Since joining The Basketball Tournament (TBT) in 2018, We Are D3, the team with entirely of NCAA Division III alumni, had struggled in the first round for a long time. Until last summer, it had never won a TBT game.
But this year, We Are D3 flipped the script as it stunned the tournament’s top seed, Boeheim’s Army, with a dramatic buzzer-beater from Ty Nichols.
The point guard played the silencer in enemy territory, answering BA’s late rally with clutch shots during the Elam Ending. After Buddy Boeheim’s pull-up three in transition tied the score at 78. As both teams had two points left to reach the target, Nichols took it from there, blowing past Elijah Hughes, twisting on the way before launching a high-arcing floater over Jamil Wilson’s contest. The ball banked.
“We’re just trying to show the world small schools can play,” The Man of the Night said, who leapt onto the official’s table to celebrate his game-winning shot afterward, with all his teammates gathered around him to share the moment.
“It means a lot,” D3’s head coach Mike Rejniak said of the upset, who mentioned the team’s knockout in previous years, including losing to Boeheim’s Army 68-65 in 2019’s first round. The team soared after historically advancing to the Round of 32 last year as it made one step further to the Round of 16, the regional final in Syracuse, where it faces Stars of Storrs, composed of UConn’s alumni.
“We’ve been knocking on the doorstep. I just think it finally, all those scars kind of prepared us for that moment of last night, where we didn’t freak out too much. I thought we were pretty good in the moment, and we kept our cool,” Rejniak said. “But, it means everything for the brand, and it means everything for the program for sure.”
In 2018, We Are D3 was founded to showcase Division III talent on the national stage. What started as a “dream team” of all-star D-III standouts has developed into a year-round program with its own culture and identity. More than just competing in TBT, the program hosts pro combines for D-III players and creates scouting reports.
Despite early exits in previous TBT runs, including narrow losses to Boeheim’s Army in 2019 by two free throws, a heartbreaking tip-in by Mass Street in 2021, and a close defeat to Heatfire, We Are D3 never lost focus. Each year, the team renewed its commitment to “doing the little things”: rebounding, defensive rotations, and unselfish passing. The team built resilience and toughness from those near-misses.
“It’s part of our DNA,” Rejniak said. “We don’t have seven‑footers, we don’t have the guys played in the NBA. “So we got to do the little things to compete. If we just try and out-muscle somebody or outscore somebody, it’s not going to work.”
A month before tip-off this year, Rejniak and his staff laid the groundwork for a deep run by assembling a balanced roster and conducting virtual sessions. With players scattered across different countries, the team held Zoom calls to install plays and build chemistry remotely. They shortened their usual training camp, betting on a longer stay in the tournament.
That preparation wouldn’t matter without key returning players. While other TBT teams offered bonuses and per diems, Rejniak relied on loyalty rather than money. Core players like Nichols, Dimitrius Underwood, Marcus Azor, and Alex Sobel, who helped We Are D3 win the tournament last year, returned with trust and shared belief.
“I think they’re very loyal, “he said. “We’ve known each other for years. They like what we do. We do things right. We hook them up with gear.”
Continuing its strong performance on both sides, We Are D3 demonstrated resilience during rallies. It defeated No.5 Layne’s Hope 75-71, which had previously wiped out a 20-point deficit. Against BA, D3 played hard defensively to contain the opponent from deep, later regained the lead again in the second half and survived at the end as Buddy Boeheim revitalized from beyond the arc.
“I knew (BA) would come out and give us a best shot. You just got to hang around with these types of teams, because then they start to feel like, ‘Whoa, whoa, D3 is not going away,’ And then they start to panic a little bit,” he said. “Maybe they beat us nine times out of ten. But last night we got the one.”
Nichols, who scored 20 and 36 points in the first two games, felt that D-III players were often overlooked; however, big stages like TBT provide platforms to prove themselves. When his final floater beat the defense and bounced in off the glass, it validated every step of We Are D3’s journey.
“Coming from a small school, you got to have that chip on your shoulder,” Nichols said. “When you finally get on a big stage where you can play against other big players, it motivates you a bit more than everybody else.”
As the team heads to the regional final on Wednesday night, Rejniak said that everyone had “locked in” during training and scouting. Their surprising upset of the No.1 seed and first-ever regional-final appearance were impressive, but they knew they hadn’t entertained enough yet.
“We’re not satisfied,” he said. “We’re just enjoying the moment and the journey here, because it is such a crazy feeling…But, it still hasn’t hit us yet.”
Further in the basketball narrative, Rejniak also envisioned a future where We Are D3 would be viewed as an elite competitor, not just a part of sentimental Cinderella stories.
“I think we will always be the underdog,” Rejniak said. “But in our minds, we’re not. For those who know Division-III basketball and know these players, know that we’re not an underdog.”
Kevin Lu is a contributor for Fingerlakes1.com. He freelanced for the site during The Basketball Tournament (TBT) in 2025.