The 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket is set, with the field of 68 officially being whittled down to one national champion over the course of the next month. The one thing that will be different about this tournament is a change in the lead announcer spot, with Ian Eagle officially replacing Jim Nantz on the top broadcasting crew. The full list of announcer teams is available here.
Below we’ll go over our top five announcing teams for this year’s tournament.
2024 March Madness announcer rankings
No. 5: Brad Nessler, Brendan Haywood, Dana Jacobson
Nessler has done well filling in for Verne Lundquist on the football front but he’s still not quite there on the basketball front. However, Jacobson is one of the most experienced sideline reporters in the tournament and usually gets the best information from coaches. That’s enough to push this group into the top five.
No. 4: Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, Allie LaForce
Jackson is one of the rising commentators in this tournament, doing better as this season went on. Anderson and LaForce are passable but Jackson’s insights are enough to put this group here.
No. 3: Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy, Andy Katz
I’m not the biggest fan of Katz, and Bonner has slipped over the last few years. However, I think the combination of Harlan and Van Gundy is one of the best in March Madness. Harlan is my favorite play-by-play announcer in the tournament and usually adds to the broadcast in every sport he calls. Van Gundy doesn’t quite have his brother Jeff’s tangents but he provides good analysis and has a sense of humor. That makes him a good fit next to Harlan.
No. 2: Lisa Byington, Steve Smith, Robbie Hummel, Lauren Shehadi
You’d have the top crew by a decent margin if you put Hummel or Smith and Shehadi on a broadcast with Harlan and Van Gundy. This crew is the perfect mix of strong analysis, excitement and good information from the sidelines. The only thing holding them back from the top spot is the lack of notoriety across multiple tournaments. It’s hard to see them taking over as the lead crew for March Madness but they’re a strong No. 2 with plenty of potential.
No. 1: Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson
I’m not a huge fan of Hill, and Eagle is probably behind Harlan when it comes to the play-by-play side of things. However, Raftery and Wolfson are staples of the NCAA tournament and probably rank the highest in their respective roles. It can be argued a lot of Raftery’s “catchphrases” don’t actually make a ton of sense, and he’s probably leaned into those more than he should over the last few tournaments. While it feels cliched to rank this group at the top, it’s hard to justify putting anyone else ahead of these four.