Incoming BYU basketball freshman Bruce Branch is projected as the No. 2 pick in the 2027 NBA Draft

When BYU basketball coach Kevin Young was hired in 2024, he made a rather bold comment stating his mission to turn his program into an "NBA pipeline".

As he wraps up his second season in Provo and prepares to welcome Bruce Branch in the class of 2026, we can already declare this when it comes to his NBA ambitions: Mission accomplished!

Branch, the No. 8 overall prospect in the class of 2026, is currently projected to be the No. 2 pick in the 2027 NBA draft.

NBADraft.net is one of the more reputable mock drafting sites for NBA diehards, but they're not alone in projecting Branch to compete for the No. 1 overall pick next year. The website NBA Draft Room also has Branch going No. 2 overall in the 2027 Draft.

It's still very, very early to be projecting how the 2027 NBA Draft will play out, and these mock drafts are subject to a significant amount of change. I think sometimes the operators of these sites sometimes change the order of their mock drafts simply to generate content -- "There's a new No. 1 at the top of our big board!!!!! -- but thus far Branch is two-for-two sitting in the No. 2 spot.

While Branch's projections for the 2027 NBA Draft won't take away the sting BYU fans are feeling after a monumentally disappointing end to this basketball season and the end of the glorious AJ Dybantsa experience, it does help us begin to mentally turn the page to next year. While Branch's game is very, very different from AJ Dybantsa's in that Branch isn't nearly as "NBA ready" as AJ was, he's still going to be an elite freshman.

What makes Branch's ascension even more impressive is he somewhat recently reclassified from the class of 2027 to the class of 2026, so he's playing up a year. At 6-foot-7 and 190 pounds, the young, outstanding small forward is clay to be molded in Coach Young's capable hands.

Kevin Young's NBA pipeline

Bruce Branch should end up as the third lottery pick coming from Kevin Young's pipeline in his three seasons in Provo. Egor Demin was the No. 8 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft after his solid one-and-done season at BYU. This year, AJ Dybantsa will likely be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft after leading the nation in scoring and being named First Team All-American.

Throw in the fact that both Richie Saunders and Robert Wright III keep popping up as second round picks in some NBA mock drafts, and there could be a handful of Cougars in the pros in coming years.

Kevin Young has totally transformed the talent base of the BYU basketball program. Even the most optimistic Cougar fans never dreamed our beloved private religious institution owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints based out of Provo, Utah could ever attract non-LDS 5-star basketball talents. But the combination of Kevin Young's NBA credentials, the evolution of NIL, and the safe, serious environment created by the school's Honor Code has become a magnet for top-tier talent.

Get ready for the Bruce Branch experience, Cougar fans.

It's going to be another incredible ride from Provo to the pros.