Survivor 48’s Mitch on Attending NCAA Championship with 3 Winners (Exclusive) – ryan

Just 44 minutes — that’s all the time it took Mitch Guerra to score an eleventh-hour ticket to the NCAA men’s basketball championship game.

The Survivor season 48 contestant, a 34-year-old elementary P.E. teacher, exclusively tells PEOPLE exactly how he landed himself at the April 7 matchup between the Florida Gators and Houston Cougars in San Antonio, Texas — with a wild assist from three past Survivor winners.

It all began at 2:23 p.m. that day when season 27 winner Tyson Apostol shared in a post on X that he, season 3 winner Ethan Zohn and their friend Thomas Obrey had an extra ticket to that evening’s game.

“Three minutes later, my Survivor castmate Stephanie Berger texted me a screenshot of the tweet and said, ‘Fly to San Antonio or drive,’ ” recalls Mitch, who lives 180 miles north of there in Waco.

So he replied to Tyson’s post. “But good Survivor players don’t leave anything to chance. You make plays, shoot your shot and explore every possible option.”

That’s when Mitch decided to call in a favor from season 36 winner Wendell Hollandwhom Mitch had recently connected with via Survivor alum Libby Vincek. “Her brother was actually my roommate,” he says.

“I knew Wendell had played Survivor: Winners at War with both Tyson and Ethan, so I texted him at 3:01 and asked, ‘What are the chances your boys let me go with them?’ By 3:04, Wendell had reached out and told me, ‘Answer any call you get,’ ” Mitch remembers. “At 3:07, Tyson called me directly and said, ‘You can make it here in time if you leave right now.’ I canceled a small tennis group session and hit the road.”

Mitch, whom fans have nicknamed Mitch “Curry” after NBA legend Steph Curry because of his shooting prowess during Survivor challenges, then jumped in his car and began driving from Waco to San Antonio.

“Around 4:40, I met my best friend Josh at a gas station outside of Austin,” Mitch says of a quick pitstop. “He brought me a change of clothes, a razor, cologne and a phone charger so I could be game-day ready.”

“I rolled up to Tyson and Ethan’s hotel at 6:40, valeted my car and walked straight into an unforgettable night,” Mitch adds. “We made it just in time for the 7:40 tip-off. It was truly a bucket list moment I’ll never forget.”

At the game, Florida triumphed over Houston, 65-63, but Mitch also felt as though he came out victorious with his whirlwind game-day experience.

“It was incredibly surreal hanging out with two Survivor legends,” Mitch says. “We laughed a lot. Honestly, all three of those guys made me feel completely welcome, like I truly belonged there.”

That night wasn’t over yet, as they all went back to the hotel for food.

“I tried to keep my fangirl questions to a minimum, but I did ask about their thoughts on this current season, and they shared some awesome stories from the seasons they played,” Mitch shares of their hotel hangout.

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Mitch, who is one of only 10 castaways remaining on season 48, has had several standout moments air so far, especially being the first person with a stutter to compete in the show’s 25-year history.

“I was proud of how I shared my story and my stutter — it was raw and real,” Mitch says, referring to the moment in the second episode when host Jeff Probst asked him, “When you’re struggling do you want help from someone or is part of it is to let you finish when you’re ready to finish?”

At the time, Mitch told the longtime Survivor host, “The hope is that everyone would just kind of hang in there for me and just give me the opportunity to finish my sentence. I’m so thankful you asked that because honestly people just naturally want to help others.”

Mitch now tells PEOPLE that “getting to open up to Jeff in front of my castmates about stuttering and what’s helped me — it was a powerful moment of advocacy that made me feel safe in a vulnerable moment.”

Those powerful moments keep coming for Mitch, who says it comes down to “being part of the Survivor family,” including his game-day buddies.

“I put myself out there, shot my shot, and the Survivor community came through,” Mitch emphasizes. “I got to meet some of the people I looked up to while watching from home. These guys didn’t just share game stories — they opened up about the hard stuff that comes with life after the show. I’m incredibly grateful they let me spend that night with them.”

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Survivor airs every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and can be streamed live and afterward on Paramount+.