Jun 25, 2026 12:00 PM
Jaron Pierre Jr. gives SMU its first NBA Draft pick since Shake Milton, landing with the Pelicans after a breakout ACC season.
SMU basketball just got another NBA Draft moment, and this one comes with a perfect hometown twist.
Jaron Pierre Jr., the electric Mustangs guard who helped drag SMU back into national relevance, was selected No. 58 overall by the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Pierre, a New Orleans native and former St. Augustine High School standout, now gets to begin his professional career in the city that raised him.
For SMU, it’s the program’s first NBA Draft selection since Shake Milton went No. 55 overall in 2018.
For head coach Andy Enfield, it’s another reminder that his player-development machine didn’t stay behind at USC.
Pierre’s one season on the Hilltop was loud enough to get the league’s attention.
He averaged 17.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the field, 75.8 percent at the free-throw line and 37.0 percent from three.
He also knocked down 2.4 threes per game, giving SMU a shot-maker who could swing momentum fast and punish defenses that gave him even a little daylight.
His signature performance came Dec. 7, when he poured in 35 points in SMU’s 93-80 overtime win over Texas A&M.
Pierre helped SMU reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017, earned NABC All-Gulf District Second Team honors and landed All-ACC Honorable Mention recognition.
The Mustangs also beat No. 12 North Carolina and No. 21 Louisville, notching two top-25 wins in the same season for the first time in six years.
SMU wasn’t just sneaking around the edges of the college basketball conversation. The Mustangs cracked the AP Top 25 and USA Today Coaches Poll for the first time in nine seasons. Pierre was a massive reason why.
Enfield now has nine NBA Draft picks across the last nine drafts, including Pierre at SMU and names like Evan Mobley, Onyeka Okongwu, Isaiah Collier and Bronny James from his USC run.
Now Pierre gets his shot with the Pelicans. SMU gets a recruiting flex. And New Orleans gets one of its own back with something to prove.
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