WVU basketball alumni Team 'Best Virginia' is set for another run in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) this summer. 2025 will be Best Virginia's sixth appearance in the tournament, and they have an overall record of 8-5 in their previous runs at the event.
What is The Basketball Tournament?
If you’re not familiar with The Basketball Tournament, it is a winner-take-all, single-elimination tournament comprised of 64 teams spanning 8 regions throughout the country. The grand prize is $1 million. Round One action begins Friday, July 18, and the championship game is set for Sunday, August 3.
West Virginia Region
Best Virginia will be playing in the West Virginia Regional this weekend. The games will be held at the Charleston Civic Center from July 18-22.
As the 3 seed in the region, Best Virginia will face off with the 6-seed Dubois Dream at 8pm ET on Friday night. Dubois Dream has spent five summers as part of TBT but has yet to win a game. Should Best Virginia win, they could potentially have a highly-anticipated matchup with Marshall alumni squad Herd That on Sunday, July 20th at the Civic Center. The two alumni teams faced off before in TBT a couple of years ago, and it was Herd That who secured a victory.
How To Watch
You can catch Round One action between Best Virginia and Dubois Dream on Friday, July 18, at 8pm EST on YouTube.
Who Will Play For Best Virginia?
As seems to be the case every year, there are late subtractions and additions to the Best Virginia roster. With a few Mountaineer alumni playing in the NBA Summer League and the likes of Jevon Carter and Deuce McBride solidifying themselves as NBA players, the Best Virginia team has to get creative in building their roster. The squad will be coached by Jarrod West, who played at WVU from 1994-98.
2025 Best Virginia Roster:
John Flowers (2007-2011)
Eduardo Andre (2024-25)
Wesley Harris (2017-19)
Kedrian Johnson (2020-23)
Tre Mitchell (2022-23)
Toby Okani (2024-25)
James Reese V (North Texas & South Carolina)
Isaiah Sanders (Farimont State)
Will Vorhees (Notre Dame College)
JD Weatherspoon (Ohio State & Toledo)
Jarrod West (Marshall & Louisville)
Best Virginia’s Outlook in TBT
Admittedly, it would be nice to have the likes of Erik Stevenson, Tarik Philip, Jaysean Page, and Kevin Jones -- just to name a few -- suiting up for Best Virginia in TBT this summer. While Best Virginia has won its fair share of games in TBT, they have yet to win the tournament despite being one of the favorites in at least a couple of these tournaments.
This year, there may be a little less pressure on the Best Virginia squad, without the likes of the players named above. On paper, they do not have the talent that they have put on the floor in previous tournaments. It will be interesting to see how this new-look team does in TBT this year.