TyTy Washington, Daimion Collins listed in ESPN's 2022 draft rankings

With exactly four weeks until the college basketball season tips off, ESPN has released its latest 2022 NBA draft top 100 to account for recent college pro days, practices and European league play. Among the players included? Kentucky freshmen TyTy Washington and Daimion Collins.

In the latest update by Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz, Washington came in at No. 16 overall, followed by Collins at No. 19. No other Wildcats are included in the top 100 rankings.

Among other names of importance for Kentucky fans, former UK targets Paolo Banchero (No. 2), Jaden Hardy (No. 3), Jalen Duren (No. 4), Patrick Baldwin Jr. (No. 8), Peyton Watson (No. 9) and A.J. Griffin (No. 12) are all projected as lottery picks. Former Kentucky commitment Nolan Hickman (Gonzaga) is also a projected first-round draft pick at No. 23 overall.

ESPN’s projected first-rounders

Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga)
Paolo Banchero (Duke)
Jaden Hardy (G League Ignite)
Jalen Duren (Memphis)
Jabari Smith (Auburn)
Caleb Houstan (Michigan)
Yannick Nzosa (Unicaja Malaga)
Patrick Baldwin Jr. (Milwaukee)
Peyton Watson (UCLA)
Jaden Ivey (Purdue)
Ousmane Dieng (NZ Breakers)
A.J. Griffin (Duke)
J.D. Davison (Alabama)
Jean Montero (Overtime Elite)
Dyson Daniels (G League Ignite)
TyTy Washington (Kentucky)
Roko Prkacin (Cibona Zagreb)
Kennedy Chandler (Tennessee)
Daimion Collins (Kentucky)
Ben Mathurin (Arizona)
Khalifa Diop (Gran Canaria)
Mark Williams (Duke)
Nolan Hickman (Gonzaga)
Allen Flanigan (Auburn)
Tristan Vukcevic (Real Madrid)
Keegan Murray (Iowa)
Nikola Jovic (Mega Basket)
Jaime Jaquez Jr. (UCLA)
Caleb Love (North Carolina)
Hugo Besson (NZ Breakers)

With just two Kentucky players included in the top 100, that means Davion Mintz, Kellan Grady, CJ Fredrick, Oscar Tshiebwe, Sahvir Wheeler, Keion Brooks Jr., Dontaie Allen, Lance Ware and Bryce Hopkins are all projected to go undrafted this season. Fredrick, Tshiebwe, Wheeler, Brooks, Allen, Ware and Hopkins would all be able to return to Kentucky in 2022-23, while Mintz and Grady no longer have college eligibility after this season.

Could UK see an abundance of returning talent next season? Will name, image and likeness rules help bring back players on the fence about going pro? We’ll see how it all unfolds.