Congrats to the Fresno State Bulldogs, who fans voted as the school with the top alumni trio of current NFL, MLB and NBA stars.
What started as an eight-team bracket ended with a resounding finals victory, in which Fresno State (Derek Carr, Aaron Judge and Paul George) topped Texas A&M (Von Miller, Michael Wacha and DeAndre Jordan) with 92 percent of social media votes. Here's how the rest of the eight-team field lined up after three rounds and seven different matchups that were released over the past week by NCAA.com:
- Fresno State
- Texas A&M
- Arizona State
- Michigan
- Georgia
- North Carolina
- Texas
- UCLA
Fans helped decide which schools moved on by tweeting each trio's designated hashtag or commenting on Facebook once a new matchup was revealed each day.
Scroll below for the final results of each matchup and for a deeper look at the winning trio from Fresno State:
FINALS:
Fresno State vs. Texas A&M (Fresno State wins win 92 percent of the vote)
SEMIFINALS:
Fresno State vs. Arizona State (Fresno State wins win 85 percent of the vote)
Texas A&M vs. Michigan (Texas A&M wins with 73 percent of the vote)
QUARTERFINALS:
Fresno State vs. Georgia (Fresno state wins with 89 percent of the vote)
Texas vs. Texas A&M (Texas A&M wins with 70 percent of the vote)
Michigan vs. UCLA (Michigan wins with 55 percent of the vote)
North Carolina vs. Arizona State (Arizona State wins with 60 percent of the vote)
Get to know Fresno State's trio:
FRESNO STATE
Tweet to vote #FresnoTrio
Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders | 2009-13
Carr was a three-year starter and back-to-back Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year under center for the Bulldogs. In his senior season, he became only the fourth FBS quarterback to register 5,000 passing yards and 50 touchdowns in a single season. Carr was drafted with the first pick of the second round in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders, with whom he’s developed into one of the league’s premier passers. Carr is a two-time Pro Bowler and currently ranks ninth in the NFL with 11 touchdown passes this year.
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees | 2011-13
Before Judge became the face of baseball’s most historic franchise, the 6-7, 230-pound right fielder was a solid for two Fresno State NCAA tournament teams. Judge finished with a .345 batting average and .988 OPS with 18 home runs in his three years as a Bulldog. His power first blossomed his sophomore year when he won the College Home Run Derby. In his first full season with the Yankees in 2017, the MVP and Rookie of the Year candidate crushed 52 home runs, including one 495-foot moonshot.
Paul George, Oklahoma City Thunder | 2008-10
George was an electric two-time Second-Team All-WAC selection who soared for dazzling dunks and showed defensive tenacity at Fresno State. The forward averaged more than 15 points, six rebounds and two steals per game over two seasons. In 2010, George was selected 10th overall by the Indiana Pacers, where he became a four-time NBA All Star, 2014 All-Defensive second teamer and a 2016 Team USA Olympic gold medalist. This season marks his first with the Thunder.
Honorable mentions:
These eight trios were far from the only worthy candidates. Here are some honorable mentions that just missed cracking the quarterfinals (in alphabetical order):
- Cincinnati: Travis Kelce (Kansas City Chiefs); Josh Harrison (Pittsburgh Pirates); Lance Stephenson (Indiana Pacers)
- Duke: Jamison Crowder (Washington Redskins); Marcus Stroman (Toronto Blue Jays); Kyrie Irving (Boston Celtics)
- Georgia Tech: Demaryius Thomas (Denver Broncos); Charlie Blackmon (Colorado Rockies); Derrick Favors (Utah Jazz)
- Missouri: Jeremy Maclin (Baltimore Ravens); Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals); DeMarre Carroll (Brooklyn Nets)
- Virginia: Chris Long (Philadelphia Eagles); Ryan Zimmerman (Washington Nationals); Malcolm Brogdon (Milwaukee Bucks)
- Washington: Marcus Peters (Kansas City Chiefs); Jake Lamb (Arizona Diamondbacks); Isaiah Thomas (Cleveland Cavaliers)
