Best high school mascot in America: SBLive Sports' NCAA Tournament-style bracket will crown a winner

Which high school has the best mascot in the U.S.? We're starting a 64-team (plus 2) bracket to decide

Author:
Mike Swanson, SBLive Sports
Updated:
Apr 27, 2023 5:08 PM EDT
Original:
Apr 17, 2023

Hodag photo courtesy of Jeremy Mayo/Northwoods River News

Back in the fall we learned a multi-pronged lesson about how much Rhinelander, Wisconsin, loves its Hodags.

Rhinelander High School first won our Mythical Creatures Bracket and then the Championship Bracket, crowning the Hodag as America's favorite high school mascot.

The contests were a ton of fun, but the brackets were anything but traditional:

Mythical Creatures Bracket results

Historical Figures Bracket results

Class Struggle Bracket results

Over the next several weeks we're going to revisit some of the best high school mascots in America and pit them against one another in a more traditional NCAA Tournament-style bracket, complete with 64 seeds and a play-in game.

Just like the NCAA Tournament, the first round will start with 32 head-to-head matchups, but the winners in our tournament will be determined by fan votes. Each matchup will give fans a week to vote, and the winner will advance to the next round.

Follow along: National Mascot Tournament 2023 Bracket

That process will repeat until we reach the Final Four and then the National Championship Mascot Game.

Here are all 66 teams participating, listed according to overall seed, with the lowest three seeds tipping off the action Tuesday in a play-in game to earn the right to face top overall seed Rhinelander in Round 1.

Each team's write-up ends with the total number of votes it received during SBLive Sports' fall mascot contests, its first-round matchup and when that matchup's poll will be released.

1. Rhinelander Hodags (Wisconsin)

The history of the hodag is strongly tied to the city of Rhinelander, where it was claimed to have been discovered. The hodag — a fearsome creature resembling a large bull-horned carnivore with a row of thick curved spines down its back — has figured prominently in early Paul Bunyan stories. (211,761 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. play-in winner.

2. Shelley Russets (Idaho)

Shelley’s mascot isn’t just any potato — it’s a russet-burbank potato that wears a crown, robe and scepter. Shelley offers a two-week break from school to allow students to assist in the season’s potato harvest. (135,239 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Center Point-Urbana Stormin' Pointers.

3. Ridgefield Spudders (Washington)

The Spudders’ mascot also is a potato, and one of its feeder elementary schools, Union Ridge, is the home of the Tater Tots. Excellent taste and presentation. (54,136 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Point Pleasant Beach Garnet Gulls.

4. Poca Dots (West Virginia)

On Friday nights, you can find a mean-looking red dot with arms and legs patrolling the sidelines for Poca. The school received its fitting nickname nearly a century ago from a local reporter, and it's stuck ever since. (25,051 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26, vs. Fordyce Redbugs.

5. Rocky Ford Meloneers (Colorado)

From the city’s website: “From the start, melons were the staple of Rocky Ford. Today, Rocky Ford cantaloupes and watermelons have fans worldwide, thanks to the Arkansas Valley’s dramatic temperature swings from day to night (the greatest disparity in the country) that encourage the melons to sweeten. Lucille Ball was reportedly such a fan she had Rocky Ford melons delivered to her dressing room.” (16,441 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Hamlin Pied Pipers.

6. Kingswood Oxford Wyverns (Connecticut)

From the school’s website: “As soon as you enroll at Kingswood Oxford, you are transformed into a mythic Wyvern, a legendary winged beast from medieval times, not to be mistaken for a dragon. There is a distinction. Dragons breathe fire, whereas, Wyverns have attitude. Once you’re a Wyvern, you’re always a Wyvern.” (16,369 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Marion Swamp Foxes.

7. Camas County Mushers (Idaho)

It’s not Alaska, but Fairfield, Idaho (home of Camas County High School) does average over 60 inches of snow per year, and mushing is one efficient way to get around during winter in the rural town of 567 people. (15,011 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Maryville Spoofhounds.

8. Hutto Hippos (Texas)

Local legend traces the origins of the Hutto hippo to 1915, when a circus train carrying animals stopped to fill up with water. The hippo escaped, walked to Cottonwood Creek and stayed there so long that it delayed the train until its handlers were able to get it out. (10,031 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Green Mountain Valley Gumbies.

9. Powell County Wardens (Montana)

Powell County High School is in Deer Lodge, home of the Montana State Prison. Jim Salmonsen is the prison warden, but there are Wardens all over the county. (8,697 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Prescott Curley Wolves.

10. Muskogee Roughers (Oklahoma)

The Roughers earned their name way back in 1925 because several members of the football team played without helmets due to lack of funding, and they played rough anyway. (8,211 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Omaha Benson Mighty Bunnies.

11. Clarkston Angoras (Georgia)

From the city of Clarkston’s history page: “It was said that, in the early 1900s, many Clarkstonians owned up to twenty goats! They supposedly were associated with a high level of prestige. These goats were believed to be the renowned Angoras variety, and they needed to graze out in the open.” Clarkston's sports teams are also of the renowned Angoras variety. (3,109 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Gainesville Red Elephants.

12. San Saba Armadillos (Texas)

This seems like such a gimme in Texas, like all the fish nicknames in Florida, but San Saba is the only high school in the state — and the country — called the Armadillos. (2,611 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Blooming Prairie Awesome Blossoms.

13. Punxsutawney Chucks (Pennsylvania)

Choosing to steer clear of the obvious Punxsutawney Phils, Punxsutawney High School went with the Chucks, which is short for woodchucks, which is another name for groundhogs. Maybe Bill Murray wakes up every morning at the same time listening to "I Got You Babe" and thinking about the Punxsutawney Chucks. (2,591 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Basis Yeti.

14. Roxana Shells (Illinois)

Originally named for the Shell Oil refinery that opened in town in 1918, Roxana is still called the Shells despite Phillips 66’s acquisition of the refinery in the early 2000s. (2,153 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Kaukauna Galloping Ghosts.

15. Clay-Battelle Cee Bees (West Virginia)

If every hyphenated school used its initials as its nickname, there’d be a whole lot more competitors with the Eagles and Tigers as the most common team name. But they don’t, so the Cee Bees stand out. (2,007 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Pershing Doughboys.

16. Lincoln Railsplitters (Illinois)

Not as popular as “Honest Abe,” but Abraham Lincoln started being called “the Railsplitter” in 1860 to boost his image as a backwoodsman candidate. After all, he had split rails in his youth. Enough said. (1,842 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Roscoe Plowboys.

17. Jordan Beetdiggers (Utah)

Jordan High for years offered a two-week break for students to assist in harvesting sugar beets, the area's main crop. (1,625 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Punahou Buff 'n Blue.

18. Mars Fightin’ Planets (Pennsylvania)

Theories vary on how the north Pittsburgh town of Mars got its name, but it seems pretty obvious why the high school went with Fightin' Planets as its mascot. (957 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Page Sandites.

19. Mount Clemens Battling Bathers (Michigan)

Not to be confused with the Mount Clemens Bathers, a minor league baseball team in the early 1900s, the Battling Bathers of Mount Clemens still press on. Mount Clemens’ bath houses were a hot spot for the rich and famous in the late 1800s and early 1900s in the Detroit area. (937 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Lejeune Devilpups.

20. Lake Forest Academy Caxys (Illinois)

We know you already know this, but “Caxy" is ancient Greek for “ribbit." In the early 1900s, Aristophanes’ comedy “The Frogs” was the subject of a popular Greek literature class at the school. Thus, the Caxys. (902 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Grand Meadow Superlarks.

21. Lanai Pine Lads and Lasses (Hawaii)

There’s just one K-12 school on Lanai, which is colloquially known as the Pineapple Island because of its past as an island-wide pineapple plantation. The Pine Lads and Lasses celebrate that history. (563 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Clayton Valley Charter Ugly Eagles.

22. Avon Old Farms Winged Beavers (Connecticut)

The school’s founder, Theodate Pope Riddle, chose the Winged Beaver as the school’s mascot to reflect the school’s motto, Aspirando et Perseverando, aspiring and persevering. The wings of aspiration represent the soaring flight of an eagle, and perseverance is symbolized in the diligence of a beaver. Like peanut butter and jelly. (384 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Cary Imps.

23. Moorhead Spuds (Minnesota)

Moorhead’s teams have been called the Spuds for over 100 years. The name started being used in the late 1910s or early 1920s, inspired by at least one Moorhead school’s site atop a former potato field. The school's mascot is a big smiling potato named Spuddy. (324 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Arkansas School for the Deaf Leopards.

24. Two Harbors Agates (Minnesota)

An agate crystal forms within the cavities of other rocks in acidic to neutral environments — such as the shores of Lake Superior, where the town of Two Harbors is located. (222 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Fishburne Military Caissons.

25. Colorado Rocky Mountain Oysters (Colorado)

Colorado Rocky Mountain School has a unique mix of sports — soccer, cross country, climbing, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding — and the only nickname in the country rooted in fried bull testicles. (208 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Maui Prep Pueo.

26. Freeport and New Berlin Pretzels (Illinois)

These two Illinois schools — about 250 miles apart but both rich with German history — are the only ones in the country called the Pretzels. When they played a baseball game against each other in 2015, “Let the Salt Fly” T-shirts were on sale. (208 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. North East Grape Pickers.

27. Hoopeston Cornjerkers (Illinois)

It's corn! "The Sweetcorn Capital of the World" is Hoopeston, Illinois, and a cornjerker is (or was) a farmer who harvested corn. Technology has changed the process of harvesting corn, but the school should never change its nickname. (208 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Frankfort Hot Dogs.

28. Camas Papermakers (Washington)

When you think about the amount of paper that high schools go through every year, it makes a lot of sense to devote a mascot to its production. Somebody has to make it. (195 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Canon-McMillan Big Macs.

29. Haskell Haymakers (Oklahoma)

The Haymakers could have qualified for our Jobs Bracket (one who makes hay) last fall, but the more sporting way to think of a haymaker is as a forceful punch, so they went into the Action Bracket. (141 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Tillamook Cheesemakers.

30. Pleasant Hill Billies (Oregon)

Because it’s a little different than all the other high schools with Hillbillies as their mascot, we had to give this one a nod for being so darn pleasant. (135 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Cobden Appleknockers.

31. Chinook Beeters (Montana)

Yes, the Beeters want to beat you, but their nickname is short for the Sugarbeeters. Chinook is one of the main producers of sugarbeets in the upper plains. (83 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Bend Lava Bears.

32. Lewisville Fighting Farmers (Texas)

A reference to Lewisville’s rural past, the Fighting Farmers' old-school “Big John” mascot — a football player wielding a pitchfork — is among the best in the history of the United States. (83 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Cairo Syrupmakers.

33. Cairo Syrupmakers (Georgia)

Instead of going with the Egyptian theme provided by the city's name, the school chose to honor its local industry, at least at the time. The birthplace of Jackie Robinson, Cairo is nicknamed "The Syrup City." (82 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Lewisville Fighting Farmers.

34. Bend Lava Bears (Oregon)

A bear dripping with lava? Not quite. The lava bear is a legendary variety of black bear found in the lava beds of south central Oregon. The few “lava bears” that were killed or captured were a little larger than a badger. Today, it is acknowledged that lava bears never existed as a unique species. So although Small Bears would be more accurate, Lava Bears sounds way cooler. (75 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Chinook Beeters.

35. Cobden Appleknockers (Illinois)

This seems like a missed opportunity for Cobden to use a corn pun, but the rural town is located in a region ripe with apple orchards. (63 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Pleasant Hill Billies.

36. Tillamook Cheesemakers (Oregon)

Located just off the coast in the Pacific Northwest, Tillamook High School paid homage to the famous cheese company based out of the city. (63 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Haskell Haymakers.

37. Canon-McMillan Big Macs (Pennsylvania)

No, the mascot isn’t a hamburger that’s way smaller in real life than the commercials depict, but a soldier of a Scottish regiment. They could have gone with Big Highlander, but we’re glad Big Mac was the choice. (51 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Camas Papermakers.

38. Frankfort Hot Dogs (Indiana)

No explanation necessary, though it's worth noting that the mascot is a snarling dog, not a Nathan. (51 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Hoopeston Cornjerkers.

39. North East Grapepickers (Pennsylvania)

Vineyards abound in the area around this northeast Pennsylvania school near Lake Erie and the New York border. Grapes are a huge part of the local economy, and picking them is of tremendous importance. (51 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Freeport and New Berlin Pretzels.

40. Maui Prep Pueo (Hawaii)

The Pueo is a short-eared owl native to the Hawaiian islands. Maui lore alleges the existence of Pueo-nui-akea, an owl that provides wandering souls with direction. (51 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Colorado Rocky Mountain Oysters.

41. Fishburne Military Caissons (Virginia)

The Caissons are named for the “usually 2-wheeled vehicle for artillery ammunition attachable to a horse-drawn limber,” according to Merriam-Webster. Fishburne Military can probably rest easy that the nickname is all theirs at this point. (46 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Two Harbors Agates.

42. Arkansas School for the Deaf Leopards (Arkansas)

There are lots of Leopards in high school sports, but no campus makes it work nearly as well as the Arkansas School for the Deaf. But according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the school's teams have been called the Leopards since at least 1941, about 40 years before Def Leppard's debut album. Pour some sugar on me anyway. (45 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Moorhead Spuds.

43. Cary Imps (North Carolina)

These Imps have an interesting back story. Albert H. Werner, a football and baseball coach at the school in the 1930s, came up with the name as a nod to his alma mater, Duke. The JV teams at the time were called the Blue Imps rather than the Blue Devils, and a less colorful version has stuck at Cary. (42 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Avon Old Farms Winged Beavers.

44. Clayton Valley Charter Ugly Eagles (California)

All eagles are beautiful, so when you call them ugly, they become mythical. (41 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Lanai Pine Lads and Lasses.

45. Grand Meadow Superlarks (Minnesota)

Once called the Meadowlarks, they switched to the Superlarks in the 1970s to sound tougher, and it’s worked. As athletic director Gary Sloan told KIMT3 Sports in 2020, “It’s basically an eagle on steroids or a lark on steroids, or something like that.” (39 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Lake Forest Academy Caxys.

46. Lejeune Devilpups (North Carolina)

The Lejeune students in 1944 took the moniker “Devilpups," a reference to the Marine Corps nickname of Devil Dog and Camp Lejeune being a Marine Corps base. (33 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Mount Clemens Battling Bathers.

47. Page Sandites (Oklahoma)

Sandite is a a mixture of sand, antifreeze and steel shot used on railways to combat leaves on the lines. But that’s not what anyone from Sand Springs is referring to when using the word Sandite. It just means “a person from Sand Springs.” And the Sand Springs Page Sandites’ mascot is a minuteman, which has nothing to do with Sandites. (33 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Mars Fightin' Planets.

48. Punahou Buff 'n Blue (Hawaii)

Punahou doesn’t have a physical mascot, but its teams are named for the buff-colored sand and blue-colored sea of Waikiki Beach. (32 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Jordan Beetdiggers.

49. Pershing Doughboys (Michigan)

Gen. John J. Pershing’s troops in World War I were known as “Doughboys,” a nickname that dated back to the Mexican War of 1846-48, when American infantrymen made long treks over dusty terrain, giving them the appearance of being covered in dough. (32 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Clay-Battelle Cee Bees.

50. Roscoe Plowboys (Texas)

Named in honor of the agricultural area of Roscoe, a plowboy, by definition, is a boy who leads the team drawing a plow, or a “country youth.” So it’s both a job and a state of mind. (31 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Lincoln Railsplitters.

51. Kaukauna Galloping Ghosts (Wisconsin)

In 1924, Kaukauna coach Bill Smith was so impressed with Red Grange, he called his small but quick group of running backs “galloping ghosts,” which stuck as a name for the school’s other teams. (30 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Roxana Shells.

52. Basis Yeti (Arizona)

We knew Flagstaff was one of the rare snowy cities in Arizona, but we didn’t know it was that snowy. It gets more snow than Denver, but the Himalayas still have it beat. (28 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Punxsutawney Chucks.

53. Blooming Prairie Awesome Blossoms (Minnesota)

The Awesome Blossoms are no stranger to winning athletic or mascot competitions. Blooming Prairie has been the Blossoms since the early 1900s, and they added an "Awesome" in the '60s. (27 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. San Saba Armadillos.

54. Gainesville Red Elephants (Georgia)

Everyone knows reddish elephants exist only in Fantasia, but there’s more to this story in Georgia. "Gainesville High School was playing in Marietta and was wearing red jerseys," said Phil Jackson, longtime sports editor of The Gainesville Times and former voice of the Red Elephants. "Gainesville didn’t have a nickname at the time and had large players. Very few teams had large players, so because of the red jerseys and the big players, an Atlanta sportswriter wrote that they looked like a thundering herd of red elephants.” Red Elephants on parade. (26 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Clarkston Angoras.

55. Omaha Benson Mighty Bunnies (Nebraska)

You’re probably thinking the same thing we are: Isn’t “Mighty” implied when discussing Bunnies? (25 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Muskogee Roughers.

56. Prescott Curley Wolves (Arkansas)

In the 1920s, after the Prescott football team delivered a thrashing of Little Rock, an Arkansas Gazette news editor wrote the headline, “WE THINK THAT THE BOYS ARE CURLEY WOLVES.” The team loved it, and they’ve been the Curley Wolves ever since. (25 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Powell County Wardens.

57. Green Mountain Valley School Gumbies (Vermont)

From the “Why Gumby?” section on the school website: “In the late 1980s, the GMVS girls soccer team was making a run at the state championship title. After one game, a reporter asked the team what their mascot was. They looked at one another – they didn’t have an official mascot – and in a moment of creativity, one girl spoke up. ‘Well, we’re flexible, we’re agile, we’re fun…I guess we’re the Gumbies.’ The name stuck.” (25 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Hutto Hippos.

58. Maryville Spoofhounds (Missouri)

The Spoofhound was a Plaster of Paris carnival toy from the 1920s that was supposedly a lazy, neutered dog. Although originally two words, Maryville uses a one-word Spoofhound for its mascot. (24 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Camas County Mushers.

59. Marion Swamp Foxes (South Carolina)

Francis Marion was known as the Swamp Fox during the Revolutionary War because of his camouflage skills in the forested surroundings. Marion the town was named after the military hero, and the high school took it even further by taking his nickname. (24 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Kingswood Oxford Wyverns.

60. Hamlin Pied Pipers (Texas)

In the year 1284 a mysterious man appeared in Hameln, Germany. He was wearing a coat of many colored, bright cloth, for which reason he was called the Pied Piper. He claimed to be a ratcatcher, and he promised that for a certain sum he would rid the city of all mice and rats. The Pied Pipers of Hamlin make no such claims. (22 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26 vs. Rocky Ford Meloneers.

61. Fordyce Redbugs (Arkansas)

Workers clearing the land to build a new football field in the 1920s were tormented by chiggers, aka redbugs. The name stuck for a football program rich in history (future Alabama coach Paul “Bear” Bryant played there). (21 votes). First-round matchup: Wednesday, April 26, vs. Poca Dots.

62. Point Pleasant Beach Garnet Gulls (New Jersey)

Gulls are common in these parts, but the only confirmed Garnet Gull sightings are confined to the high school. (20 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Ridgefield Spudders.

63. Center Point-Urbana Stormin’ Pointers (Iowa)

Would they have qualified simply as the Pointers? No. But Stormin’ Pointers wielding lightning bolts are an out-of-this-world force to be reckoned with. (19 votes). First-round matchup: Thursday, April 27 vs. Shelley Russets.

64. McDonogh Roneagles (Louisiana)

A Roneagle is a mythical bird fashioned after the American bald eagle. But McDonogh’s Roneagle has a solid iron constitution, making it stronger, swifter, larger and more resourceful than all other real-life birds. (17 votes). Play-in game against Rising Sun Shiners and Blaine Borderites starts Tuesday, April 18.

64. Rising Sun Shiners (Indiana)

The school’s logo is backed by a nice, bright sun, so it’s definitely going for a reference to the city’s starry name rather than the slang term for a black eye. (17 votes). Play-in game against McDonogh Roneagles and Blaine Borderites starts Tuesday, April 18.

64. Blaine Borderites (Washington)

Blaine is right on the Canada border, thus they’re the Borderites. Simple. (17 votes). Play-in game against Rising Sun Shiners and McDonogh Roneagles starts Tuesday, April 18.