One Under the Radar Draft Prospect the Hornets Have Had Their Eyes on

Get to learn more about the lesser known Hornets prospects

Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It's draft season, and that means the Charlotte Hornets get to work out lots of prospects who have piqued their interest over the course of their college or international career.

That includes first and second-round draft prospects, but also some who will probably not hear their name called and instead be available as undrafted free agents, possibly for the Hornets' G League affiliate, Greensboro Swarm.

To make you familiar with these lesser-known players, we'll be bringing you a series of profiles in the upcoming weeks ahead of the draft. Starting us off is Tre Carroll, or as his fans like to call him: Aquaman!

Per his X account, he worked out with the Hornets in early May:

#1 pic.twitter.com/xHhDRChw6N

— Tre Carroll (@Tre_Carroll12) May 7, 2026

Stats

Season	Team	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	3P%	FT%
22-23	FAU	5.7	3.4	1.8	0.4	64.1	54.5	75.0
23-24	FAU	7.9	4.0	1.8	0.4	49.3	20.0	70.4
24-25	FAU	22.0	12.2	5.2	1.6	52.3	38.8	75.5
25-26	Xavier	31.5	17.8	5.8	2.6	50.1	33.3	70.9

Bio

Carroll was born in Punta Gorda, Florida, to two parents with an extensive athletic background. His mother had a career as both a basketball player and official, while his dad is a former NFL player and Super Bowl champion, Anthony Hargrove.

He attended Charlotte (!) High in Punta Gorda and stayed in the region by committing to FAU in 2021, although he didn't make an immediate impact and redshirted his freshman year. It really took until his fourth season with FAU for him to see big rotational minutes.

He was named the ACC's most improved player in 2025 as a result. Still, he felt like he could blossom in an even larger role and was given that opportunity by Xavier in his final college season.

Even though the team's success didn't stand out, as Xavier finished last in the Big East, Carroll's individual season was admirable. He was named to the All-Big East First Team, led Xavier in points and blocks per game, while finishing second or third in rebounds, assists, and minutes per game.

Strengths

Carroll's heroic nickname stems mostly from his likeness to Aquaman actor Jason Momoa, but it also fits his game, especially offensively.

A 6'8 power forward/big, he moves with a fluidity that is rare for his build. He will confidently shoot a deep three on one possession, then spin inside and lay it in off the glass on the next one.

The efficiency at Xavier wasn't awe-inspiring, but it wasn't bad either. Considering the fact that he was the go-to guy and had to create most of his looks inside the arc for himself, the shot chart looks promising, especially because of the versatility:

Hoopexplorer.com

Again, on the volume Carroll had to shoulder, he was not able to score very efficiently, and he's definitely not projecting to be someone who takes more than a couple of attempts per game at the NBA level.

More so, his versatile shot chart can make him someone who profits off of all kinds of high-level scorers, punishes extreme mismatches in the post, and doesn't turn the ball over much.

Need him to roam around the three-point line and sink open shots? He can do that. Need him to get in the post and punish a mismatch? He can do that. Need him to be an aggressive cutter away from the ball? He can do that.

Additionally, Carroll is an active defensive rebounder and will gladly bring the ball up the floor himself if necessary.

Room For Improvement

On offense, you'd really just like the three-point shot to be a tiny bit more reliable, which seems doable based on his efficiency-unfriendly shot profile at Xavier and solid release.

The playmaking vision is actually quite ok, and he is a willing passer who won't hog the ball. But his execution on more difficult passes leaves a lot to be desired. Luckily, with the role you can see him playing, that won't matter as much.

Really, the issues for "Aquaman" lie on the defensive end. His understanding and positioning are often good initially, but he tends to get less disciplined the deeper into the shot clock the possession goes.

That goes for ballscreen navigation, but also off-ball rotations and closeouts. It's never for lack of effort. You will not see Carroll doze off or allow backdoor cuts en masse.

It's more his coordination and technique. He's prone to open up easy driving lanes for the players he's closing out on simply because he's not under control when jumping at them.

Guarding attentively and staying within his team's scheme defensively through multiple actions will be crucial for him to be able to stick around at the NBA level, especially as he will be undersized for a big and at a disadvantage in that regard anyway.

Since it's not an effort issue though, and Carroll seems like a genuinely hard worker, there's reason for cautious optimism that these problems will actually be addressed.

Fit With The Hornets

You don't see a lot of players like Carroll in today's NBA. Tweener bigs who are shaky defensively and incorporate lots of jump shots into their offense.

Naz Reid comes to mind, but even he is a much better shooter and a somewhat better defender than Carroll. As mentioned previously, his jump shot being a bit more consistent and at him becoming at least passable defensively is key.

Carroll's biggest selling point for the Hornets would probably be his willingness to drive. Oftentimes last year, the Hornets were living and dying by the three-pointer.

When the shots from deep weren't falling, the offense stagnated. Caroll also can play fast for a big, run the court, and flow from action to action quickly on offense. Another trait beneficial to Charlotte basketball.

But on the other hand, "Aquaman" doesn't alleviate any of the Hornets existing qualms. He's not the strongest frontcourt player; he's not consistently efficient inside the arc, and he definitely won't be a positive defender anytime soon.

Ultimately, it's worth keeping Carroll around in the G-League. He simply brings a lot of stuff to the table that the organization has seemed to value recently. He's skilled offensively, mobile, and, from watching some of his interviews, his character also holds up.

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