The Final Four is here, in both the NCAA Tournament, as well as the amNY bracket for the best athlete in New York voted on by you!
Out of the baseball region, Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge beat teammate Max Fried in the Sweet 16, to advance to the Elite 8. Juan Soto beat Francisco Lindor, to get the highly anticipated matchup; Judge vs Soto. Judge ended up being crowned the King of baseball.
In the hockey region, Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin both won their respective matchups in the Sweet 16, which led to the two friends facing off against one another in Elite 8. It was a tight battle, but Sorokin came out victorious as the best hockey player in New York.
Out of the basketball region, Jalen Brunson didn’t see much competition, as he beat New York Liberty forward Sabrina Ionescu 77% to 23%. In the Elite 8, Brunson blew out teammate Karl-Anthony Towns, 82% to 18%.
Last but not least, the football region; There was an upset in each round, with the No. 3 seed coming out victorious, while one of the top two seeds in the other three regions made it to the Final Four. Garrett Wilson upset Quinnen Williams, the two seed in the Sweet 16 and then beat Dexter Lawrence, the No. 1 seed.
Aaron Judge
Aaron Judge is arguably the greatest hitter baseball has ever seen. Not only does he hit for power, breaking the American League home run record back in 2022 by launching 62 home runs over the wall, but he’s hit for a high average as well. He’s a career .289 hitter, with over 320 home runs.
He has a WAR of 53.3, which means over the course of his career, he’s earned his team 53 or so wins, but if he didn’t play, they would’ve lost 53 games. Judge is ranked No. 10 in MLB history in OPS, with 1.0147.
He’s won two MVP awards over the last two seasons, and was on his way to his back-to-back MVP honor in 2023, but he suffered a season-ending foot injury.
Garrett Wilson
Maybe Wilson has another upset in him, but it’ll be a tall task to beat Judge. Wilson has played three seasons for the New York Jets and while his team hasn’t had any success, he’s had as great of a start to an NFL career as someone could ask for, especially with eight different quarterbacks in his career.
Career stats
- 3,249 yards
- 14 touchdowns
- 239 receptions
- AP Offensive Rookie of the Year ‘22
With Judge being the No. 1 seed of all No. 1 seeds, it’ll be an uphill battle for Wilson, but he’s upset a No. 2 and No. 1 seed thus far.
Jalen Brunson
Brunson hasn’t had much competition thus far, but he’s been highly considered by New York fans as the King of New York Sports. Brunson has turned the New York Knicks into a contender and will likely have the No. 3 seed in the NBA playoffs, despite the rollercoaster season.
Brunson has averaged 26.3 points per game, 6.8 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game since signing with the Knicks ahead of the 2022-2023 season. He was an All-Star the past two seasons and reached as high as fifth in MVP voting a season ago. He’s the second No. 1 seed in this bracket.
Ilya Sorokin
Ilya Sorokin brought the New York Islanders to the next level in 2021, as they reached their second straight Eastern Conference Finals. Semyon Varlamov, he goalie-mate was the hotter goaltender in the Eastern Conference Finals, so head coach Barry Trotz rode the hot hand with Varlomov.
Since then, Sorokin has been the main reason this team with less talent than most playoff-caliber teams, has made the playoffs.
Career Stats
- 249 Games Played
- 123-88-36
- 21 Shutouts
- 2.59 GAA
- .916 SV%
Sorokin is the heavy underdog coming into his matchup against Brunson, but he does have a strong resume. These two athletes haven’t won anything for their respective teams, but they’ve been elite in their short careers with their squads.
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