Purdue quartet – Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Fletcher Loyer and Oscar Cluff will be waiting for their turns Tuesday as the 2026 NBA Draft tips off at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The first round airs on ABC and ESPN at 8 p.m. ET, with the second round on ESPN only at
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — For Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Fletcher Loyer and Oscar Cluff, Tuesday is more than a date on the calendar. It’s the moment they’ve trained for, waited for, and worked through every offseason, hoping their names land in the right order when the 2026 NBA Draft begins.
The draft starts Tuesday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The first round will be televised by ABC and ESPN, beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Wednesday’s second round will be televised by ESPN only, also beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
Purdue enters the night with a history that’s hard to ignore and a record that can feel like both comfort and pressure. The program has had 52 players selected in the NBA / ABA Draft, most recently in 2024 when Zach Edey was selected No. 9 by the Memphis Grizzlies.
Under head coach Matt Painter. there have been 10 Boilermakers drafted: Carl Landry (2007; 31). JaJuan Johnson (2011; 27). E’Twaun Moore (2011; 55). Robbie Hummel (2012; 58). A.J. Hammons (2016; 46), Caleb Swanigan (2017; 26), Vince Edwards (2018; 52), Carsen Edwards (2019; 33), Jaden Ivey (2022; 5) and Zach Edey (2024; 9).
Purdue hasn’t had two players selected in the same NBA Draft since 2011. when JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore were both taken. In the two-round NBA Draft era (since 1989). Purdue has had at least two players selected just once — again. 2011 — and the program has never had three players selected in the same NBA Draft.
For the quartet hoping to join the list this year, the recent trend adds another layer. Purdue’s last two NBA Draft picks have been selected in the Lottery: Jaden Ivey was taken 5th in 2022. and Zach Edey was chosen 9th in 2024. Prior to Ivey’s selection, the last Purdue pick in the Lottery was when Glenn Robinson was selected No. 1 in 1994.
Those patterns matter because Purdue’s draft consistency has become its own storyline. Since the 2017 NBA Draft (nine drafts). Purdue’s three first-round picks — Swanigan. Ivey and Edey — rank tied for the third most in the Big Ten. Since the 2016 NBA Draft (10 drafts). Purdue’s six selections make the Boilermakers one-of-five Big Ten programs to have at least six selections.
The program’s standing reaches beyond the conference, too. Since 1977, Purdue is the only Big Ten team and one of eight schools nationally with multiple No. 1 NBA Draft picks: Duke (5), Kentucky (3), Purdue, LSU, North Carolina, Georgetown, Kansas and UNLV.
And even the way Purdue develops players to reach the league is reflected in the recruit-to-selection arc. Since the 2016 NBA Draft, Purdue has had five players drafted that ranked No. 75 or lower in the 247Sports high school recruit rankings: A.J. Hammons, Vince Edwards, Carsen Edwards, Jaden Ivey and Zach Edey. That total is the second most in the country behind Michigan (7). Three of Purdue’s four possible selections were all ranked below No. 75: Smith, Loyer and Cluff.
When the names get called, it won’t be the first time Purdue has been on a team’s radar. Twenty-four of a possible 30 NBA teams have selected Purdue players. led by Atlanta. Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State with five selections. The Clippers, Heat, Pelicans, Magic, Suns and Raptors have not selected a Purdue player.
For Braden Smith, the stakes come with a particularly specific kind of scrutiny. Smith is looking to become the first player under 6-feet tall to be drafted since Miami’s Shane Larkin in 2013. There are currently no active players in the NBA measuring under 6-feet tall. Smith was measured at 5-10 ½ at the NBA Draft Combine. Larkin was selected 18th in 2013, playing four NBA seasons and 256 career games.
That detail sits alongside Purdue’s broader draft identity: a program that keeps producing. keeps getting picked. and keeps answering the question of what happens next. Now it’s the quartet’s turn to hope that the timing works out — and that. when the night finally turns into names and numbers. each of them hears the announcement they’ve been chasing.
2026 NBA Draft Purdue Boilermakers Braden Smith Trey Kaufman-Renn Fletcher Loyer Oscar Cluff Barclays Center Jaden Ivey Zach Edey Matt Painter
So they’re like just waiting to get picked? Honestly draft stuff is weird.
I don’t even watch NBA drafts but Purdue always seems to get somebody. Didn’t that Zach Edey guy already get drafted like last year or something? Feels like Purdue has a pipeline on lock.
Barclays Center in Brooklyn like they said, but why is the second round “at WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.”?? That sounds made up or I’m missing something. Also Matt Painter draft history is crazy, Purdue never having three selected in a draft… isn’t that just because NBA doesn’t like Purdue lol
8 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN for first round and then ESPN only Wednesday right? I always get those times mixed up. I swear I saw Oscar Cluff play once and he was good, so I’m hoping his name gets called first or whatever. Idk how it works though, like if one team drafts them then the others just… wait? Purdue could’ve had multiple guys in 2011, so maybe 2026 will be the “same thing” again.