The Arizona Wildcats get the college basketball season underway in about two weeks, while the 2027 NBA draft is roughly eight months out.
That isn't stopping scouts and analysts from projecting who could be at the top of this class when June rolls around - and once again, the Wildcats are thought to have three potential lottery picks on the roster.
Adam Finkelstein of CBS Sports published a first-round mock draft on Saturday that included freshman guard Caleb Holt and returners Mo Krivas and Ivan Kharchenkov among the first 11 players selected - an extreme sign of respect for the talent in Tucson this upcoming season.
Caleb Holt: No. 4 overall
Holt was a top 3 recruit in the 2026 class, and looks every bit like the kind of player who will deliver an excellent, well-rounded freshman season, before bounding off to the NBA and getting picked near the top of the draft.
Finkelstein has the 6'5 guard going No. 4 overall behind fellow 2026 freshmen Tyran Stokes and Jordan Smith Jr., as well as Slovenian forward Stefan Joksimovic.
"Holt is long, strong, athletic, and competes with a motor on both ends of the floor," Finkelstein wrote. "He made steady progress with his guard skills throughout high school, particularly his shooting, and is an impactful defender. The biggest question is how much of his playmaking translates, since he had a tendency to play a lot of bully ball in the high school ranks."
The Alabama native has settled in nicely in Arizona's first two exhibition games, showcasing elite on-ball defense, generating turnovers and wreaking havoc in transition, while hunting his own shot without bogging the whole offense down.
If he continues to develop throughout the year, it would be a surprise if he went anywhere other than the top five in this class.
Mo Krivas: No. 7
Finkelstein believes Krivas would have been a first-round pick last year had he opted into the draft, and now has him all the way up into the top ten ahead of what most believe will be a breakout season for the Lithuanian big man.
Krivas is the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year and is considered a favorite to earn All-America honors this season as the anchor down low for coach Lloyd's team.
A 22-year-old on draft night, Krivas would be a surprise pick in the top 10 - but in what is considered a weaker class, it is certainly possible, especially after Aday Mara went in a similar spot this past year.
Ivan Kharchenkov: No. 11
Kharchenkov was the ultimate glue guy for Arizona last year in the run to the Final Four - starting every game but often settling in as the team's fourth or fifth option offensively.
Now the keys are his, and the early returns on Arizona's foreign tour and through a pair of exhibition games show a player who is ready for his close-up.
The 6'7 German does a little bit of everything, and his defense and driving ability are both NBA-ready - if the outside shot follows, he has a very good chance of playing his way into the draft lottery and/or the top ten.
Add us as a preferred source on Google