LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The 2026 NBA Draft is almost here. When the draft gets underway next week, with round one taking place on Thursday, June 23 at 8:00 p.m. EST, followed by the second and final round on Friday, June 24 at the same time, a couple Louisville men's basketball players are hoping to hear their name called.
Even before he played a single game at Louisville, Mikel Brown Jr. was projected to be a lottery pick. While a back injury held back his full potential with the Cardinals, he's still a consensus top-ten pick. With Ryan Conwell, he capped off a productive college career with his best year to date - and has been routinely been generating early second round buzz because of it.
With outlets beginning to publish some of their final mocks of the draft season, where are Brown and Conwell being projected to go?Take a look below:
The folks over at CBS Sports have been incredibly busy during draft season. They have not one, not two, but six different mock drafts currently posted - all of which are from different writers. Matt Norlander and Cameron Salerno are the draft analysts that are highest on Brown, tabbing him to go No. 5 overall to the Los Angeles Clippers. Gary Parrish has him going to the Brooklyn Nets with the sixth overall pick, while three different analysts with CBS Sports - David Cobb, Adam Finkelstein and Isaac Trotter - have Brown coming off the board at No. 7 overall to the Sacramento Kings.
Finklestein was the only writer to do a full mock draft, and in his mock, he projected Conwell to go to the Oklahoma City Thunder with the No. 37 overall pick.
Over the last several years, Jeremy Woo with ESPN has become one of the most respected and well-connected NBA Draft analysts out there. In his most recent mock draft posted earlier this week, he has Brown projected to the Kings at No. 7 overall, with Conwell getting picked up with the 39th overall pick by the Houston Rockets.
Considering that both Brown and Conwell are projected to go first 5-7 picks of the first and second rounds, respectively, there's a slight chance that both players are drafted by the same team. Well, that's exactly what USA TODAY's Bryan Kalbrosky is projecting. In his most recent mock, he has the Nets drafting both players - taking Brown at No. 6 overall and Conwell at No. 33.
"Brown appears to be on solid footing going into next week and has had a positive predraft process, putting himself in play above this slot with the Clippers and Nets, and with interest all over the top 10," Woo wrote. "His size and well-rounded skill set gives him an argument as the ball handler with the highest offensive upside in this second tier of prospects. Teams say he has been impressive in workouts, displaying the deep shooting range and footwork that give him star potential, and helping to assuage concerns around his inconsistent freshman season.
One of the most knowledgeable draft writers/analysts in this sphere is Sam Vecenie at The Athletic, and he's been pretty high on Louisville's draft prospects in the past. His most recent mock draft has Brown, once again, going sixth overall to the Nets, while Conwell comes off the board at No. 36 to the Clippers.
As you can probably tell up to this point, Brown has been heavily linked to the Nets' No. 6 overall pick in this draft cycle. Unsurprisingly, that's where Kevin O'Connor in his most recent mock draft has him going as well. Though he's not super high on Conwell, tabbing him to go No. 38 overall to the Chicago Bulls.
"He's a stocky 6-2 lefty with broad shoulders, no real first step, and exactly one dunk in four years of college basketball," O'Connor wrote regarding Conwell. "But he's a knockdown shooter with deep range and a bruiser at the rim who absorbs contact like a fullback. The question is whether the climb continues at the next level, when he can't muscle his way to the cup or shoot over the top of smaller defenders the way he could in college."
Another Nets projection for Brown at No. 6? You guessed it, as that's where On3's James Fletcher III has him coming off the board. He also has Conwell getting picked exactly 30 picks later with the No. 36 overall pick held by the Clippers.
Most draft analysts are fairly high on Brown and Conwell, but Stephen Noh with the Sporting News is probably the lowest on the duo. He has Brown falling all the way to the No. 10 overall pick held by the Milwaukee Bucks, while he projects Conwell to come off the board at No. 39 overall to the Rockets.
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(Photo of Ryan Conwell, Mikel Brown Jr.: Matt Stone - Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/louisville as Mock Draft Roundup: Where Mikel Brown Jr. and Ryan Conwell are Projected to Land .
