Top 10 NBA Draft prospects in the NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region

James Fletcher IIIby:James Fletcher III•03/17/22•

jdfletch3

The NCAA Tournament creates a set of March Madness heroes each year, thrusting Cinderella stories into the spotlight with big upsets at every turn. However, one other unique feature of the month-long format is the number of top-tier talent which assembles in one place to face each other each week.

With plenty NBA prospects in this year’s NCAA Tournament field, including nine of ESPN’s top 10 best available players for the 2022 class, perhaps no region of the bracket is more loaded than the Midwest.

The NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 and Elite Eight set to take place in Chicago, Illinois, and the second weekend could still feature plenty NBA Draft prospects in the Midwest Region. With many high-profile prospects playing for the teams chasing 1-seed Kansas, the bracket provides space for some breakout stars. As potential top 10 picks play for Auburn, Iowa and Wisconsin, other schools with prospects mentioned include LSU, South Dakota State and Richmond.

Here is a look at all the top NBA Draft prospects, featuring their On3 Consensus rankings as high school recruits, who will face off in the Midwest Region.

Top NBA Draft prospects in the Midwest Region

1. Jabari Smith – PF (Auburn)

ESPN draft rank: 2, On3 Consensus rank: 7 (2021)

2. Keegan Murray – PF (Iowa)

ESPN draft rank: 5, On3 Consensus rank: NR (2020)

3. Johnny Davis – SG (Wisconsin)

ESPN draft rank: 9, On3 Consensus rank: 201 (2020)

4. Ochai Agbaji – SF (Kansas)

ESPN draft rank: 13, On3 Consensus rank: NR (2018)

5. Tari Eason – SF (LSU)

ESPN draft rank: 14, On3 Consensus rank: 140 (2020)

6. Walker Kessler – C (Auburn)

ESPN draft rank: 19, On3 Consensus rank: 18 (2020)

7. Christian Braun – SG (Kansas)

ESPN draft rank: 34, On3 Consensus rank: 138 (2019)

8. Baylor Scheierman – SF (South Dakota State)

ESPN draft rank: 82, On3 Consensus rank: NR (2019)

9. Kris Murray – PF (Iowa)

ESPN draft rank: 83, On3 Consensus rank: NR (2020)

10. Tyler Burton – SF (Richmond)

ESPN draft rank: 88, On3 Consensus rank: NR (2019)

More on NCAA Tournament

The First Round of the NCAA Tournament officially starts on Thursday, with 6-seed Colorado State and 11-seed Michigan starting things off at 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS. That game tips off two days with 16 games each spread across four television stations with staggered starts to ensure constant gameplay over the full length of the slate.

To see a full list of First Round matchups with channels and times, click here. To see the broadcast assignments for each NCAA Tournament game over the First Round, including play-by-play broadcasters, color commentators and sideline reporters, click here.

The NCAA will release information on the Second Round after matchups are determined on Thursday and Friday. Teams will move to new locations for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight before playing the Final Four in New Orleans.