The 2026 NBA Draft is about four weeks away and there’s a good chance that we see no Michigan State players selected after Jeremy Fears removed his name from the process.
We might see Jaxon Kohler sneak into the second round, but he’s been anywhere between 70-90 on most big boards. He will need to have a huge stretch of pre-draft workouts if he’s going to get selected, but I could see him signing a two-way deal after an NBA Summer League appearance.
Both Kohler and Carson Cooper have had pre-draft workouts so far and I truly believe that both are good enough to at least find their way to the G-League.
Kohler is a sharpshooting 6-foot-9 power forward who plays with tenacity and he had the nickname “Baby Jokic” coming out of high school. He’s one of the more skilled bigs in this cycle. Cooper is an athletic big man who doesn’t have an outside shot but he makes up for that with his rim-running ability and his defense. Cooper’s motor is going to attract a lot of team — same with Kohler.
The 2026 NBA Draft is the current topic of conversation regarding college basketball, but some draft experts are already looking ahead to the 2027 process.
NBADraft.net is one of those expert sites which obviously focuses on the NBA draft. They’ve been updating their 2026 mock regularly with the new developments that take place every day but they also have a way-too-early 2027 mock that has two Spartans going in the second round.
Coen Carr and Fears are projected second-round picks which honestly should be all the motivation they need to have a massive year with the Spartans.
Carr is projected as the last pick in the draft to the Oklahoma City Thunder while Fears is projected as the No. 48 overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers. I kind of like both spots for these two but they can improve their stock this season if they can both add a consistent jumper to their game.
Several Spartans have been projected as 2027 NBA Draft picks
There’s a non-zero chance that Michigan State could have five players selected in the 2027 NBA Draft, but that’s just based on the fact that I’ve seen five different Spartans in early mocks.
Jasiah Jervis, an incoming freshman who’s currently representing Team USA at the FIBA AmeriCup, was recently projected as a top-10 prospect on an expert’s big board, Anton Bonke has been projected as a possible second-rounder, Jordan Scott has surprisingly been mocked as a first-rounder by one expert, and now both Fears and Carr are projected second-round picks.
I think Fears and Carr have the most to prove in 2026-27 and if they can answer some questions and address some weaknesses in their games, they can both climb up the big boards.
I’m assuming these mocks are basing this off their current games and not how much they believe Carr and Fears will improve. These two are going to be much better this season and I’ll bet that at least one of them draws first-round interest next year.
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