Ian Eagle, Grant Hill, and Bill Raftery during the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Ian Eagle, Grant Hill, and Bill Raftery during the 2024 NCAA Tournament. (CBS.)

With conference tournaments well and truly underway we are that much closer to the start of the NCAA Tournament and one of the great spectacles on the sports calendar. And with CBS and Warner Bros. Discovery announcing their broadcast teams for the event, we know it’s just around the corner.

The biggest news this year is the addition of former ESPN and future NBC analyst Jalen Rose, who will call his first NCAA Tournament action. While Rose has been known for covering the NBA throughout the vast majority of his media career, he’s been doing some college work for NBC and Peacock this year and is of course immortalized as a member of Michigan’s Fab Five. Rose will join Lisa Byington and Robbie Hummel for a three person booth.

CBS/WBD’s top team of Ian Eagle, Grant Hill, and Bill Raftery remains in place after Eagle very capably stepped in for Jim Nantz for the first time last year. The only change in the broadcast teams for the four top crews working the regional finals is that Lauren Shehadi replaces Andy Katz as the sideline reporter along with Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, and Stan Van Gundy.

Here are the announcing teams who will work the first two weekends of the tournament and call Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games from the regional final sites.

Ian Eagle, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery, Tracy Wolfson
Brian Anderson, Jim Jackson, Allie LaForce
Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner, Stan Van Gundy, Lauren Shehadi
Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas, Evan Washburn

To make room for Jalen Rose, Steve Smith gets added to the Tom McCarthy and Debbie Antonelli team while Avery Johnson is the lone announcer dropped from this year’s NCAA Tournament coverage. These four broadcast teams will work first and second round games on the opening weekend of the tournament.

Lisa Byington, Robbie Hummel, Jalen Rose, Andy Katz
Spero Dedes, Jim Spanarkel, Jon Rothstein
Tom McCarthy, Debbie Antonelli, Steve Smith, AJ Ross
Brad Nessler, Brendan Haywood, Dana Jacobson

In the studio, Ernie Johnson will be the main host in New York after sharing duties with the late Greg Gumbel the last several years. The traditional mixed trio representing CBS and WBD will be in place as analysts with Clark Kellogg joining Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.

Adam Lefkoe hosts in Atlanta with the returning team of Jay Wright, Candace Parker, and Seth Davis. Adam Zucker will also do some anchoring in New York with Wally Szczerbiak making select appearances while Jamie Erdahl of Good Morning Football will provide live in-game updates. Gene Steratore will serve as the omnipresent rules analyst once again.

It all kicks off with the First Four in Dayton on Tuesday March 18 where Spero Dedes and Jim Spanarkel will be on the call.