Mock Draft Monday: Hornets Add Size and Experience
The Hornets are projected to have two top-20 picks in the most loaded draft in the past decade. Who are some of the players they could select?
Welcome to the first installment of SportCLT’s Mock Draft Monday - written for our fellow draft enthusiasts who obsess over how the Charlotte Hornets tackle the upcoming (and highly-touted) 2026 NBA Draft. We completed a full 30-team mock draft up until the Hornet’s final mock selection (45th overall) as a realistic simulation of what could actually happen come draft night.
As of March 1st, the Hornets are slated to pick 14th (own), 19th (least favorable of ORL/PHX), and 45th (more favorable of GS/DEN), based on seeding prior to the play-in tournament.
With the 14th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets select:
Chris Cenac Jr. - Big - Houston
Cenac, the 6-11 big, brings a skillset that will surely have many NBA front offices drooling. Hailing from New Orleans, Cenac embodies the prototypical modern center; mobile, vertically gifted, and spaces the floor. This season playing for Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars,Cenac averages 7.6 rebounds per contest, and pairs that with a promising 33% 3-point percentage. At a quick glance, the low rate of STOCKS (steals and blocks combined) to fouls might be concerning, but Cenac has spent a lot of the season as a perimeter defender due to the forcefield in Houston known as Mr. Joseph Tugler. Cenac can get up and down the floor very well for a nearly 7-foot big, and pairs that with a solid 240-pound frame. His bounce and strong hands allow him to be a capable lob catcher, and an effective rebounder.
This is a pick that will need some patience (as most freshmen do - we mustn’t compare all youngsters to the meteoric rise of Kon Knueppel), but there is good reason to add a player with this skillset to the team. Head coach Charles Lee has coached on two championship-winning teams, both of which had their own “splash mountain” (Brook Lopez for Milwaukee, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis for Boston). With the high volume of screen actions Lee uses, having a big body who can back pedal and fire off a three just as smoothly as he slips to the rim on a switch will only be compounded by the playmaking genius of LaMelo Ball. Cenac has concerns of his own, but there’s renewed faith in this new Hornets training staff.
Honorable Selections: Brayden Burries - Arizona, Morez Johnson Jr. - Michigan
With the 19th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets select:
Bennett Stirtz - Guard - Iowa
On the other end of the prospective spectrum, we have Iowa point guard Bennett Stirtz. The Hawkeyes’ star senior has erupted onto the scene during his last two seasons at the NCAA level, averaging 20 points and five assists between his time at Drake and Iowa. Stirtz is effective both on the ball as an initiator or off the ball coming off of a curl screen. He shoots 39% from three on 6.3 attempts per game, primarily on self created looks. There may not be a guard who better mixes processing, downhill scoring, and on-ball shot creation than the 6-4 190-pound Stirtz.
His size helps him on defense, he’s certainly no slouch on that end. His persistent effort, when paired with nearly-unrivaled reaction speed and hand placement makes him a pretty solid defender at the collegiate level. He will likely not be an elite 2-way NBA player, but the Hornets have managed to maintain a defensive rating that (no offense, Charlotte) ranks higher than the roster construction would suggest.
Despite the addition of Coby White, we just couldn’t pass on a chance to bolster the offensive output of an already-highly-powered offense. Stirtz could pair with any of Ball, Knueppel, Miller, White, or James in either an on- or off-ball role, and stay effective.
Honorable Selections: Jayden Quaintance - Kentucky and Isaiah Evans - Duke
With the 45th overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, the Charlotte Hornets select:
Joseph Tugler - Big - Houston
Jeff Peterson goes back to the well of collegiate teammates in 2026, by adding “JoJo” Tugler in the second round - the front court mate of Houston’s Chris Cenac Jr.
The first two selections in this exercise are predicated on their offensive fit with the Hornets. If you didn’t like that, then I present to you the 6-9 combo big with a 7-6 (yes, really) wingspan. Tugler anchors a Cougar defense with monstrous averages of 5.1 STOCKS per game, an 88.3 DRTG, and a 10.4% block percentage over the last three seasons. His lateral quickness and lightning fast hands make it so he can guard almost any player, anywhere on the court.
He won’t be a score-first player in the NBA, but he puts up 13.8 points a night for Houston this year on 59% from the field, and has managed to get his free throw percentage up to 69% (where he shot <55% at the foul stripe in his prior two seasons). He has trouble with fouling too much, but the potential defensive upside with Tugler is too great to ignore. Fun fact about Tugler too - he’s made a three point shot this season.
Honorable Selections: Billy Richmond III - Arkansas and Andrej Stojakovic - Illinois
The Haul: Chris Cenac Jr. (big, Houston), Bennett Stirtz (guard, Iowa), and Joseph Tugler (big, Houston
This draft class adds upside while also filling some of the gaps we’ve seen from the bugs this season, namely the second unit’s offensive production and Charlotte’s lack of a truly elite front court defensive playmaker.
We imagine a world where Cenac develops the jumpshot enough to allow you to pair him with Moussa Diabate at times, giving Charlotte a frontcourt nearly unmatched when it comes to glass production.
Stirtz keeps the pace pushed on offense, and can give opposing teams another guy to follow around pin screens when Kon is on the bench. With Tugler just set him loose and let havoc occur.
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