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UC San Diego Player Asking to Keep Unique March Madness Memento Was So Relatable

Tim Capurso

Gray during his postgame press conference.
Gray during his postgame press conference. / Screengrab YouTube @MarchMadness

UC San Diego's first appearance in the men's NCAA tournament in school history was short-lived, as the Tritons, after a furious second-half comeback, fell to the Michigan Wolverines in the tourney's first round on Thursday night.

But that doesn't mean the memories have to be short too.

To that end, Tritons senior guard Hayden Gray found a unique way to make sure he'll never forget the experience of playing in the NCAA tournament. Gray and his teammates fielded some questions from reporters in a postgame news conference, and were then set to exit the presser so that coach Eric Olen could finish the interview solo.

That's when Gray got a brain wave. The San Diego native paused before leaving and asked a tournament official if he could keep the nameplate that was in front of his seat at the podium.

When told that he could, Gray let out an excited, "Hellll yeahh", as he grabbed the nameplate. Tritons teammate and fellow senior Tyler McGhie, smiling like a kid on Christmas, followed suit.

You simply have to hand it to these guys. Both Gray and McGhie, who are each set to graduate with degrees in international business and communications respectively, both have designs on playing basketball professionally in some capacity.

And while they'll likely never again experience the thrills of March Madness, you'd better believe they have the nameplates to prove that they did.

Gray may have just started a trend.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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