King Triton.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: March Madness mascots ranked for all 68 NCAA tournament teams

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