Wing Rankings

If the 2026 draft has a weak spot it would be the Wing class. Evans looks good but the rest are mostly older prospects who look like reserves. Some are capable of busting out though.

1. Isaiah Evans, Duke: I’m very impressed with how Evans has improved his game this year. He was nothing more than a shooter with weak counting stats last year as a freshman. This year he has improved his stats across the board. He’s at a level I would call mediocre for a prospect. That might seem like a negative. But considering his spectacular 3-point ability, those mediocre skills should help carry him to a long career. The fact that he improved those skills means there might be another jump from mediocre to good coming, in which case he’ll be a bargain drafted in the 20s where he’s been mocked.

2. Alex Karaban, Connecticut: I looked at NBA players who have topped .400 3P% on significant volume. There were 35 such players who played NCAA ball through at least their junior season. All but 5 of these players posted a 3P% of at least .400 in their draft year or for their entire career. Karaban’s 3P% from freshmen to senior are .402, .379, .347 and .374 respectively. He’s at .374 for his career. He doesn’t have the look of an elite NBA 3-point shooter, merely a good one. Karaban looks more like a Kispert than a Korver or Kennard. He should be a useful wing even if he hits the 3-pointer at a .380 clip instead of .420. He’s a low-mistake player with good passing and adequate defense and rebounding numbers.

3. Richie Saunders, BYU: Saunders will be 25 before the 2026-27 NBA season starts. That has traditionally been a red flag for prospects. Saunders also has posted offensive numbers that are right there with the best prospects in the 2026 class. He has no numbers, other than age, that I would call a red flag. Because NIL money has marginal prospects staying longer, it seems likely there will be more older prospects in play each draft. One of the reasons this draft is so deep is likely due to the number of older prospects who would have turned pro a year or two earlier if they weren’t getting paid. This also means we’re going to see more older prospects succeeding. In Saunders case he looks like he would have been a draftable prospect after his sophomore season. I don’t know that he would have entered the draft then, but the fact he posted draftworthy numbers back then tells me that, with the massive improvement he has made, he’s a solid early round two draftee.

4. Lajae Jones, Florida State: Jones has caught my eye as a prospect with serious potential as a 3/D Wing. He’s a well-travelled player with four stops in four years. The last three years his 3P% were .422, .389 and .325. His FT% were .747, .800 and .763 during the same stretch. Those are some decent numbers. I don’t like his .325 this year but the previous years were solid enough that I would consider that an aberration. He did this with strong defensive and rebounding numbers. His passing has yet to develop, but he has been a low-turnover player, which is an important skill for a wing to bring. Jones is a solid round 2 sleeper.

5. Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA: Bilodeau might be more of a forward. He’s 6’8” 228. I have him here because shooting is going to be his ticket. As a senior his percentages were .553 2P%, .464 3P% and .873 FT%. For his career the numbers are .552, .400 and .807. This on a Usage% over 25.0 the last two seasons and 24.3 on his career. He’s a solid shooting prospect. The rest of his game needs a lot of work. The best thing about the rest of his game is he commits very few turnovers. I feel his shooting is enough to get him work as a reserve stretch 4/wing.

6. Darrion Williams, North Carolina State: He has some good numbers but posted a .423 2P% this year. That’s a definite red flag. The fact he was at .515 and .488 the previous two seasons tells me the .423 was something of a fluke. If we ignore that he’s a decent wing prospect who adds solid rebounding and passing to his solid 3-point skills.

7. Tucker DeVries, Indiana: DeVries was looking like a solid prospect at Drake for three seasons. He transferred to West Virginia. He injured his should and missed most of that season. He transferred to Indiana, played okay but not at the level he had been as a Drake Bulldog. Now he’s a 5^th-year senior and a bubble draftee. He also has the same problem as Karaban in that his potential as a 3-point shooter would be described as solid rather than elite.

8. Aaron Nkrumah, Tennessee State: Longshot 3/D wing. Nkrumah has posted elite defensive numbers his entire career. This year about half his FGAs were 3PAs. He hit them at a .351 clip. His other numbers are solid other than the .483 2P%. He played at a smaller college against softer competition and that needs to be taken into account. That didn’t stop another Tennessee State Tiger, Robert Covington from having a solid career as a 3/D wing. Nkrumah could do the same.

9. Cade Tyson, Minnesota

10. Tyler Nickel, Vanderbilt: Two players who can shoot the lights out but have posted other numbers so weak I couldn’t see drafting either one. Like all the Wings they do have a shooter’s chance of making it.