It’s been nothing short of a banner year for Big Ten men’s basketball.
In April, Michigan became the first Big Ten men’s basketball champion in 26 years. In the same tournament, Illinois appeared in its first Final Four since 2005, No. 8 seed Iowa upset the reigning champion Florida Gators en route to the Elite Eight, and six teams from the conference made the Sweet Sixteen.
The Big Ten carried the momentum forward this week in the 2026 NBA Draft with 11 selections. Such a big class has practically become routine for the conference. In 2025, 10 Big Ten players came off the board, with seven in the first round. Former Rutgers Scarlet Knight Dylan Harper headlined the 2025 group at No. 2 overall and has quickly become a vital piece for the contending San Antonio Spurs. The trend goes back even further, as 10 or more Big Ten players have been drafted in four out of the last five years.
This year’s Big Ten NBA class is talented and deep. Big Ten Freshman of the Year Keaton Wagler was selected fifth overall by the Los Angeles Clippers after a year at Illinois. At 6’5”, Wagler is a tall guard with impressive footwork and sharp shooting who has proven that he can meet the moment, scoring 25 in the Elite Eight against Iowa and dropping a career-high 46 points in a road win against No. 4 Purdue back in January.
Michigan’s three-headed monster of Morez Johnson Jr., Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg, and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Aday Mara were selected No. 9, 11, and 12 by the Dallas Mavericks, Golden State Warriors, and Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively. The trio created a dominant frontcourt that helped the Wolverines win their first national championship in 37 years.
NBA: Draft-Red Carpet
Michigan has three players drafted in the lottery for first time in school history
Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara were all taken in the first 12 picks.
The Charlotte Hornets rounded out the lottery, picking former Washington Husky Hannes Steinbach at No. 14. The versatile big man from Germany has an opportunity to make a profound impact on an up-and-coming Hornets squad. Two picks later, former Iowa Hawkeye Bennett Stirtz came off the board. Stirtz is a prolific three-level scoring guard that could mesh well with the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship culture.
On the second night of the draft, five more Big Ten players took the next step in their NBA dreams. Ohio State point guard Bruce Thornton went No. 31, while Purdue’s veteran floor general, Braden Smith, went 38th overall. UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau, Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli, and Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn were selected 43rd, 55th, and 59th and will be heading to the Brooklyn Nets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Minnesota Timberwolves, respectively.
Eleven picks out of the Big Ten is an achievement itself. But the different paths each of them took reflects how well the conference has evolved alongside the sport.
Wagler and Steinbach are the traditional one-and-done lottery picks. Then, there are the new, but not-so-new guys from the transfer portal. Johnson, Lendeborg, and Mara each spent just one year at Michigan after transferring in from other schools, building both their chemistry as a unit as well as their individual draft stocks. Stirtz is the ultimate transfer, playing two years of DII ball at Northwest Missouri State University before transferring to Drake and then to Iowa a year later. Bilodeau spent two years at Oregon State before going to UCLA for a pair, and in his senior season averaged a career-high 17.6 points per game. It’s clear that the transfer portal and increased NIL money have only elevated the product of Big Ten basketball.
But as much as the Big Ten has excelled in the transfer portal, most of the second-round picks represent what college basketball purists are longing for: four-year, one-team players. Smith and Thornton both made history in their long careers: Smith as the NCAA’s all-time assist leader, and Thornton as Ohio State’s all-time leading scorer. Martinelli became a two-time Big Ten scoring champion while helping turn Northwestern’s program around, and Kaufman-Renn helped lead Purdue to deep postseason runs.
The Big Ten has set a foundation for success in college basketball, but this is undoubtedly an exceptional group. Out of the 15 players selected by the coaches to All-Big Ten teams in 2026, only Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. and Nebraska’s Pryce Sandfort are returning. But if recent history teaches us anything, the Big Ten should be right back at the top next season.
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