The 2026 NBA Draft rankings outside of the consensus at the top are topsy-turvy and won’t settle for months.

Amidst the cold spells, hot streaks and endless speculation game-to-game, a handful of prospects have vaulted themselves into a new echelon as the season progresses.

Stars may be born in March, draft stock oftentimes is a slow burn. New skills, thriving in an expanded role or simply an unforgettable scoring performance, we identified five prospects that have turned heads throughout the college basketball season thus far.

Kingston Flemings (Guard, Freshman, Houston)

Draft Stock: Top 5–10

Flemings arrived in Houston a five-star recruit, but has taken the bull by the horns his freshman season and rocketed his way to legitimate Top-5 consideration in recent weeks.

Fresh off a 42-point outburst against Texas Tech on January 24th, Kingston is a dual-wield guard that blends three-level scoring with heads-up playmaking as a north-to-south attacker. He changes speed at a moment’s notice, and the body control and ambidexterity he flashes around the rim stands out.

Flirting with a 50-40-80 shooting season, his shooting form is robotic with ample elevation. Defensively, Flemings is fleet of foot on-the-ball and around screens and, after turning 19 years old a month ago, should fill out his frame in due time to quell any strength concerns.

Keaton Wagler (Guard, Freshman, Illinois)

Draft Stock: Top 10

A 6-6 combo guard, Wagler has been lights-out from distance — converting 43.8 percent of his 5.8 3-point attempts per game.

He erupted for 46 points and 9 made threes on January 24th in the midst of an 11-game win streak for the Fighting Illini. Despite a low release point, Keaton’s jump shot is snappy and high-arcing. He is comfortable using reset dribbles to free up space against shifting defenders or around handoffs.

Wagler does not possess extraordinary A-to-B quickness and, consequently, he tends to drive the ball with his back turned to defenders or leads with his shoulder. But he is excellent at playing off two feet inside the arc.

He lacks the short-area mobility and lateral shiftiness to keep pace with some opposing guards on defense, but his positional size and plus-wingspan provide a decent floor.

Cameron Carr (Guard, Junior, Baylor)

Draft Stock: Top 20

Carr transferred to Baylor mid-season in 2024–25 after a thumb injury limited him to just four games. He was barely on the draft radar six months ago, but he has flipped the script as a Junior.

From minimal playing time at Tennessee to season averages of 19.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 52.1 percent from the field, and 40 percent from deep, Carr is a can’t-miss prospect.

He has svelte dimensions, a staggering 7-foot-2 wingspan, eye-popping athleticism, and deep shooting range. Carr is attuned to using screens to his advantage and is decisive in a straight-line when run off the 3-point line.

Cameron is limited as a primary ball carrier and distributor, but he fits the 3-and-D mould nicely with the added bonus of being a lob threat when slashing to the basket.

Hannes Steinbach (Forward, Freshman, Washington)

Draft Stock: Lottery

A 6-11, 220-pound hybrid big from Germany, Steinbach shifted from fringe draft prospect to lottery-bound in a matter of months.

He has recorded a double-double in 15 of his 19 college games thus far and converted 37 percent of his 35 3-point attempts. Hannes boasts a floor game that is hard to come by for a guy his size, courtesy of fluid movement and agility.

What he lacks in low-post craft, he makes up for by dominating with a head of steam as a roller and while coasting down floor as a serial transition threat. A smart screener and intuitive cutter, Steinbach’s attention-to-detail and court sense is readily apparent on both sides of the ball.

Labaron Philon (Guard, Sophomore, Alabama)

Draft Stock: Lottery

Philon was a late scratch from the 2025 NBA Draft, opting to return to Alabama for his sophomore season despite late first-round to early second-round buzz. A wise decision as it turned out.

Labaron has almost double his scoring output as a Sophomore (an SEC-leading 21.6 points per game) while upping his 2-point and 3-point efficiency on sky-high 31.4 percent usage.

A 6-4 point guard, Labaron is devious with a live dribble with nothing overly flashy or daring. His unpredictable tempo and atypical compass to kite defenders off the dribble, get to spots, and make plays for himself or others.

Despite a wiry frame, Philon is a dogged defender when guarding the ball in a stance.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates ignited the ice with a commanding rhythm dance before teammate Alysa Liu followed with a fearless, free-wheeling skate on Friday, propelling the United States to the top of figure skating’s team event at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Three-times world champions Chock and Bates set the early pace by winning Friday’s rhythm dance with the best score in the world this season.

Their teammates Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea held that advantage for the U.S. with their fifth-place finish in the pairs.

Liu closed the day in style, floating through her lyrical program to “Promise” by Laufey for a score of 74.90, second behind Japan’s triple world champion Kaori Sakamoto (78.88) in the women’s singles.

After three of the four short programs in the event, the U.S. leads with 25 points, followed by Japan with 23, and Italy with 22.

Sakamoto, who has said she will retire after this season, produced a stirring performance to “Time to Say Goodbye” by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli in the spiritual home of opera to propel Japan from fifth to third place.

Lara Naki Gutmann of Italy was third.

Skating with the precision and polish that made them three-times world champions, Chock and Bates scored 91.06 points with their program to a montage of music by The Guess Who and Lenny Kravitz to ignite the raucous U.S. fans inside the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

“We definitely skated great,” Bates said. “I think we both felt the excitement of just getting these Olympics underway. You never know what to expect with the score.

“There was even a little delay, (because) they said it in Italian, we were looking for the score, and once we saw it, we were thrilled. To break 90 is always a great feat, and to do it to open the Games is even better.”

Chock and Bates edged new French duo Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who scored 89.98 for their skate to Madonna’s “Vogue.” The Olympics are only their fifth major international competition after they teamed up last March.

“Our goal was to really keep building,” said Cizeron, who claimed the ice dance gold with former partner Gabriella Papadakis at the 2022 Beijing Games.

“We’ve been improving at each competition and adding to our score, obviously, but getting more precise with our technical elements and having more fun, enjoying the performance and giving 100% so I think we’re still kind of climbing that ramp a little bit.”

Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson were third, but Team GB had slipped to eighth by the end of the day.

Introduced in 2014 in Sochi, the three-day team event features one entry per country in men’s, women’s and pairs skating as well as ice dancing in both short and long programs.

Unlike other skating events, the athletes sit in their respective national boxes rink-side to cheer on their teammates.

Skaters are awarded points according to their place in the standings, from 10 points for first-place to one point for finishing last.

Only the top five countries after the short programs have been completed in each discipline advance to the free skate.

Two-time world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the pairs short program to help lift Japan up the standings, while European champions Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia were second with their performance to “Bolero”. Home favorites Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii were third.

The men’s short programme will feature on Saturday.

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media

Madison Chock and Evan Bates ignited the ice with a commanding rhythm dance before teammate Alysa Liu followed with a fearless, free-wheeling skate on Friday, propelling the United States to the top of figure skating’s team event at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Three-times world champions Chock and Bates set the early pace by winning Friday’s rhythm dance with the best score in the world this season.

Their teammates Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea held that advantage for the U.S. with their fifth-place finish in the pairs.

Liu closed the day in style, floating through her lyrical program to “Promise” by Laufey for a score of 74.90, second behind Japan’s triple world champion Kaori Sakamoto (78.88) in the women’s singles.

After three of the four short programs in the event, the U.S. leads with 25 points, followed by Japan with 23, and Italy with 22.

Sakamoto, who has said she will retire after this season, produced a stirring performance to “Time to Say Goodbye” by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli in the spiritual home of opera to propel Japan from fifth to third place.

Lara Naki Gutmann of Italy was third.

Skating with the precision and polish that made them three-times world champions, Chock and Bates scored 91.06 points with their program to a montage of music by The Guess Who and Lenny Kravitz to ignite the raucous U.S. fans inside the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

“We definitely skated great,” Bates said. “I think we both felt the excitement of just getting these Olympics underway. You never know what to expect with the score.

“There was even a little delay, (because) they said it in Italian, we were looking for the score, and once we saw it, we were thrilled. To break 90 is always a great feat, and to do it to open the Games is even better.”

Chock and Bates edged new French duo Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron, who scored 89.98 for their skate to Madonna’s “Vogue.” The Olympics are only their fifth major international competition after they teamed up last March.

“Our goal was to really keep building,” said Cizeron, who claimed the ice dance gold with former partner Gabriella Papadakis at the 2022 Beijing Games.

“We’ve been improving at each competition and adding to our score, obviously, but getting more precise with our technical elements and having more fun, enjoying the performance and giving 100% so I think we’re still kind of climbing that ramp a little bit.”

Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson were third, but Team GB had slipped to eighth by the end of the day.

Introduced in 2014 in Sochi, the three-day team event features one entry per country in men’s, women’s and pairs skating as well as ice dancing in both short and long programs.

Unlike other skating events, the athletes sit in their respective national boxes rink-side to cheer on their teammates.

Skaters are awarded points according to their place in the standings, from 10 points for first-place to one point for finishing last.

Only the top five countries after the short programs have been completed in each discipline advance to the free skate.

Two-time world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the pairs short program to help lift Japan up the standings, while European champions Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia were second with their performance to “Bolero”. Home favorites Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii were third.

The men’s short programme will feature on Saturday.

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media