Keurig Pairs Basketball Teammates for NIL Campaign

College basketball duos compete in coffee maker brand's Pod Toss Challenge

Single serve coffee brand Keurig is tapping into March Madness by adding star college basketball duos from the men's and women's sides to the viral Keurig Pod Toss Challenge.

Teammates and co-ed duos across the country - from Stanford to Kansas to North Carolina - have competed amongst each other in the social media challenge, by trying to toss Keurig's coffee pods into their machines.

The brand has signed NIL partnerships with 16 total athletes, including Stephon Castle and Tristen Newton of top overall seed on the men's side UConn to number two seeded Cameron Brink and Hannah Jump of Stanford in the women's bracket.

Keurig collaborated with a couple of the athlete duos on Instagram, featuring co-ed duo RJ Davis and Deja Kelly of North Carolina and Caleb Love and Kylan Boswell from Arizona.

“We know that many student athletes rely on their morning routines to set them up for game day success. It was important to us that we fuel and empower these athletes as they approach the biggest stage of their collegiate careers,” said Becky Opdyke, Senior Vice President, Coffee Marketing at Keurig Dr Pepper. “The energy during this time of year is electric so it’s been great to tap into that excitement and leverage our talented athletes by having them compete against each other. We encourage coffee fans to join in on the Keurig Pod Toss and shoot their shot!”

"I won!," Kelly said. "It was a lot of fun but a lot harder than it looks, he wants a rematch because he was mad he lost, but he's definitely not getting one anytime soon. I had the best performance by far, and he kept cheating by trying to block my shot, but I didn't break and still came out with the W."

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"This was one of the more fun campaigns I got to be part of," shared Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Hunter Dickinson of Kansas. "Definitely feel like I had the best performance because I was a natural from the start haha. It didn't take us too long to make the first shots but then we got creative with some trick shots and competition and that took some more time. Really fun experience and loved getting to do it with Kevin."

The full roster of Keurig athletes taking part in the Keurig Pod Toss Challenge include:

Men & Women’s:

• North Carolina: RJ Davis and Deja Kelly
  
• South Carolina: Bree Hall and Meechie Johnson

Men’s

• Arizona: Caleb Love and Kylan Boswell
• Kansas: Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr.
• UConn: Stephon Castle and Tristen Newton

Women’s

• Gonzaga: Kayleigh Tand Kaylynne Truong
• Stanford: Cameron Brink and Hannah Jump
• Texas: Madison Booker and Shaylee Gonzales

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"I love the convenience of Keurig pods in the morning," the Pac-12 Player of the Year Brink said. "Before practice or class I can pop one in and drink it while I'm getting ready. Another way I use Keurig on game days is a coffee nap. My trainer told me about it a few years ago when I was training in Colorado with USA Basketball. A coffee nap involves drinking coffee and immediately taking a short nap to increase the following effects on alertness. A nap lasting around 15-20 minutes should give the caffeine necessary time to kick in. Research has shown it's very effective; it has helped me to keep my energy during tough games and two a day training sessions."

The NCAA Tournament officially tipped off last night with the men's First Four while the women’s First Four begins Wednesday.