Brad Wachtel

Brad Wachtel

Brad Wachtel, a former men's basketball administrator at Rutgers, has been involved in college basketball for almost all of his career. He previously served as the director of operations for The Hoop Group. A native of East Brunswick, New Jersey, Brad has two decades of experience projecting brackets and has appeared on numerous podcasts and outlets, including the Field of 68, SiriusXM College Sports, the Sports Grid, the Asbury Park Press, and the Star-Ledger. He is now Hoops HQ's lead bracketologist.

Bubble Watch: Miami Makes Its Return To The Field

Welcome to Bubble Watch, where our Bracketologist monitors who's on the guest list and who's on the curb ahead of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Today's lineup includes 18 locks, and dozens of teams making their case — including eight would-be Cinderellas.

Florida Looks Ready to Repeat. Houston, St. John's Rise, BYU Drops.

Feb. 9: Kentucky, NC State and Alabama are climbing fast, while Gonzaga, New Mexico slip

Bubble Watch: UCLA, Texas In; Miami, VCU Out (For Now)

Welcome to Bubble Watch, where our Bracketologist monitors who's on the guest list and who's on the curb ahead of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Today's lineup includes 11 locks, and dozens of teams making their case — including nine would-be Cinderellas.

Cal, Texas and Indiana Enter the Field. Ohio State and Miami (Fl.) Drop Out.

Feb. 2: Illinois and Iowa State are both making a case for No. 1 seeds

Indiana, NC State Are Back On the Bubble. Florida Looks Repeat Ready.

Jan. 30: Meanwhile, Missouri and Seton Hall are trending in the wrong direction

The Big Ten Owns Half of the Top 10 Seeds in the Tournament. But Here Comes the ACC...

Jan 26: Illinois and North Carolina come up with huge road wins, while Stanford and Seton Hall fall out of the field.

Kentucky and St. John's Climb. UNC Stumbles.

Jan 19: Iowa State plummets from a No. 1 after a tough week. NC State, Texas, Missouri are living on the bubble.

Michigan Loses No. 1 Seed, Mizzou + St. John's Climb

Jan 12: Arizona, Iowa State, UConn and Duke are No. 1 Seeds, while Wisconsin, NC State and Missouri enter the latest bracket.

What Was the NCAA Thinking?! We Need More Committee Clarity, ASAP.

Brad Wachtel wants the NCAA Tournament committee to be more forthcoming on decisions like North Carolina making the bracket

Bubble Watch: 6 Teams Fighting for Two At-Large Bids

Selection Sunday is here and we still have a ton of questions that need to be answered

Auburn, Alabama, Duke and Florida top NCAA Bracket Preview

NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee names its top 16 teams, and two which just missed the cut

Bubble Watch: With Shocking Turnaround, Arkansas Is on the Verge

After an atrocious start, John Calipari has his Razorbacks on the bubble. Georgia and Pitt are moving in the other direction.