Hofstra’s run through March Madness made all the more immortal by its soundtrack

Dylan Brett, pictured here cutting CAA championship net, will broadcast Hofstra’s first NCAA Tournament game since 2001 on Friday as play-by-play voice on WRHU. (Photo by Royce Dickson-Child/The Hofstra Chronicle)

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. — The voice of Hofstra’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in 25 years was still three years away from being born when the Pride last danced in 2001, but it has not stopped him from bridging generations with his words or narrating forever moments that echo through the ages in the lore of mid-major programs across the land.

At just 21 years old, Dylan Brett may be among the younger broadcasters to don a headset during the greatest spectacle in college basketball, but he has already gained the love, support and trust of fans young and old for his ability to paint the word picture in such a fashion that is emotional, gripping and uniquely his own.

For the past three years, Brett has been the men’s basketball play-by-play voice for WRHU, the on-campus student radio station at Hofstra. The list of Hofstra alumni counts famous names in the sports industry among its own, including Turner Sports’ Jared Greenberg and WFAN morning show co-host Gregg Giannotti, but very few have had the opportunity that Brett, a New Jersey native who graduates this coming May, is about to embark upon.

“I’ll preface this by saying it’s been the craziest week of my entire life,” Brett said, his youthful enthusiasm peeking through the voice that has become synonymous with Hofstra’s latest foray into March Madness. “It’s really funny because I’ve been going to practice for three years, and for three years, I’ve been the only reporter in the room, I have unprecedented access to whoever I want. And then I walk in the gym three days before they play in the NCAA Tournament (and) Eyewitness News is there. News 12 is there. The New York Post is there. And all of a sudden, I’m like, the eighth guy in line. It’s crazy how fast it’s exploded. It’s insane.”

I’m still at a loss for words. I love this University. I love this life that God has blessed me with. Here is the final call of @HofstraMBB’s CAA CHAMPIONSHIP on @WRHUSports!!!!! pic.twitter.com/Czw2URb6r5

— Dylan Brett (@DylanBrxtt) March 11, 2026

Brett has made sure to remain humble during this life-changing experience, a trait he credits to his mother, father, grandmother and sister for keeping him grounded and cognizant of what matters most. But when word started to circulate about just how much the magnitude of his broadcasts and final calls resonated outside his inner circle, it gave the college senior a new perspective on the vital role he plays.

“I didn’t realize how big of a deal it was,” he admitted. “This goes for radio broadcasting, too, because you don’t really think anybody’s out there listening. And I didn’t realize how big of a deal it was until after the (CAA) semifinal game, when all these alumni of all different ages, former players, former coaches, started reaching out, saying, ‘you’re a part of history, this team is making history, I’ve been listening and I’ve been watching these games for 20 years.’ Those are my favorite kind of messages, and I get people tweeting all the time about it too.”

“I’ve gotten maybe 100 or 200 of those e-mails and texts in the last couple of weeks, and it means the same to them. And I think that’s when it became real for me, where I was like, this team’s a really big deal. It’s a really big community, it’s a really supportive community.”

The moment Preston Edmead sent @HofstraMBB to the CAA title game on @WRHUSports: pic.twitter.com/3W5Z1rk41k

— Dylan Brett (@DylanBrxtt) March 10, 2026

A self-proclaimed stat nerd when preparing for a game, Brett admits that his research takes on a more casual tone from the Hofstra side due to his familiarity with the Pride and its personnel, relationships that have been cultivated and forged through three years of getting to know them and the stories beyond the numbers. He immediately started working on Alabama following the Crimson Tide’s announcement as Hofstra’s first NCAA Tournament opponent, and anticipates he will spend anywhere between eight and ten hours acclimating himself to Nate Oats’ team. However, this week in Tampa, unlike in Washington, D.C. during Hofstra’s conference tournament journey, he will have a looser mindset knowing he will end his college broadcast career on the grandest stage in the sport.

“Last week at the CAA, I was very on edge,” Brett recalled. “I wasn’t eating, I wasn’t sleeping, I was a wreck because I didn’t know if the game was going to be my last, whichever one it was. But now with the tournament this week, I’m taking a much more laid-back, relaxed approach to it. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders a little bit. I’m just gonna try my best to take it all in.”

“I read a quote a couple of weeks ago that says, ‘sometimes you get so caught up in a moment that you never realize that you’re in the middle of what you used to pray for.’ And that’s kind of how I felt when I was in DC. But now, I’m taking so many pictures and sending them to all my family members. I’m gonna make little videos just to try to commemorate (it). I’ve never been to the NCAA Tournament, so I’ll be taking it all in for sure.”

Brett is a natural storyteller, and a throwback in a sense for his ability to inject genuine emotion into his broadcasts that is seldom seen in today’s era the way it once was. His empathy with the principles involved in competition lends more of the human element into the broadcast, something he said came to a head last week when Hofstra defeated Monmouth to win the CAA tournament championship, exacting a slight measure of revenge for COVID robbing the school and its fans of March Madness in 2020 and truly ending the 25-year dry spell.

“Everybody wants this so bad for a different reason,” he explained. “All these players, all their different beginnings, all their different stories, where they came from, and seeing that all culminate in a championship, the first one in 25 years, the looks on all their faces. I started crying after the game when I saw German Plotnikov crying, because that’s a guy I’ve known for four years, a guy I’ve spoken to many times. I know about his story, history, and everything this means to him. When you see those reactions, it’s hard not to get caught up in the emotion because you realize what this means for the campus community.”

Like many of his fellow broadcasters, Brett does not have a prepared or scripted final call should Hofstra do the unthinkable and upset Alabama for the school’s first NCAA Tournament win. He does, however, have a confidence about him that no matter the moment on Friday afternoon in Florida, he will meet it and deliver once more.

“I haven’t had anything rehearsed yet, but the motto I’ve been using all week is, ‘shock the world,’” he said. “Going into a game against the number-one offense in college basketball, it’s going to make for a hell of a story if they pull it out. I try to be as unscripted as possible because I think an authentic reaction is the best call. I’m preparing for it not to happen, so if it happens, my reaction will be one of sheer surprise and authenticity.”