The NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments begin Tuesday and Wednesday with First Four games, the same days when the National Invitation Tournament and Women’s NIT get underway.

A combined 232 teams are set to compete in the four tournament fields with plenty of opportunities for postseason glory.

Several former Denton-area high school standouts are among the players with a chance to etch their names into the history books in the coming days and weeks in the quartet of tournaments.

The Denton Record-Chronicle runs down all nine former area standouts on tournament teams’ rosters below.

Men’s tournament

No. 1 seed Kansas (27-7): Jalen Wilson, Guyer

The Jayhawks are once again among the nation’s best after winning the 2022 national title, and Guyer alumnus Jalen Wilson is at the heart of their success.

Now a three-year starter at Kansas, Wilson has found a new level this season in leading the program to the Big 12 Conference’s regular season championship. He is averaging team highs of 20 points and 8.5 rebounds alongside 2.4 assists and 1 steal per game on the campaign.

Wilson was unanimously named the Big 12’s Player of the Year and has been tabbed as a first-team All-American by The Sporting News.

Wilson and the Jayhawks begin their national title defense Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa, against 16th seed Howard (22-12). The game is set for a 1 p.m. tipoff and will be televised on TBS.

No. 6 seed TCU (21-12): JaKobe Coles, Guyer

Elsewhere in the Big 12, another Guyer grad has carved out a key role for the Horned Frogs.

JaKobe Coles — who is now in his sophomore season at TCU after starting his college career at Butler in 2020 — has been a consistent contributor off the bench this season. Coles has made 33 appearances, including one start, and is averaging 8.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

The Horned Frogs open NCAA tournament play Friday against the winner of Arizona State (22-12) and Nevada’s (22-10) Wednesday 11th-seed play-in game. TCU’s first-round contest is set for a 9:55 p.m. tipoff and will be televised on truTV.

No. 16 seed Texas Southern (14-20): Chris Craig and Grayson Carter, Guyer

Two other Guyer alumni are part of a Tigers team that made an improbable run to their third straight Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament title after entering as the league’s eighth seed.

Chris Craig and Grayson Carter have both seen playing time for Texas Southern this season, with Craig getting the lion’s share recently. Craig played 30 minutes in the Tigers’ semifinal win over Alabama A&M, then 18 in the title game victory over Grambling State. He is averaging 3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game this season.

Carter has made 19 appearances on the year, including four starts, posting averages of 2.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. He has not seen playing time since Texas Southern’s Feb. 20 game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

The Tigers open their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance Wednesday against fellow 16th-seed Farleigh Dickinson. The teams are set to square off at 5:30 p.m. on truTV with the winner advancing to face overall top seed Alabama in the round of 64.

Women’s tournament

No. 3 seed LSU (28-2): Alisa Williams, Braswell

LSU had one of the top seasons of any women’s basketball team in the country under Kim Mulkey, and 2022 Braswell alumna Alisa Wiliams is part of the program.

The daughter of Braswell coach Lisa Williams, Alisa has seen sporadic playing time in her freshman year with the Tigers. She is averaging 1.1 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in 17 appearances, having posted a career-high 10 points and seven rebounds in a game against Western Carolina earlier this season.

LSU opens its tournament slate Tuesday against 14th seed Hawaii (18-14) with tipoff set for 4:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

NIT tournaments

Utah Valley men (25-8): Le’Tre Darthard, Guyer

The Wolverines saw their hopes of making the Big Dance fade as a late lead slipped away against Southern Utah in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference tournament.

They now face a formidable first-round matchup in the NIT against third-seeded New Mexico (22-11). Guyer alumnus Le’Tre Darthard led the way for Utah Valley’s strong regular season, posting a team-high 14.2 points per game along with 3.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals.

Utah Valley faces New Mexico at 9 p.m. CDT Wednesday with the game set to be streamed on ESPN+.

Texas Tech women (18-14): Rhyle McKinney, Argyle

Heading over to the women’s NIT bracket, which includes 64 teams, a trio of former area standouts are part of participating teams’ rosters.

Texas Tech’s Rhyle McKinney, a 2020 Argyle graduate, headlines the group. McKinney is averaging 8 points and 1.8 rebounds per game in 31 appearances, including 23 starts. She hit a game-winning layup to give the Lady Raiders a 69-68 double-overtime win over West Virginia

Texas Tech opens play at the NIT in hosting UTEP (20-11), which has consistently started a pair of former UNT players this season in Jazion Jackson and N’Yah Boyd. The Lady Raiders and UTEP are set to square off at 6 p.m. Thursday in Lubbock with broadcast information to be released.

Colorado State women (20-11): Jadyn Fife, Liberty Christian

A year after graduating from Liberty Christian, Jadyn Fife is part of an NIT-bound Colorado State team.

The freshman has yet to appear in a game this season, but signed with the Rams after wrapping up a standout career at Liberty Christian. Fife earned first team all-state honors in TAPPS’ largest classification after averaging more than 20 points per game for the Lady Warriors.

Colorado State’s first-round WNIT foe is Northern Iowa (22-9) with tipoff set for 6 p.m. CDT Thursday in Iowa.

Clemson women (17-15): Sydney Standifer, Argyle

Even after medically retiring earlier this season, Argyle alumna Sydney Standifer is part of a Clemson program that earned a WNIT berth.

Standifer, a 2021 Argyle graduate, appeared in 27 games last season for the Tigers, including two starts. She posted a career-high nine points against Wofford. Despite injuries forcing Standifer to medically retire back in October, she appears to still be involved with the program off the court.

Clemson is set to host High Point (17-14) Thursday at 6 p.m. CDT in the WNIT’s opening round.