Houston is bracing for life without its breakout star. On Thursday, Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson told reporters that freshman guard Kingston Flemings will enter the 2026 NBA Draft and is expected to land inside the top 10. Sampson said a formal announcement should arrive at a press conference “pretty soon,” although Flemings had not officially declared as of Thursday morning.
The move caps a breakout year for the 19-year-old Brennan High School product from San Antonio, who grew into Houston’s primary playmaker. With the draft cycle already ramping up toward late spring, local fans and NBA scouts are tracking every hint about his next move.
Sampson's 'inside scoop'
“I'll give you the inside scoop: Kingston's going to the [NBA] draft,” Sampson told reporters, before flatly predicting “he's going to be a top‑10 pick.” As reported by the Houston Chronicle, Sampson said Flemings “had no questions about his eventual basketball future” and that he expects the guard to “get on the floor fairly quickly in a backup role” as a rookie.
Sampson framed the decision as the logical next chapter after a rapid year of development, with little doubt inside the program that Flemings was headed for the pros.
Freshman season that pushed him into lottery talk
Flemings led Houston in both scoring and assists as a freshman, piling up 556 points to set a new school freshman scoring record and earning All‑American recognition, according to the University of Houston athletics site.
The 6‑foot‑4 guard topped 20 points in 12 games this season and erupted for 42 points in a January 24 loss at Texas Tech, a performance that ESPN recapped and that helped shove him onto NBA draft boards. His blend of quickness, shotmaking and playmaking drew steady praise from national scouts and college analysts all year.
Draft stock: mock drafts and scouting reports
By season’s end, Flemings had settled into early lottery territory in the public conversation. Mock drafts frequently placed him in the top 10 and, in some projections, as high as No. 7. RealGM highlighted an updated mock from The Athletic that bumped him into that range, while national outlets such as Bleacher Report have zeroed in on his upside.
That emerging consensus helps explain Sampson’s confidence, and why front offices will be locked in on Flemings during pre‑draft workouts and the combine.
Next steps for Flemings and the Cougars
Sampson said Flemings is expected to make his decision public at a team‑arranged press conference, after which he will move fully into the draft process that includes evaluations, the combine and pre‑draft workouts.
Houston center Chris Cenac Jr., another freshman, is still weighing his options and “has until April 26 to declare,” the Houston Chronicle notes. Players who test the waters can usually withdraw to keep their college eligibility until late May, commonly reported as May 27. A rundown of offseason dates from WTVQ underscores how tight that decision window can be.
Both NBA teams and the Cougars staff will be monitoring Flemings and Cenac closely as summer workouts get going and the transfer portal carousel spins up.
For Houston, Flemings’ anticipated leap to the NBA reads as a major endorsement of Kelvin Sampson’s recruiting and player‑development chops. If Cenac follows him out the door, the Cougars will face a serious frontcourt rebuild. Either way, Flemings’ move kicks off a busy stretch for the program and for a draft class that now appears set to feature another headline freshman from Texas.
