4 Mid-Major Prospects Who Could be Selected in the 2026 NBA Draft

The introduction of the transfer portal and NIL payments has had massive changes on college sports, including NCAA basketball.

One of the impacts of these changes is the consolidation of talent at the high-major level.

There are countless examples of prospects who have transferred from mid-major schools to Power Conference programs, including Dalton Knecht, who competed at the junior college level before starring at Northern Colorado and then transferring to Tennessee.

Knecht's lone season with the Volunteers was enough to earn a spot in the first round of the 2024 draft. This year, Yaxel Lendeborg will likely be a lottery pick after starting his career at Arizona Western College before heading to UAB and finishing out his college playing days at Michigan.

While the transfer portal has limited the amount of players being drafted directly from programs outside of the Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, SEC and Big East, there are still prospects from the smaller conferences who reach the NBA.

Ajay Mitchell of UC Santa Barbara was a second-round pick in 2024 and has developed into a key player for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Rasheer Fleming of St. Joe's was the first pick of the second round in the 2025 NBA Draft and showed flashes throughout his rookie year with the Phoenix Suns.

Here are a few players from mid-major schools who could be drafted in the 2026 class.

Allen Graves, Santa Clara

The Broncos have put multiple solid players into the NBA recently, including All-NBA wing Jalen Williams and Brandin Podziemski, who started 43 games for the Golden State Warriors in 2025-26.

If Graves elects to remain in the 2026 draft class, he could be the next Santa Clara product to make an impact at the NBA level.

Listed at 6-foot-9 and 225 pounds, Graves averaged 11.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 51.2% from the field and 41.3% from 3-point range as a redshirt freshman, also offering defensive versatility.

Jaden Henley, Grand Canyon

Henley played at four different schools in his college career, finishing at Grand Canyon.

In his lone season with the Antelopes, the veteran wing averaged 17.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 46.6% from the field and 26.8% from beyond the arc. At the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament, Henley measured at 6-foot-6 and three quarters of an inch in shoes and performed well on the court.

Kashie Natt, Sam Houston State

Natt played just one season of NCAA basketball, starring at LSU Alexandria, an NAIA school, before transferring to Sam Houston State.

The 6-foot-3 guard continued his impressive college career with the Bearkats, averaging 10.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2 steals per game while shooting 43% from the field and 38.3% from deep. Natt earned Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year recognition for his efforts.

Izaiyah Nelson, South Florida

Nelson also competed well at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament and measured 6-foot-9 in shoes with a massive 7-foot-3 wingspan.

After three seasons at Arkansas State, Nelson had a career year with the Bulls, averaging 15.9 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.4 blocks per game while shooting 56.1% from the field.

Nelson earned American Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year while helping South Florida reach the NCAA Tournament, where he turned in 22 points, 9 rebounds, an assist, 3 blocks and 2 steals against Louisville.

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