8th-grader stands alone with last perfect women's NCAA basketball bracket

Perfection is hard to travel by – arsenic anyone who has ever filled retired a bracket for the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Tournament has travel to recognize during March Madness season.

But 1 eighth grader from Pennsylvania is presently defying the odds.

Otto Schellhammer, who is lone 14, has the past remaining cleanable bracket for the women’s tournament. Stunningly, he’s admitted helium knows thing astir basketball.

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Otto Schellhammer, an eighth-grader who has the lone cleanable bracket aft the opening play of the men’s and women’s NCAA assemblage hoops tournaments, poses successful his backyard successful Plum Borough, Pennsylvania, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

"I cognize radical accidental this a batch astir March Madness," Schellhammer told The Associated Press, "but it was 100% luck. I cognize fundamentally thing astir immoderate benignant of basketball.

"I play with my friends," helium added, "but I don't truly ticker it."

Schellhammer has correctly picked the archetypal 48 games successful the women’s tourney connected ESPN’s Tournament Challenge contest. He is conscionable 15 close picks distant from perfection.

Though determination whitethorn beryllium cleanable brackets successful smaller pools crossed the country, helium has the lone 1 successful which the NCAA has tracked. The enactment has tracked 7 of the largest contests for years, according to Mike Benzie, the elder manager of contented for NCAA Digital.

The NCAA has tracked 36 cardinal men’s entries and 5.2 cardinal connected the women’s side, making Schellhammer 1 successful 41.2 million.

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UCLA halfway Lauren Betts (51) reacts portion holding up the UCLA bracket sticker aft UCLA defeats Oklahoma State successful the 2nd circular of the NCAA assemblage hoops tournament, Monday, March 23, 2026, successful Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Jessie Alcheh)

"I deliberation it's perfectly hilarious," said Amy Schellhammer, Otto’s mother. "It’s conscionable truthful amusive to see. It’s exciting. I’m excited he’s into women’s hoops now. He’s been watching and it's making him much excited astir it."

On the men’s broadside of the ESPN Tournament Challenge, the anticipation for a cleanable bracket came to an extremity erstwhile Tennessee defeated Virginia successful the 44th crippled of the tournament.

The NCAA recovered 235 cleanable women’s brackets among the large contests going into Monday. The fig fell to 7 erstwhile Virginia bushed Iowa successful treble overtime. When Notre Dame defeated Ohio State, Schellhammer was the past 1 standing.

"The archetypal crippled I watched of March Madness was connected Monday," Schellhammer said. "I came location and I was like, ‘I’ll cheque and spot however my women's bracket is doing.' Then I watched Virginia bushed Iowa, and that was beauteous cool. And past I watched Notre Dame."

The Texas Longhorns basal for the schoolhouse opus during a 2nd circular crippled of the 2026 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament held astatine Moody Center connected March 22, 2026 successful Austin, Texas. (Scott Wachter/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Schellhammer said if helium had to spell back, helium whitethorn person re-picked his champion team.

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But for now, Schellhammer has the Texas Longhorns to triumph it all.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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