Where UW’s Hannes Steinbach is likely to be selected in NBA draft, and what to know

The 2026 NBA draft starts on Tuesday evening, with a Husky forward projected to go in the first round. 

Hannes Steinbach, a 6 foot 10 freshman from Germany, has been projected to go in the first round by several mock drafts. The first round of this year’s draft will be at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 23. The second round will be the following evening at the same time. 

Steinbach is a 20-year-old from Würzburg, Germany. During his freshman season with UW, he averaged 18.5 points while shooting 57.7% from the field, 34% on three-pointers and 75.9% on free throws this season. He scored at least 20 points in 16 of 30 games, including a career-high 29 against UCLA on Dec. 13, 2025.

He led Division I players with an 11.8 rebounding average and totaled 353 rebounds during the season, which put him seventh on UW’s all-time single-season list.

Where does Steinbach stand in the mock drafts?

Here’s where some of the main mock drafts had Steinbach projected to go as of Monday afternoon. 

USA Today/For The Win: Bryan Kalbrosky predicts Steinbach will be selected 13th by the Miami Heat

The Ringer: J. Kyle Mann predicts Steinbach will be selected 18th by the Charlotte Hornets 

ESPN.com: Jeremy Woo predicts Steinbach will be selected 14th by the Charlotte Hornets 

The Athletic: Zach Harper predicts Steinbach will be selected 14th by the Charlotte Hornets 

Yahoo Sports: Kevin O’Connor predicts Steinbach will be selected 13th by the Miami Heat

Bleacher Report: Jonathan Wasserman predicts Steinbach will be selected 23rd by the Atlanta Hawks

Who are some of the top draft picks in program history?

Guard Markelle Fultz is the only Husky to be selected No. 1 in the NBA draft. He was picked by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2017. 

There are currently four former Huskies playing in the NBA. That includes Jaden McDaniels, who played at UW from 2019-2020 and was drafted 28th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers; Dejounte Murray who played at UW from 2015-2016 and was drafted 29th overall by the San Antonio Spurs; Isaiah Stewart who played at UW from 2019-2020 and was drafted No. 16 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers; and Matisse Thybulle who played at UW from 2015-2019 and was drafted 20th overall by the Boston Celtics. 

How to watch the draft

The draft is split across two days. Round 1 will take place on Tuesday and Round 2 will take place on Wednesday. 

Round 1 starts at 5 p.m. PT on June 23 and is available on ABC, ESPN and ESPN Deportes. 

Round 2 starts at 5 p.m. PT on June 24 and is only available on ESPN and ESPN Deportes. 

Information from The Seattle Times’ archive was used in this report.