The Northwestern basketball program hasn't had a first-round NBA Draft pick since sharpshooting guard (and eventual Kansas transfer) Rex Walters was selected 16th overall in the 1993 draft by the New Jersey Nets.

Tuesday's first round is set to begin at 8 p.m. ET live from the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn, the current site of Walters' former NBA team, but most draft pundits don't expect a repeat of 1993. 

The Wildcats do, however, have a top-50 prospect waiting in the wings to be selected. According to Kyle Mann of The Ringer, Martinelli is on track to hear his name called in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Martinelli checked in at No. 49 on The Ringer's list, narrowly making the cut just ahead of Indiana guard Lamar Wilkerson. 

The 6-foot-7, 224-pound native of Glenview, Ill., played four seasons for the Wildcats in Evanston. During his senior campaign, Martinelli averaged a career-best 23 points and 6.2 rebounds for coach Chris Collins' team. 

He led the Big Ten in scoring in two straight seasons, a rare feat that put him in rare company with former Naismith winners Zach Edey of Purdue and Luka Garza of Iowa.

"He's well built for a wing, with a strong frame and offensive rebounding tenacity very reminiscent of former Utah Jazz bucket getter Matt Harpring," Mann wrote about Martinelli in its rankings. 

Martinelli was also compared to rising former Miami Heat star and current Milwaukee Bucks trade acquisition Jaime Jaquez Jr. and former North Carolina star Justin Jackson, who is now in the G League. 

The Ringer highlighted Martinelli's offensive creativity in its profile, a similarity he bears to Jaquez.

"Martinelli gets his points in a rather stranger manner, usually opting for flips, floaters, and runners from odd angles that take advantage of his physicality and footwork around the basket," Mann said.

"It's a shot diet that doesn't really come along often for a wing, although it does remind me of former North Carolina national champion Justin Jackson, who played with a similar propensity." 

Martinelli's potential weakness at the next level was also identified by the site as a lack of foot speed.

"There will be concerns about whether he has the foot speed to keep up on defense, but Martinelli's instincts on offense might be enough of an outlier for teams to buy in," Mann added. 

Martinelli, as well as he played in the past two seasons, also failed to put the Wildcats on his back and lead them to the NCAA Tournament in 2025 and 2026, although he contributed to the 2024 Tournament team. 

Martinelli shot over 41% from three-point range last season on over three attempts per game. His accurate, high-volume long-range shooting could lead to his name being called sooner than the experts expect on Tuesday night in Brooklyn.