Where ESPN projects Juke Harris to be picked in new NBA mock draft

Juke Harris is projected to be a second-round pick in the NBA Draft, according to ESPN’s updated mock draft this week. The Wake Forest guard is in the NCAA Transfer Portal, where he is being heavily recruited by Tennessee basketball, while also going through the pre-NBA Draft process.

ESPN’s Jeremy Woo on Tuesday had Harris as the No. 33 overall pick, selected by the Brooklyn Nets with the third pick in the second round. The mock draft had Tennessee freshman wing Nate Ament as the No. 10 overall pick and senior center Felix Okpara as the No. 60 overall pick.

Harris has until May 27 to withdraw from the NBA Draft and retain his collegiate eligibility. The NBA Draft is set for May 10-17 in Chicago. Players can also work out for NBA teams and receive direct feedback during the lead up to the draft.

Juke Harris averaged 21.4 points per game during breakout sophomore season

Harris, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, is the No. 1 overall player in the NCAA Transfer Portal in the On3 Ranking. He averaged 21.4 points in his second season at Wake Forest. He had an effective field goal percentage of 52.7 while shooting 44.4% from the floor and 33.2% from the 3-point line. He averaged 6.1 points in 19.0 minutes per game as a freshman in 2024-25.

Harris picked Wake Forest over Tennessee out of high school, as a four-star prospect out of Salisbury, N.C. He was the No. 95 overall player in the 2024 Rivals Industry Ranking. He was the No. 34 small forward in the class and the No. 9 player in North Carolina. 

Head coach Rick Barnes and his staff did an in-home visit with Harris in North Carolina on April 12, a day after Harris took an official visit to Michigan. North Carolina was also involved earlier in the recruitment of Harris and Louisville has reportedly been more involved as of late.

Tennessee is rebuilding 2026-27 roster in NCAA Transfer Portal

Barnes has had to rebuild his roster nearly from scratch after losing 11 players in total from last season’s team. 

Tennessee has signed six players from the NCAA Transfer Portal so far in VCU guard Terrence Hill Jr., Cal guard Dai Dai Ames, Belmont guard Tyler Lundblade, Notre Dame forward Jalen Haralson, Loyola Chicago forward Miles Rubin and Kennesaw State forward Braedan Lue. The biggest hole remaining is on the wing, where the Vols want Harris to fill the void.

Barnes lost four seniors (Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Felix Okpara, Amaree Abram and Grant Hurst) from last season while six players entered the NCAA Transfer Portal (J.P. Estrella, Jaylen Carey, Cade Phillips, Bishop Boswell, Amari Evans and Clarence Massamba). Sophomore guard Ethan Burg also decided to return home to Israel. 

Massamba is the only player that has not yet announced a commitment to a new school. Estrella is going to Michigan, Carey is going to Missouri and Phillips is going to Texas A&M. Boswell signed with Maryland and Evans landed at Texas.