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Eighth-grader’s perfect women’s NCAA bracket lasts until Sweet 16 before finally missing a game

Eighth-grader's perfect women's NCAA bracket lasts until Sweet 16 before finally missing a game | iNFOnews.ca
Otto Schellhamer, an eighth-grader who has the only perfect bracket after the opening weekend of the men’s and women’s NCAA college basketball tournaments, poses in his backyard in Plum Borough, Pa., Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

It took Pittsburgh eighth-grader Otto Schellhammer until the Sweet 16 to finally miss one of his women’s picks for March Madness.

No. 6 seed Notre Dame beat second-seeded Vanderbilt on Friday in Fort Worth, Texas, to open the regional rounds of the women’s NCAA Tournament. That ended the 14-year-old’s run as the last perfect bracket after the opening weekend of the men’s and women’s tournaments from more than 40 million entries across all the major contests.

Schellhammer previously told The Associated Press it was “100% luck” and that he didn’t know anything about basketball despite that perfect start through 48 games. His mother, Amy, called it “absolutely hilarious” and said her son had been getting more excited about watching the games because of the perfect start.

He has Texas winning the title in his bracket.

Mike Benzie, the senior director of content for NCAA Digital, said there were about 36 million men’s entries and 5.2 million on the women’s side.

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AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

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