Early 2026 NBA Mock Draft has Pittsburgh Native Going Top Ten

Although the NBA Draft just happened, its never too early to look into future drafts and try to project picks.

That is, according to nbadraftroom.com, who released its 2026 NBA Mock Draft.

NBA Draft Room has Pittsburgh native Meleek Thomas going No. 8 overall in that draft in the first round.

The highly-touted guard won back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA titles this season as a sophomore and junior, averaging 22.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. He has been a significant Pitt target since early in his high school career and has been to numerous games over the past few seasons alongside former teammate and current Pitt guard Brandin Cummings.

Thomas, who is ranked No. 6 in the nation by the 247 Sports Composite Rankings, released a top-12 schools list back in September 2023 that included the following programs: Duke, Kentucky, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Miami, Villanova, Pitt, Tennessee, UConn, Michigan, and Auburn. Since that list was released, he has taken visits to Pitt, UConn, Auburn, and Kentucky, and now has more visits on the agenda. He was scheduled to go to Arkansas last week, but ended up changing the date. That visit date is yet to be announced or reported.

Thomas’ recruitment has been jam-packed with storylines. He has been one of John Calipari’s top priorities at Kentucky and now at Arkansas. He has been a top target for the local program, Pitt, and has been at countless games throughout his high-school career. He recently visited the two-time reigning national champs, UConn. Now, he’s at Overtime Elite in Atlanta, and out of the Pittsburgh area.