College basketball fantasy drafts are underway with the season fast approaching, so our crew of college hoops writers and other staff members recently got together to begin our 2026-27 staff league draft. Let’s jump right into the draft results — I’ll be picking No. 3 this year in our snake draft. Since freshman won’t show up in draft room rankings due to a lack of 2025-26 stats, I’ll denote them in Italics to hopefully help them stand out.

Round 1

1. Jeremy Fears, G, Michigan State

2. Tyler Tanner, G, Vanderbilt

3. Thomas Haugh, F/C, Florida

4. Braden Huff, F/C, Gonzaga

5. Jordan Smith Jr., G, Arkansas

6. Motiejus Krivas, F/C, Arizona

7. Tyran Stokes, G, F/C, Kansas

8. Amari Allen, G, F/C, Alabama

9. Robert Wright, G, BYU

10. Josh Hubbard, G, Mississippi State

The top three picks went right in line with our 2026-27 college basketball fantasy rankings on RotoWire. My picks was Haugh, who may be a little less valuable in this format than in rotisserie due to his multi-category production, but still a very safe move.

Huff was next, and although Gonzaga wasn’t eligible for our main rankings list above, he was absolutely drafted appropriately and somebody I strongly considered taking. 

The next five picks were nearly identical to our rankings, with the first two freshman coming off the board. Smith jumped over Stokes in our recent rankings update, as

College basketball fantasy drafts are underway with the season fast approaching, so our crew of college hoops writers and other staff members recently got together to begin our 2026-27 staff league draft. Let’s jump right into the draft results — I’ll be picking No. 3 this year in our snake draft. Since freshman won’t show up in draft room rankings due to a lack of 2025-26 stats, I’ll denote them in Italics to hopefully help them stand out.

Round 1

1. Jeremy Fears, G, Michigan State

2. Tyler Tanner, G, Vanderbilt

3. Thomas Haugh, F/C, Florida

4. Braden Huff, F/C, Gonzaga

5. Jordan Smith Jr., G, Arkansas

6. Motiejus Krivas, F/C, Arizona

7. Tyran Stokes, G, F/C, Kansas

8. Amari Allen, G, F/C, Alabama

9. Robert Wright, G, BYU

10. Josh Hubbard, G, Mississippi State

The top three picks went right in line with our 2026-27 college basketball fantasy rankings on RotoWire. My picks was Haugh, who may be a little less valuable in this format than in rotisserie due to his multi-category production, but still a very safe move.

Huff was next, and although Gonzaga wasn’t eligible for our main rankings list above, he was absolutely drafted appropriately and somebody I strongly considered taking. 

The next five picks were nearly identical to our rankings, with the first two freshman coming off the board. Smith jumped over Stokes in our recent rankings update, as Kansas is bringing in THREE fifth-year (2022) players late who will compete with Stokes for touches.

Hubbard was a slight reach from our rankings update due to scoring dependency, but I certainly can’t argue with three seasons of 17.1, 18.9 and 22.1 ppg. Keep that up and he’ll be leading the country.

Following an offseason with plenty of eligibility uncertainty, RotoWire’s college basketball depth charts are updated with the latest in roster movement.

Round 2

11. Donovan Dent, G, LSU

12. Alex Condon, F/C, Florida

13. Thijs De Ridder, F/C, Virginia

14. Tounde Yessoufou, G, St. John’s

15. Pryce Sandfort, F/C, Nebraska

16. Nolan Winter, F/C, Wisconsin

17. Nigel James, G, Marquette

18. Flory Bidunga, F/C, Louisville

19. Ivan Kharchenkov, F/C, Arizona

20. Jaxon Kohler, F/C, BYU

Quality big men dry up quickly in fantasy college hoops, which explains why 7-of-10 picks were F/C-eligible in each of the first two rounds. I had John Blackwell topping my rankings when it came to 2.8 but ended up going with Flory Bidunga. I knew I needed to snag a big man after the top-two overall picks were guards. It was a tough internal debate between him and the arguably-safer Ivan Kharchenkov (who went next), but ultimately Bidunga excites me more.

Dent could very well lead the country in scoring for Will Wade at LSU, while Nebraska’s Pryce Sandfort has similar scoring upside. The other guards — Yessoufou and James — were appropriately drafted due to elite multi-category production.

The offense in Wisconsin will run entirely through Winter in 2026-27 following the losses of John Blackwell (19.1 ppg) and Nick Boyd (20.7 ppg). Meanwhile, Kohler — the second fifth-year returnee taken (after Dent) — will have plenty of opportunities to produce for a BYU program that’s down Richie Saunders (18.0 ppg) and AJ Dybantsa (25.5 ppg).

Round 3

21. PJ Haggerty, G, Texas A&M

22. Rodney Rice, G, USC

23. John Blackwell, G, Duke

24. Filip Borovicanin, F/C, Xavier

25. Rueben Chinyelu, F/C, Florida

26. Juke Harris, G, Tennessee

27. Markus Burton, G, Indiana

28. Quinn Ellis, G, St. John’s

29. Silas Demary, G, Connecticut

30. Amani Hansberry, F, Virginia Tech

With the elite big men tier drying up, Round 3 was dominated by guards. Each of the first three picks are more than capable of averaging 20 ppg — even Blackwell with a lot of mouths to feed at Duke.

We also saw a few more class of 2022 additions taken here with Haggerty, Rice and Borovicanin. Haggerty is at his fifth school in as many years, while the latter two are returning to the same program/coach as 2025-26. We’re talking fully grown men here with a rich history of established production.

Harris and Burton are experienced, high-impact, high-scoring transfers. Demary will look to take UConn back to the title game. Hansberry is one of the last healthy double-double threats left on the board.

But I wanted to highlight Quinn Ellis, the ultimate sleeper in this draft. His eligibility was in question after going undrafted in 2024 and seeing a brief summer league stint, but he was eventually cleared. He spent last season with AX Armani Exchange Milan in the Euroleague, averaging 7.0 points, 4.0 assists and 3.3 rebounds. Make no mistake — this is a full-on professional entering the college game. He’ll run point for Rick Pitino’s offense, which features exceptional complementary pieces like Yessoufou and Keyshawn Hall.

Round 4

31. Tamin Lipsey, G, Iowa State

32. Jason Crowe Jr., G, Missouri

33. Malik Reneau, F/C, Miami

34. Billy Richmond, G, F/C, Arkansas

35. Matas Vokietaitis, F/C, Texas

36. Terrence Brown, G, North Carolina

37. Finley Bizjack, G, West Virginia

38. Delrecco Gillespie, F/C, Houston

39. JT Toppin, F/C, Texas Tech

40.  Patrick Ngongba II, F/C, Duke

Check out how injuries are affecting the status of other players & teams on RotoWire’s college basketball injury report.

 College Basketball Expert League Rules

The league features 10 managers and uses head-to-head points (DraftKings scoring). Each manager starts three guards, three forward/center flex spots and four G/F/C flex spots (plus five bench spots). It’s a traditional snake draft for the 2026-27 season only (no keeper/dynasty aspect). For our player pool, we use traditional “power” conferences (ACC, Big East, Big 10, Big 12, SEC), plus Gonzaga. 

For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, roles and overall player performance, head to RotoWire’s latest college basketball news page or follow @RotoWireCBB on X.

College Basketball Expert League Participants

1. Adam Zdroik (@RotoZdroik), CBB Bracketologist

2. Brian Williams (@FPcommish), CBB Beat Writer, Columnist

3.  Jake Letarski (@RotoJake), College Basketball Editor, Ops Manager (AUTHOR TEAM)

4. Perry Missner (@HoopsByPerry), CBB Beat Writer, Columnist

5. Steve Bulanda (@SteveOnFantasy), Multi-sport Analyst, Campaign Specialist

6. Andrew Parr (@Parrmaster), Engineering Lead, CBB Pick’em Guru

7. Se Ho Park (@lionheartshp), CBB Breaking News Writer

8. Steve Peralta (@PeraltaSpeaks), CBB Gambling Columnist

9. Ryan Andrade (@Roto_Ryan), Assistant CBB Editor, Golf/Racing Editor

10. D.J. Trainor (@TrainorDJ), Director of Personnel/Media
 

Other College Basketball Resources:

Our Fantasy College Basketball Draft Kit is rolling out for 2026-27, so make sure you don’t miss the following top features: