Top 10 NBA Draft prospects in the NCAA Tournament’s East Region

The NCAA Tournament creates a set of March Madness heroes each year, thrusting Cinderella stories into the spotlight with big upsets at every turn. However, one other unique feature of the month-long format is the number of top-tier talent which assembles in one place to face each other each week.

With plenty NBA prospects in this year’s NCAA Tournament field, including nine of ESPN’s top 10 best available players for the 2022 class, perhaps no region of the bracket is more loaded than the East.

The NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 and Elite Eight set to take place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the second weekend could still feature plenty NBA Draft prospects in the East Region. With many high-profile prospects playing for the 1-seed Baylor and 2-seed Kentucky, others will look to pull off an upset. As Shaedon Sharpe makes the list without expecting to play, other schools with prospects mentioned include Purdue, Marquette and UCLA.

Here is a look at all the top NBA Draft prospects, featuring their On3 Consensus rankings as high school recruits, who will face off in the East Region.

Top NBA Draft prospects in the East Region

1. Jaden Ivey – PG (Purdue)

ESPN draft rank: 4, On3 Consensus rank: 76 (2020)

2. Shaedon Sharpe – SG (Kentucky)

ESPN draft rank: 7, On3 Consensus rank: 4 (2021)

3. TyTy Washington Jr – PG (Kentucky)

ESPN draft rank: 11, On3 Consensus rank: 16 (2021)

4. Jeremy Sochan – PF (Baylor)

ESPN draft rank: 16, On3 Consensus rank: 68 (2021)

5. Kendall Brown – SF (Baylor)

ESPN draft rank: 17, On3 Consensus rank: 21 (2021)

6. Justin Lewis – SF (Marquette)

ESPN draft rank: 29, On3 Consensus rank: 179 (2020)

7. Oscar Tshiebwe – C (Kentucky)

ESPN draft rank: 42, On3 Consensus rank: 25 (2019)

8. Jaime Jaquez Jr – SG (UCLA)

ESPN draft rank: 48, On3 Consensus rank: 84 (2019)

9. Trevion Williams – C (Purdue)

ESPN draft rank: 49, On3 Consensus rank: 136 (2018)

10. Peyton Watson – SF (UCLA)

ESPN draft rank: 51, On3 Consensus rank: 9 (2021)

More on NCAA Tournament

The First Round of the NCAA Tournament officially starts on Thursday, with 6-seed Colorado State and 11-seed Michigan starting things off at 12:15 p.m. ET on CBS. That game tips off two days with 16 games each spread across four television stations with staggered starts to ensure constant gameplay over the full length of the slate.

To see a full list of First Round matchups with channels and times, click here. To see the broadcast assignments for each NCAA Tournament game over the First Round, including play-by-play broadcasters, color commentators and sideline reporters, click here.

The NCAA will release information on the Second Round after matchups are determined on Thursday and Friday. Teams will move to new locations for the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight before playing the Final Four in New Orleans.