At the top of the list is Yaxel Lendeborg, a do-it-all-forward who played the past two seasons at UAB and strongly considered entering this year’s draft. He’s ranked No. 14 by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo. They said the 6-foot-9 Lendeborg is among the top five returning college players to watch.

In ESPN's new 60-pick 2026 NBA mock draft by Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo, a pair of KU stars were featured. Freshman guard Darryn Peterson is projected to go No. 1 overall to the Washington Wizards, while Flory Bidunga slots in at the end of the second round at No. 56 overall.