Welcome to our annual rankings of the NCAA Tournament broadcast teams, counting down from #8 to #1. We received nearly 1,000 votes this year and the average score was a quite strong 2.97. CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery did a bang-up job putting together the lineup of broadcasters this season, which the rankings will show.
Here’s a look at the vote tallies and percentages.
Previous reader-voted rankings: 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023.
8. Lisa Byington, Steve Smith, Robbie Hummel – 2.26
Most common grade: C (32.93% of votes)
Previous scores: 2.04 (2021, Byington and Smith), 1.93 (2023, Byington, Smith, Avery Johnson)
Previous rankings: 10th of 10 (2021, Byington and Smith), 8th of 8 (2023, Byington, Smith, Avery Johnson)
Breakdown: Swapping out Avery Johnston for Robbie Hummel was a net positive for this crew, though they still came in at the bottom of this year’s rankings. The Byington/Smith/Hummel trio wasn’t actively bad, but it just paled in comparison to some of the other teams that called games throughout this year’s tournament.
7. Tom McCarthy, Deb Antonelli, Avery Johnson – 2.33
Most common grade: C (34.87% of votes)
Previous scores: N/A
Previous rankings: N/A
Breakdown: My comments for McCarthy, Antonelli, and Johnson are pretty similar to those for Byington, Smith, and Hummel. They’re not out of place calling games in the tournament, but they’re also not going to light the world on fire.
6. Brad Nessler, Brendan Haywood – 2.73
Most common grade: B (42.84% of votes)
Previous scores: 2.75 (2023
Previous rankings: 6th of 8 (2023)
Breakdown: Nessler and Haywood come in at the same spot with nearly the same score as a year ago. Given Nessler’s pedigree and the overall positive feedback he gets, across both football and basketball, you might expect him to be higher. However, this ranking says more about the other teams than it does about Nessler and Haywood.
5. Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas – 2.91
Most common grade: B (42.09% of votes)
Previous scores: 2.27 (2015), 2.12 (2016), 2.20 (2018), 2.31 (2019), 2.60 (2021), 3.00 (2023)
Previous rankings: 8th of 8 (2015), 7th of 8 (2016, 2018, 2019), 6th of 10 (2021), 5th of 8 (2023)
Breakdown: Catalon and Lappas got the promotion to the second week this year and made the most of their opportunity. I haven’t been the biggest fan of their work together over the years, but there’s no denying they have plenty of chemistry together and did a pretty good job in 2024.
4. Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel – 3.01
Most common grade: B (44.19% of votes)
Previous scores: N/A (Spanarkel scored 3.56 in 2018, 3.57 in 2019, and 3.73 in 2023, all with Ian Eagle, while Dedes scored 2.25 in 2023 with Deb Antonelli)
Previous rankings: N/A (Spanarkel ranked first in 2018, 2019, and 2023 with Eagle, while Dedes ranked 7th of 8 in 2023 with Antonelli)
Breakdown: Dedes has always seemed to get a raw deal on both these rankings and the annual NFL rankings, but he thrived this year with a fantastic partner in Spanarkel. He scored pretty well in previous editions of March Madness when working with Len Elmore, and he delivered a strong performance this year with Spanarkel. I would have zero issues with them working again next year.
3. Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson – 3.16
Most common grade: B (45.02% of votes)
Previous scores: 2.84 (2021), 3.10 (2023)
Previous rankings: 5th of 10 (2021), 4th of 8 (2023)
Breakdown: Anderson and Jackson continue to improve as a duo, but their upward mobility is limited by how well-regarded the top two teams are year in and year out. I still prefer Anderson’s work on baseball over his basketball work, but that’s nitpicking. Warner Bros. Discovery is still probably thrilled with the way these two work together in March.
2. Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy – 3.68
Most common grade: A (76.85% of votes)
Previous scores: 3.64 (2023)
Previous rankings: 2nd of 8 (2023)
Breakdown: Harlan and Bonner have such incredible chemistry after working together for all these years. Van Gundy and Harlan also have great chemistry and the trio barely misses a beat when calling games. The only reason these three aren’t at the top of the rankings is because CBS captured lightning in a bottle with their new top broadcast team.
1. Ian Eagle, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill – 3.70
Most common grade: A (76.77% of votes)
Previous scores: N/A (Eagle scored 3.56 in 2018, 3.57 in 2019, and 3.73 in 2023, all with Jim Spanarkel, while Raftery and Hill scored 3.21 in 2015, 3.18 in 2016, 3.34 in 2018, 3.36 in 2019, and 3.36 in 2023, all with Jim Nantz)
Previous rankings: N/A (Eagle ranked first in 2018, 2019, and 2023 with Spanarkel, while Raftery and Hill ranked 2nd of 8 in 2015, 2016, and 2019, and 3rd of 8 in 2018 and 2023, all with Jim Nantz)
Breakdown: The trio of Jim Nantz, Raftery, and Hill was always well-regarded, but never leaped into iconic status, getting topped either by Eagle and Spanarkel or Verne Lundquist and Spanarkel. Nantz’s retirement from March Madness after last year’s tournament opened up a spot for Eagle alongside Raftery and Hill, and the results this year were magical. Please give us at least five more years of these three working together.
