2026 NBA Draft Preview: Local Prospects

While the Washington Wizards are playing their best basketball of the season and players like Bub Carrington and Tre Johnson are breaking out, the ...

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While the Washington Wizards are playing their best basketball of the season and players like Bub Carrington and Tre Johnson are breaking out, the men’s college basketball season is also well underway. Conference play has just begun and players’ stocks are rising and falling ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft.

The Washington, D.C. area has some of the best college basketball talent in the country. Georgetown, George Washington, Howard and American are all within city limits, Maryland and George Mason are just

outside and still within the bounds of the Metro and countless others are further out in Maryland and Virginia.

There is legitimate NBA talent at these schools. Here are some of the best local prospects that you can check out around the DMV:

*For the purposes of this exercise, I will be looking at all of D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

Neoklis Avdalas, 6’9” Freshman Guard from Virginia Tech

Projection: Late lottery-end of first round

It would be well worth the road trip down to Blacksburg, VA to check out one of the most exciting and unique players in college basketball, the 6’9” playmaker from Greece, Neoklis Avdalas. Avdalas is a very advanced ball-handler and passer for someone of his size and has shown an ability to score at all three levels during Virginia Tech’s non-conference slate. Through 12 games, Avdalas is averaging 14.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists per game and is shooting 37.1% from three on 5.2 attempts. Avdalas has a lot of similarities in his game to Brooklyn Nets rookie Egor Demin, who is coming into his own after a slow start to the season, averaging 16.2 points, 3.0 assists, 2.8 rebounds over his last six games.

Current mock drafts have Avdalas going anywhere from as high as nine to even falling out of the first round. Virginia Tech did not have a very strong non-conference schedule, with their most competitive games being neutral site losses to Saint Mary’s (34 KenPom) and VCU (42 KenPom). Seeing how Avdalas performs against some of the best teams in the ACC, like Duke, North Carolina and Louisville will give talent evaluators a much clearer picture of how he could fit in the NBA and how limiting some of the concerns surrounding his defense will be.

You can ready my full analysis on Avdalas from earlier in the season here:

K.J. Lewis, 6’4” Junior Guard from Georgetown

Projection: Late first round-second round

In his first season at Georgetown after transferring from Arizona, K.J. Lewis has become one of the most effective point-of-attack defenders in college basketball and has put himself in position to be a fringe late first round prospect. He leads the Big East with 2.2 steals per game and has been the Hoyas’ second-leading scorer with 14.3 points per game. Lewis should immediately be able to make an impact in the NBA on the defensive end, but his three point shooting could turn teams away. While improved from last season, he is only shooting 30.6%, lower than most NBA teams would like from the two in the modern NBA.

Even without an elite three point shot, Lewis is still able to pour in points with his aggressive drives and cuts to the basket. It is easy to see Lewis’ fit in the NBA as a change-of-pace, defense-first bench option like Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso or Los Angeles Clippers guard Kris Dunn. In my opinion, Lewis is one of this year’s clearest examples of a high floor, low ceiling player.

Rafael Castro, 6’10” Senior Center from George Washington

Projection: Late second round-UDFA

After struggling to find playing time during his freshman and sophomore seasons at Providence, Rafael Castro burst onto the scene last year after transferring to George Washington and quickly turned himself into one of the most productive two-way bigs in the country. Castro is averaging 15.1 points, 7.4 rebounds. 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks while shooting a very efficient 64.8% from the field.

Castro can use his elite athleticism to compensate against stronger opponents and to jump in passing lanes for easy transition buckets. He more-than held his own in GW’s matchup against Florida while facing off against their supersized frontcourt. While he does not have eye-popping assist numbers, Castro is a very willing and effective passer and has no issues playmaking from the top of the key or the high post. The Atlantic 10 is full of high quality big men this year and Castro will have plenty of more opportunities to prove himself against NBA-caliber competition. If he continues to produce, I would not be surprised to see Castro work his way into consideration for a second round pick. Someone with his size, athleticism and versatility does not come around every day and he should be able to get some real NBA looks.

Johann Grunloh, 7’0” Freshman Center from Virginia

Projection: Late second round/return to college

Virginia has been one of my biggest surprises in college basketball this season, currently ranked No. 21 in the latest AP poll in head coach Ryan Odom’s first season at the helm. One of the biggest reasons why has been the play of German freshman center Johann Grunloh. A legit seven-footer, Grunloh has been dominating around the basket for the Cavaliers with 9.0 points, 2.6 blocks and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 67.3% on two point field goals. The most intriguing part of Grunloh’s game that could lead to him getting NBA looks has been his three point shooting. While his 28.6% rate does not jump off of the stat sheet, he has a very fluid form and should be able to continue improving his perimeter shooting.

If Grunloh improves during conference play and has strong performances against some of the top ACC competition, I would expect him to get a significant amount of draft buzz and would be a solid second round pick. But, he is just a freshman, and could return to college and try to continue improving his draft stock.