BROOKLYN, NY — It was an exciting night for two athletes from Texas universities during Round 1 of the 2026 NBA Draft. Texas Longhorns' Dailyn Swain and Texas Tech's Christian Anderson Jr. both went in the first round at the Barclays Center on Tuesday night.
The Chicago Bulls selected Swain with the 15th overall pick, while the Charlotte Hornets picked Anderson Jr. with the 18th overall pick.
Christian Anderson Jr.
Anderson becomes the fourth first-round NBA Draft selection in Texas Tech history and the 26th player overall from the program to be drafted.
The sophomore earned multiple All-America honors and was named to the All-Big 12 First Team after averaging 18.5 points, 7.4 assists, 3.3 3-pointers and 1.5 steals per game during the 2025-26 season. He led the Big 12 and ranked fifth nationally in assists, setting Texas Tech single-season records with 244 total assists and a 7.4 assists-per-game average.
Anderson shot 41.5% from 3-point range, making 108 of 260 attempts. His 108 made 3-pointers rank second in program history for a single season.
A three-time Big 12 Player of the Week, Anderson scored 20 or more points in 12 games, including 27 points with five 3-pointers in a victory over No. 3 Duke at Madison Square Garden and 26 points and 11 assists against No. 17 Arkansas. He also made a career-high eight 3-pointers in a road win at Baylor.
Anderson recorded eight double-doubles during the season, including a career-high 34 points and 11 assists in the season opener against Lindenwood and 31 points with a career-best 11 rebounds in a conference win over Cincinnati. Seven of his double-doubles came through points and assists, highlighted by 19 points and a career-high 13 assists against Oklahoma State.
In two seasons with the Red Raiders, Anderson totaled 983 points, 321 assists, 179 made 3-pointers and 89 steals in 68 games. Despite playing only two seasons at Texas Tech, he finished seventh in program history in made 3-pointers and 12th in assists.
Anderson helped lead Texas Tech to a 51-22 record over the past two seasons, including a 27-11 mark in Big 12 play and consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. As a freshman, he played a key role in Texas Tech's run to the 2025 Elite Eight, scoring a season-high 22 points in a Sweet 16 victory over Arkansas.
He is the first Texas Tech player selected in the NBA Draft since Jahmi'us Ramsey was chosen in the second round in 2020. Anderson joins Tony Battie (1997), Zhaire Smith (2018) and Jarrett Culver (2019) as the program's first-round draft selections.
Among Anderson's accolades were AP Third Team All-America, USBWA Third Team All-America, Sporting News Third Team All-America, Field of 68 Third Team All-America, All-Big 12 First Team, Big 12 Most Improved Player and NABC All-Gulf District First Team honors. He was also named to the All-Big 12 Freshman Team in 2024-25.
Swain became the 21st former Longhorn selected in the first round of the NBA Draft and continued Texas' recent success in producing NBA talent. The Longhorns have now had 20 players selected in the last 21 NBA Drafts dating back to 2006. Since 2000, Texas ranks seventh nationally in both NBA lottery picks (10) and first-round selections (17).
With Swain's selection following Tre Johnson's No. 6 overall selection in the 2025 NBA Draft, Texas became one of four programs to produce a top-15 pick in each of the last two drafts, joining Arizona, BYU and Duke.
Swain spent one season at Texas after transferring from Xavier, where he played two seasons before declaring for the NBA Draft following his junior year. Over 99 career games, including 72 starts, he totaled 1,128 points, 545 rebounds, 254 assists and 142 steals while shooting 52.6% from the field and 81.5% from the free-throw line.
He scored in double figures 58 times during his collegiate career, including 13 games with at least 20 points and two 30-point performances. Swain also recorded 11 double-doubles and became only the third player in the last 20 years to post at least 10 points and three assists in each of his first six NCAA Tournament games, joining Derrick Rose and former Texas guard Marcus Carr.
In his lone season with the Longhorns, Swain emerged as one of the nation's most versatile players. He was a finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award, earned SEC Newcomer of the Year honors, was named to the All-SEC Second Team by league coaches and received first-team NABC All-Gulf District recognition.
Swain led Texas in scoring (17.3 points per game), rebounding (7.5), assists (129), steals (59) and minutes played (32.8 per game), becoming the only player in a major Division I conference to lead his team in at least five major statistical categories.
He also became just the third SEC player in the last 30 seasons to average at least 17.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, joining Grant Williams of Tennessee and Ben Simmons of LSU.
Swain started all 36 games during the 2025-26 season, shooting 54.2% from the field and 81.5% from the free-throw line. He scored in double figures in 33 games, recorded 12 20-point performances, reached the 30-point mark twice and finished with eight double-doubles.
He helped lead Texas to the Sweet 16, averaging a team-best 5.3 assists per game during the Longhorns' four NCAA Tournament contests. During SEC play, Swain averaged 19.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game while ranking among the conference leaders in scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage and steals.
The NBA Draft continues on Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
Texas Tech's Christian Anderson (Left) and Texas Longhorns' Dailyn Swain (Right)
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