Two BYU Basketball Players Projected in First Round of 2025 NBA Draft

Casey Lundquist | Jun 28, 2024

Brownsburg Bulldogs forward Kanon Catchings (14) walks up the court Saturday, March 18, 2023 at New Castle Fieldhouse in New Castle. The Ben Davis Giants defeated the Brownsburg Bulldogs, 66-38, for the IHSAA Class 4A Semistate championship game. High School Basketball Ini Hs Basketball New Castle Semistate Final / Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY

The 2024 NBA Draft came to an end on Thursday. On Friday, ESPN released a 2025 mock draft and two BYU players were projected to be selected in the first round. Egor Demin was a projected top 10 pick and Kanon Catchings was projected to go near the end of the first round.

Russian combo guard and BYU signee Egor Demin is one of the top international prospects in the world. In ESPN's mock draft, Demin was projected to go ninth overall to the San Antonio Spurs. Pairing Demin, who is 6'9, with Victor Wembanyama would be an entertaining combination to watch.

BYU's newest signee, Kanon Catchings, was projected to go 26th overall to the Utah Jazz. Speaking of length, Catchings is long and versatile as well. He is 6'9 and he can create his own shot.

There are four other Big 12 players that were projected to go in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft. Baylor's VJ Edgecombe was projected to go fifth overall to the Utah Jazz. Arizona's Carter Bryant was projected to go 14th overall to the Memphis Grizzlies. Arizona's Motiejus Krivas was projected to go 19th overall to the LA Clippers. Arizona's KJ Lewis was projected to go 27th overall to the Brooklyn Nets.

When Kevin Young was introduced as BYU's new basketball coach, he said that he wanted to make BYU a pipeline to the NBA. That appeared to be a lofty goal considering BYU's last first round pick was Jimmer Fredette. In a short time, however, Young's recruiting has put BYU in the conversation to have more first round picks in the future.