Utah man has ESPN’s best NCAA tournament bracket in the country right now
Apr 7, 2025, 2:48 PM | Updated: 5:20 pm
Houston's Ja'Vier Francis (5) celebrates with teammates after Houston beat Duke in the national semifinals at the Final Four of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
SALT LAKE CITY — A Pleasant Grove man stands to win bragging rights for the rest of his life Monday night.
Jeremy Pratt has ESPN’s best NCAA tournament bracket in the country right now for “March Madness.” If Houston wins, he will hold onto that title.
“I can’t help but wonder if Houston will win at all,” Pratt said. “If they win, then that puts me as the outright champion. But if they lose, then it’s all for naught and I lose my place as the number one bracket holder.”
The odds of having a perfect bracket are one in 9.2 quintillion. All Pratt has to do is best the 24 million brackets in ESPN’s tournament challenge. Easy right?
A Pleasant Grove man stands to win bragging rights for the rest of his life Monday night. (Carter Williams/KSL.com)
So, how did Pratt pick?
“To be completely honest, there’s not a whole lot of preparation that went into things,” Pratt said.
He has followed the tournament since he was a kid growing up near Boise. He went to first round games, watching from the Boise section in the Boise Stadium.
“So it’s always been something that I’ve always had a love for,” Pratt said. “I love the thrill, the upsets, everything that goes on in March Madness itself.”
Pratt said he has managed the bracket for his work for the past nine years. He made two brackets this year — the first was “on a whim,” then he went back and made another, thinking more about the different possibilities.
He missed three games in the first round: McNeese Cowboys vs. Clemson Tigers, Colorado State Rams vs. Memphis Tigers and Drake Bulldogs vs. Missouri Tigers.
He said he noticed his second bracket starting to lead on March 24. He sent a coworker a screenshot of his bracket, saying, “look at this, what a surprise, I’m sitting tenth place overall.”
He said he is rooting for Houston on Monday, because of their match against the BYU Cougars in the conference championship.
As for Monday night’s game, Pratt will be watching at home with his family. If Pratt continues to hold the title of best bracket, he won’t be guaranteed to win any money, but he will get to keep the bragging rights.
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