It's been six years since a Syracuse men's basketball player was picked in the two-round NBA Draft, and William Kyle III is hoping to reverse that trend.
The 6-foot-9, 230-pound Kyle, an ultra-athletic and defensive-minded power forward/center who spent his senior season with the Orange, will know in less than a month if he will be the first 'Cuse player selected in the NBA Draft dating back to wing Elijah Hughes, who was picked in the second round at No. 39 overall in 2020 by the New Orleans Pelicans (and subsequently traded to the Utah Jazz).
Kyle, who hails from Bellevue, Neb., isn't getting a whole lot of buzz ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft, in terms of being picked. When I perused a bunch of mock drafts and big boards on Friday, his name didn't come up much at all.
Here is my final Top 60 2026 NBA Draft Big Board. pic.twitter.com/8f85Yi3z8q
— KJ (@KJScouting) May 28, 2026
That being said, Jonathan Wasserman's latest big board of the top-75 prospects for the 2026 NBA Draft, published on Friday, has Kyle at No. 69. Wasserman, by the way, is the lead scout/NBA Draft insider for Bleacher Report.
And on Thursday, the X account KJ Scouting posted a final big board of the top-60 players, with Kyle arriving at No. 15 overall. I asked KJ Scouting, via X, if Kyle has a legitimate shot at being drafted in the first or second round.
I think he's ranked lower mainly because he's an older smaller big who was on a not great team, so I don't really see a 1st round pathway. I think he has a good chance to be a 2nd rounder though just off his defensive impact and athleticism at 6'9 and longterm upside. He's also…
— KJ (@KJScouting) May 29, 2026
Here is KJ Scouting's response: "I think he's ranked lower mainly because he's an older smaller big who was on a not great team, so I don't really see a 1st round pathway. I think he has a good chance to be a 2nd rounder though just off his defensive impact and athleticism at 6'9 and longterm upside. He's also a guy who I think will be fine on offense because he just needs to rim run and catch lobs to stick."
william kyle is undersized for the center spot at 6'9 but compensates with remarkable explosive twitch, instantly leaving the floor to rise up for blocks and contests. pretty solid discipline on second contests as well
— Ben Pfeifer (@bjpf_) April 6, 2026
he hit career high BLK (9.6%) and STL (2.1%) this yr pic.twitter.com/i4iTYTFkac
The 2026 NBA Draft will occur on June 23 and June 24 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Syracuse basketball hasn't had a player drafted in a half-dozen years.
Kyle transferred to the Orange after suiting up at UCLA and South Dakota State. He was a bright spot for the 'Cuse in the 2025-26 season, when Syracuse basketball went just 15-17 overall and parted ways with head coach Adrian Autry. Another former SU standout, Gerry McNamara, is now the Orange's head coach.
The New York Knicks hosted a pre-draft workout today that included Jayden Epps (Mississippi State), Wyatt Fricks (Marshall), Will Kyle (Syracuse) and Kowacie Reeves (Georgia Tech), per league sources
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 13, 2026
As a senior in 2025-26, Kyle averaged 28.1 minutes, 8.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game while making 66.1 percent from the field and 49.1 percent from the free-throw line. His blocks per contest were No. 2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and No. 8 nationally.
“I don’t have an accurate vertical because the machines I’ve used maxed out”
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) April 14, 2026
Knicks worked out Will Kyle today
PF coming out of Cuse
Insane athleticism
Rim runner
Rim ruinerpic.twitter.com/PWQ7rLNLT9
From 2000 until 2020, Syracuse basketball had 22 of its players taken in the NBA Draft, but it's been crickets ever since. Even if Kyle isn't chosen in the 2026 NBA Draft, he will get his shot to make an NBA roster.
We're rooting for you, Will!
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