Who is Jack Gohlke? Meet the Oakland player who may not be headed to the NBA, but caught the nation’s attention as the Grizzlies stunned the Kentucky Wildcats in the first round of March Madness.

Every year, a new March Madness legend is born. This year, it’s Jack Gohlke who stands out in Oakland.

The senior led the No. 14 Golden Grizzlies to the biggest upset of the NCAA Tournament so far this year by defeating the No. 3 seed Kentucky Wildcats 80-76.

Gohlke, who coach Greg Kampe fondly said “looks like a linebacker,” scored 32 points and made 10 3-pointers.

His performance saw him become just the fifth player in NCAA Tournament history to score 10 or more 3-pointers in a game, marking a career-high 32 points.

Here, DailyMail.com takes a look at who the 6-foot-3 guard is and what’s next after his newfound fame.

Who is Jack Gohlke?

Jack Gohlke is a native of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, where he attended Pewaukee High School.

And he’s not the only notable athlete to hail from the city as NFL superstars JJ and TJ Watt were also born and raised there.

However, Gohlke only arrived in Oakland at the start of the season after five seasons at Division II Hillsdale College.

He reportedly didn’t have a grade out of high school and committed to Hillsdale in October 2017.

The guard, who is taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA, redone his freshman season at Hillsdale before playing less than six minutes per game over the next two seasons.

However, he finally hit his stride in 2022-23 when he became a double-digit scorer, earning him a shot at the Division I level with Oakland.

As the Horizon League Sixth Man of the Year, Gohlke hit big shots throughout the season and asserted himself in the Horizon League Tournament as Oakland earned its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2011.

And after?

The Golden Grizzlies will try to become the third No. 14 seed to reach the Sweet 16 on Saturday when they take on NC State.

And Gohlke made it clear that he was focused on the present moment and not getting carried away. That’s why he told CBS after the game that Oakland wasn’t a Cinderella story.

“Obviously we go in, we’re the underdogs in every way, but you just have to – as a player you can’t think that way,” he said. “You have to go out there and think you have the same level of talent as them. I know they have draft picks and I know I’m not going to the NBA, but I know on any given night I can compete with these guys and our team can.

“That’s why I say we’re not Cinderella, because when we play our A game, we can be the best team on the field.”

He also admitted that he never considered his newfound fame as a possibility and hadn’t even checked his phone yet.

Why isn’t he going to the NBA?

Gohlke did not declare for the draft and after spending five years at a Division II program before transferring to a small DI program with one NCAA tournament victory in its history, he is unlikely to is heading to the pros.

He himself admitted that he has little chance of achieving this, but he always enjoys competing with the players who do.

“I know I’m not going to the NBA, (but) I can compete with those type of guys,” he said.

Far from court

Gohlke was born in 1999 to Dave and Lisa Gohlke and has a sister, Jennifer.

Gohlke only had 500 followers on Instagram before Thursday night’s surprise, according to Athleticism.

However, following his impressive performance, that number shot up to 9,104 as of Friday morning.

In his Golden Grizzlies biography, Gohlke lists Paul Pierce as his favorite player, Interstellar as his favorite movie, and Bradley Cooper as the actor he would like to play him in a movie.

He also says his favorite basketball memory is winning the regional tournament in 2022, but that may need to be updated after Thursday’s triumph.