a Sample of NCAA Players With Farming Backgrounds

Agriculture and basketball have been intertwined since the sport’s inception in 1891. 

James Naismith created the sport of basketball at a Massachusetts YMCA, using a ball and peach baskets (where the game got its name) in an effort to create new indoor activities for members. Before inventing basketball, Naismith grew up on a farm in Almonte, Ontario, Canada, and often did chores around his grandparents’ property after school — learning how to “chop trees, saw logs, and drive horses” as a kid, according to the Naismith Basketball Foundation.

The connection between basketball and agriculture has continued into the modern day — and the 2025 men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments are no exception. March Madness is one of the most exciting sports occasions of the year — over three weeks of nonstop, single-elimination basketball. The first round of the men’s tournament kicks off March 20 at 11:10 a.m. CT, while the women’s first round begins March 21 at 10:30 a.m. CT.

Although it is hard to catch every farming connection in the 136 teams that make the men’s and women’s tournaments (68 for each) and additional teams in other postseason events, Successful Farming has compiled the stories from a few of the most well-documented NCAA athletes with farming connections whose teams will be playing in this year’s tournament.

Women’s Basketball

Allison Weidner, Redshirt Junior, Nebraska

Farming is an integral part of University of Nebraska women’s basketball redshirt junior guard Allison Weidner’s story. Hailing from the northeast Nebraska farming community of Humphrey, Weidner grew up on her family’s farm and learned the ropes early on. In an interview with Big Ten Network in 2023, Weidner said of her farming lifestyle growing up, “It reflects a little bit in how I play: gritty and hardworking and doing the small things.”

During Nebraska’s fall break in 2023, Weidner took her Cornhuskers teammates to Humphrey to show them the farming community she called home. Trips to multiple family farms, including her own family’s land, and a trip to a local pumpkin patch were documented by the Big Ten Network. Weidner again took the team to Humphrey in 2024, visiting neighboring farms to show her teammates horse riding and how to milk a dairy cow as part of the second “Farm Day” trip.

Injuries have been an unfortunate part of Weidner’s Nebraska career, suffering knee ligament injuries in the 2022-2023, 2023-2024, and 2024-2025 seasons. She will not be on the court when Nebraska plays its first-round NCAA tournament game at 5 p.m. CT on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas (TV coverage on ESPN). However, Huskers head coach Amy Williams has said Weidner is key to the success of the basketball program despite her unlucky injuries. 

“I could not commend Natalie Potts and Allison Weidner more for the way that they have continued to pour into this team,” Williams told reporters after a victory over Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament. “Even though they are not able to be on the court getting game minutes, the way they pour into and continue to establish the culture for our program has been nothing short of just incredible. Their impact is still very felt.”

Georgia Amoore, Senior, Kentucky

Georgia Amoore has been a star for the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team in 2024-2025, averaging a team-high 19.1 points per game and leading the Wildcats to a No. 4 seed in the women’s NCAA tournament.

Amoore is doing so over 10,000 miles from home — Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, to pursue a collegiate basketball career in the U.S. at Virginia Tech.

According to an article from the Washington Post, Amoore grew up on a horse farm 70 miles from Melbourne, where her mother Kelly “rehabilitated and reconditioned” racehorses and is a qualified thoroughbred horse trainer. When Amoore transferred to Kentucky from Virginia Tech, Kelly told Kentucky sports columnist Larry Vaught about her excitement regarding the state’s horse-racing heritage. 

“I was so excited when I knew that Georgia was going to Kentucky because of the horses,” Kelly said to Your Sports Edge.

Amoore and the Wildcats take on No. 13 seed Liberty Friday at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN.

Men’s Basketball

Will Tschetter, Redshirt Junior, Michigan

Will Tschetter (pronounced cheddar, like the cheese) has been a key contributor for a Michigan basketball team that won the Big Ten Conference Tournament and earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Tschetter has been with the Wolverines since the 2021-2022 season and is averaging 6.6 points per game in 16.1 minutes per contest in 2024-2025, shooting 36% on the season from 3-point range.

Tschetter spent much of his childhood on his grandparents’ farm near Stewartville, Minnesota, where, according to his biography page on Michigan‘s roster, he “took a particular interest in freshwater ecosystems”  and has subsequently studied earth and environmental science at Michigan (and is currently in a master’s program for environment and sustainability in ecosystem science and management, per Michigan’s website). 

Tschetter is the first player from Stewartville to play in the Big Ten.

In 2023, Tschetter spent a month interning on a bison ranch in Montana to study regenerative agriculture and focused on wind and water conservation. His time at the North Badger Bison Ranch was spent working on stream beds and wetlands on the property to fight erosion. 

Tschetter’s bio also said he “created a beaver mimicry structure, which resembles a beaver dam and moderates the flow of streams to retain water on the ranch.” In an interview with MLive after the internship, he said one of the most interesting things about the internship was the “field harvest” process.

“The way the bison were being raised on the ranch — it’s regenerative, it’s promoting biodiversity,” he told MLive.

Michigan plays No. 12 seed UC San Diego at 9 p.m. CT on TBS.

Andrew Morgan, Senior, Nebraska

Nebraska forward Andrew Morgan has been around farming since he was born. Raised on a farm near Waseca, Minnesota, in the southern part of the state, Morgan said he has been in and around farming as long as he can remember. Morgan was involved in farmwork throughout his childhood and has studied agriculture at both North Dakota State and Nebraska. He told Successful Farming that his goal after his career is to return to the family farm.

The senior averaged 8.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game in the Huskers’ regular season, scoring a season-high 18 points against Penn State in February.

Nebraska is not in the NCAA tournament, but is in the field of the inaugural College Basketball Crown. The Huskers’ first game in the new postseason tournament is March 31 against Arizona State at 6:30 p.m. CT, with TV coverage from Fox Sports 1. 

Where and When to Watch

The NCAA men’s basketball tournament begins first round play at 11:15 a.m. CT on March 20, when Louisville and Creighton tip off on CBS. Tournament play runs through April 7, with all television coverage coming from CBS, TNT, TruTV, and TBS. 

The NCAA women’s basketball tournament begins first round play at 10:30 a.m. CT on March 21, when Michigan plays Iowa State on ESPN. Tournament play runs through April 6, with all television coverage coming from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, and ABC.

Have any other NCAA basketball players participating in NCAA tournament action that we may have missed? Send them our way!