Nick BrombergSenior writerSun, April 19, 2026 at 8:45 PM UTC·2 min readHouston’s Kingston Flemings is heading to the NBA.
The freshman made his expected draft declaration official on Sunday as he said he’d be entering the 2026 NBA Draft. Flemings is widely considered to be a top-10 pick. Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor had Flemings going No. 8 to the Dallas Mavericks in his latest mock draft.
Flemings led Houston with over 16 points and five assists per game in 2025-26. Flemings was a consensus All-American as the Cougars earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament after finishing second in the Big 12 to Arizona.
"Obviously it was a hard decision whether to come back and play with my boys, take it one more year and try to go get the [national championship]," Flemings told USA Today. "But this opportunity doesn’t come all the time. … Had to make the right decision, for sure.”
The Texas native shot nearly 48% from the field and almost 39% from the 3-point line, though he attempted just 106 shots behind the arc this season.
Flemings was a four-star recruit when he signed with Houston out of high school. He was rated as the No. 17 player in the country and the top player in the state of Texas.
He was part of a Houston recruiting class that included three top-20 prospects and was actually the lowest-rated of the three. Forward Chris Cenac Jr. was the No. 6 player in the country and guard Isiah Harwell was the No. 13 recruit.
Flemings started every game this season for Houston, while Cenac started all but one and Harwell was a role player off the bench. Cenac, a potential lottery pick himself, averaged almost 10 points a game. He declared for the NBA Draft a week ago.
Here’s what O’Connor had to say about Flemings in his mock draft on Tuesday.
Flemings entered the season as the least-heralded of Houston's stacked freshman class, but he played his way into the top-10 conversation while his higher-ranked teammates played their way out of it. He’s a 6-4 ball-handler who can get to his spots, make advanced passes and limit turnovers in a way that resembles a veteran guard. If he lands with Dallas, it’s hard to imagine a better situation. Kyrie Irving could serve as a mentor, and Flemings could grow alongside a future MVP candidate in Flagg.
With Cenac and Flemings off to the NBA, Houston has two top-50 recruits signed for the 2026-27 season in center Arafan Diane and guard Ikenna Alozie.