For years, the Big 12 has fought for respect in the college sports landscape. Whether it’s battling perception in football or navigating conference realignment, the league has often found itself playing defense against the SEC and Big Ten.
On Tuesday night, however, the Big 12 didn’t need to defend anything.
It simply dominated.
When the 2026 NBA Draft unfolded, four Big 12 players landed among the top 10 selections. BYU forward AJ Dybantsa went No. 1 overall to the Washington Wizards, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson followed at No. 2 to the Utah Jazz, and Houston guard Kingston Flemings came off the board at No. 8 to the Atlanta Hawks. Rounding out the Top 10 was former Arizona guard
Brayden Burries to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Dybantsa’s season at BYU lived up to every bit of the hype. The freshman sensation averaged 25.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 51 percent from the floor, leading all of Division I in scoring during his lone collegiate season.
The No. 1 recruit in the country arrived in Provo with enormous expectations and somehow exceeded them. Dybantsa became the face of BYU basketball, earning Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors, First-Team All-America recognition and establishing himself as the consensus top prospect in the draft. He showcased his complete offensive game throughout the season, highlighted by a 43-point performance that set a BYU freshman scoring record.
Meanwhile, Peterson gave Kansas fans plenty of reasons to believe the Jayhawks could return to national prominence. The freshman guard averaged 20.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game while shooting nearly 44 percent from the field and better than 38 percent from three-point range. While the injury issue plagued Peterson throughout the season, when he was healthy, he was elite.
Houston’s Kingston Flemings rounded out the Big 12 trio after a remarkable freshman campaign under Kelvin Sampson. Flemings averaged 16.1 points, 5.2 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game while leading the Cougars in scoring, assists and steals.
Flemings helped continue Houston’s rise as a national power, becoming the first freshman in program history to earn All-America honors. His poise as a lead guard, elite athleticism and two-way impact quickly elevated him into lottery-pick territory.
The development is another sign that the Big 12’s reputation as the nation’s premier basketball conference is only getting stronger.
