The NBA announced its pool of participants for the 2026 Castrol Rising Stars game on Peacock ahead on Monday, Jan. 26. Twenty-one players – 10 rookies and 11 sophomores – along with seven G Leaguers were chosen to represent the future of the NBA to tip-off All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles on Feb. 13.

The rookies are headlined by 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, who has looked every bit the franchise centerpiece the Dallas Mavericks were in desperate need of after shipping out Luka Doncic a year ago. Memphis Grizzlies emerging wing Cedric Coward is also in the pool, along with the New Orleans’ Pelicans’ duo of breakout stars Jeremiah Fears and Derik Queen.

Stephon Castle has established himself as a solid running mate for San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama; he’s among the sophomores selected. So is Houston Rockets guard Reed Sheppard, who has stepped up from his early season struggles in the absence of Fred VanVleet.

The players will be drafted into three teams on Tuesday, Jan. 27 with a fourth comprised entirely of G League players. Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Austin Rivers will serve as the coaches for each team.

Here is the full list of players they will be picking from:

2026 NBA Rising Stars roster

Here is every player named to the Rising Stars game:

Rookies

• Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies
• Egor Demin, Brooklyn Nets
• V.J. Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers
• Jeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans
• Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
• Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs
• Tre Johnson, Washington Wizards
• Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets
• Collin Murray-Boyles, Toronto Raptors
• Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans

Sophomores

• Matas Buzelis, Chicago Bulls
• Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs
• Donovan Clingan, Portland Trail Blazers
• Kyshawn George, Washington Wizards
• Ajay Mitchell, Oklahoma City Thunder
• Alex Sarr, Washington Wizards
• Reed Sheppard, Houston Rockets
• Cam Spencer, Memphis Grizzlies
• Jalon Tyson, Cleveland Cavaliers
• Kel’el Ware, Miami Heat
• Jaylen Wells, Memphis Grizzlies

G League

• Sean East, Salt Lake City Stars
• Ron Harper Jr., Maine Celtics
• David Jones Garcia, Austin Spurs
• Yanic Konan Niederhauser, San Diego Clippers
• Alijah Martin, Raptors 905
• Tristen Newton, Rio Grande Valley Vipers
• Yang Hansen, Rip City Remix

Rising Stars format

Four teams of seven players each will face off in a mini tournament. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT) on Friday, Feb. 13 at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA 2026 Rising Stars roster includes Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel

The Nets will officially be represented at 2026 NBA All-Star weekend. 

Brooklyn youngster Egor Demin has been selected to participate in the Rising Stars Game. 

Demin is the 17th Net to be named to the event, and the first since Jarrett Allen and Rodions Kurucs in 2019.

He’s also the first BYU player to participate since Shawn Bradley in 1994.

The 19-year-old certainly has done enough to earn his spot during his outstanding first NBA campaign, and he’s solidified himself as a key piece of Brooklyn’s backcourt moving forward. 

Demin has started 31 of his 39 games, and he’s topped double digits in points in 19 of those. 

He currently ranks second among rookies in threes made per game (2.4) and threes made on the season (95). 

The sharpshooter also set the franchise record for triples in a game with seven back on Dec. 29 against the Warriors. 

The Rising Stars event will take place on Friday, Feb. 13, at 9 p.m. ET at Intuit Dome.

Cooper Flagg, Stephon Castle and VJ Edgecombe headline the selections announced Monday for the NBA’s Rising Stars showcase slated for All-Star weekend. 

Castle is the reigning Rookie of the Year for the San Antonio Spurs, and Flagg is the favorite to win the award this season amid a standout rookie campaign for the Dallas Mavericks. 

In total, 21 first- and second-year NBA players and seven G League players make up the pool of players that will participate in the mini-tournament of four teams. The NBA player pool was selected by NBA assistant coaches. The G League players were selected by the league office.

NBC analysts and former NBA stars and Hall of Famers Vince Carter, Carmelo Anthony and Tracy McGrady will serve as team captains and coaches. They’ll choose the rosters of three seven-player teams from the pool of 21 NBA players. The draft will take place on Tuesday (7 ET, Peacock).

NBC analyst and former NBA player Austin Rivers will coach the team comprised of G League players. The tournament will take place Friday, Feb. 13 and kick off the NBA’s All-Star festivities, which will take place at Intuit Dome, the home of the Los Angeles Clippers. 

NBC has taken over broadcast rights of the NBA’s All-Star weekend, hence the involvement of NBC analysts in the process.

Rookie selections

• Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies

• Egor Dёmin, Brooklyn Nets

• VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers

• Jeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans

• Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks

• Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs

• Tre Johnson, Washington Wizards

• Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets

• Collin Murray-Boyles, Toronto Raptors

• Derik Queen, Pelicans

Second-year selections

• Matas Buzelis, Chicago Bulls

• Stephon Castle, Spurs

• Donovan Clingan, Portland Trail Blazers

• Kyshawn George, Wizards

• Ajay Mitchell, Oklahoma City Thunder

• Alex Sarr, Wizards

• Reed Sheppard, Houston Rockets

• Cam Spencer, Grizzlies

• Jaylon Tyson, Cleveland Cavaliers

• Kel’el Ware, Miami Heat

• Jaylen Wells, Grizzlies

G League selections

• Sean East II, Salt Lake City Stars

• Ron Harper Jr., Maine Celtics

• David Jones Garcia, Austin Spurs

• Yanic Konan Niederhäuser, San Diego Clippers

• Alijah Martin, Raptors 905

• Tristen Newton, Rio Grande Valley Vipers

• Yang Hansen, Rip City Remix

Cooper Flagg, Stephon Castle and VJ Edgecombe headline the selections announced Monday for the NBA’s Rising Stars showcase slated for All-Star weekend. 

Castle is the reigning Rookie of the Year for the San Antonio Spurs, and Flagg is the favorite to win the award this season amid a standout rookie campaign for the Dallas Mavericks. 

In total, 21 first- and second-year NBA players and seven G League players make up the pool of players that will participate in the mini-tournament of four teams. The NBA player pool was selected by NBA assistant coaches. The G League players were selected by the league office.

NBC analysts and former NBA stars and Hall of Famers Vince Carter, Carmelo Anthony and Tracy McGrady will serve as team captains and coaches. They’ll choose the rosters of three seven-player teams from the pool of 21 NBA players. The draft will take place on Tuesday (7 ET, Peacock).

NBC analyst and former NBA player Austin Rivers will coach the team comprised of G League players. The tournament will take place Friday, Feb. 13 and kick off the NBA’s All-Star festivities, which will take place at Intuit Dome, the home of the Los Angeles Clippers. 

NBC has taken over broadcast rights of the NBA’s All-Star weekend, hence the involvement of NBC analysts in the process.

Rookie selections

• Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies

• Egor Dёmin, Brooklyn Nets

• VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers

• Jeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans

• Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks

• Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs

• Tre Johnson, Washington Wizards

• Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets

• Collin Murray-Boyles, Toronto Raptors

• Derik Queen, Pelicans

Second-year selections

• Matas Buzelis, Chicago Bulls

• Stephon Castle, Spurs

• Donovan Clingan, Portland Trail Blazers

• Kyshawn George, Wizards

• Ajay Mitchell, Oklahoma City Thunder

• Alex Sarr, Wizards

• Reed Sheppard, Houston Rockets

• Cam Spencer, Grizzlies

• Jaylon Tyson, Cleveland Cavaliers

• Kel’el Ware, Miami Heat

• Jaylen Wells, Grizzlies

G League selections

• Sean East II, Salt Lake City Stars

• Ron Harper Jr., Maine Celtics

• David Jones Garcia, Austin Spurs

• Yanic Konan Niederhäuser, San Diego Clippers

• Alijah Martin, Raptors 905

• Tristen Newton, Rio Grande Valley Vipers

• Yang Hansen, Rip City Remix

It’s prospect-ranking season, with both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline unveiling top-100 lists last week. On Monday, Keith Law at The Athletic revealed his annual preseason ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball. Seven Dodgers made this list, their most prolific showing yet among these groups.

Just like at BA and MLB, four outfielders comprised the top four slots on Law’s list at The Athletic. The youngest of the group, Eduardo Quintero, earned the top spot among Dodgers here, ranked No. 9 by Law. Josue De Paula checked in at No. 20, Zyhir Hope was 36th, and Mike Sirota was 51st.

We’ve covered the outfielders of late here, so let’s focus here on the other three prospect ranked in the top 100 at The Athletic.

Shortstop Emil Morales ranked 65th at The Athletic, after showing up at No. 92 by MLB Pipeline last week.

River Ryan is ranked the 55th-best prospect by Law, who has always been the highest on the pitcher, ranking the right-hander 33rd overall in 2024 and 52nd in 2025. Ryan debuted with the Dodgers in 2024 but succumbed after only four starts, needing Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2025 season as well.

From Law at The Athletic:

Ryan should be ready to pitch in some role this spring after hitting 100 mph during his rehab. If he were completely healthy, he might be the No. 1 pitching prospect in baseball. He has above-average to plus stuff across the board, with ride on the upper-90s four-seamer, a slider, a cutter that was new in 2024, a two-plane curveball and a changeup, with the cutter probably the worst pitch at the moment because his other stuff is so good.

The other Dodgers prospect ranked in the top 100 at The Athletic is shortstop Alex Freeland, the switch-hitter who made his major league debut in 2025 and played all over the infield in his five weeks with Los Angeles. Freeland is ranked the 87th-best prospect in baseball by Law, who said of the infielder, “He’s played shortstop, and could probably be a fringe-average big leaguer there, but he’s best suited to second or third.”

Charles Bediako’s much-discussed return to college basketball will continue for nearly another two weeks – not solely because of a court order or a judge’s ruling, but with a little help from Mother Nature.

The Alabama center’s temporary restraining order against the NCAA was extended by another 10 days due to counsel’s unavailability for the scheduled injunction hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

In an order on Monday, Jan. 26, Judge James Roberts Jr. of the Tuscaloosa (Alabama) County Circuit Court wrote that Taylor Askew, an attorney for the NCAA, was unable to attend the hearing because of “weather issues” where he lives in Tennessee. Roberts added that the next hearing will be “reset later by a separate order.”

BREAKING: Temporary restraining order allowing Charles Bediako to play for Alabama has been extended pic.twitter.com/NIhN1lALRq

— Ryan Phillips (@JournoRyan) January 26, 2026

REQUIRED READING: Paying attention to Texas Tech yet? You should. That and more from college basketball weekend

After three years of playing professionally in the NBA G League, Bediako returned to Alabama, where he played from 2021-23, after Roberts granted him a temporary restraining order on Wednesday, Jan. 21.

In his first game back with the Crimson Tide, the seven-footer had 13 points, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals while making five of his six field-goal attempts in 25 minutes in a 79-73 loss at home against Tennessee on Jan. 24.

With Roberts’ decision, Bediako will be eligible to compete in at least the next three games for Alabama: Jan. 27 against Missouri, Feb. 1 at No. 21 Florida and Feb. 4 against Texas A&M.

Bediako was not selected in the 2023 NBA Draft, and while he has never played an NBA game, he suited up in 82 G League games over three seasons, including, most recently, for the Motor City Cruise on Jan. 17, one week before his first game back with Alabama.

He’s one of several former G League players who has joined a college roster this season, a trend that has raised the public ire of notable figures across the sport, as well as the NCAA itself, which said such moves are “taking away opportunities from high school students.” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo described it as “utterly ridiculous.” Even Alabama coach Nate Oats, a former high school coach in Michigan, spoke up last month after Baylor brought in former NBA Draft pick James Nnaji, saying the increased prevalence of such players was “taking opportunities away” from high schoolers.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alabama’s Charles Bediako gets NCAA restraining order extended because of weather

Ethan Salas plummeted 53 spots on Keith Law’s 2026 Top 100 MLB prospects list that was released by The Athletic, Monday. The 19-year-old catching prospect from Venezuela was the only San Diego Padres prospect to make the list, which is reflective of just how depleted the San Diego farm system is. Salas was the 17^th ranked prospect on Law’s list last year, but a back injury caused him to miss most of the 2025 season. Law cited the injury and lack of looks as the reason for his decline, adding he is not giving up on the prospect.

Salas signed with the Padres as the top international free agent in 2023 and was projected to be the next big-name catcher based on his age (16) and defensive ability. Defense has never been a problem for Salas, although some think his value behind the plate will drop with the advent of the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System (ABS) in 2026. It has been his offensive production that has raised concerns.

Salas played at three levels of professional baseball in 2023 with the Single-A Lake Elsinore Storm, High-A Fort Wayne TinCaps and Double-A San Antonio Missions and compiled 290 plate appearances in 66 games. His ascent through the minors was aggressive and the thought at the time was the Padres wanted to challenge Salas and see how he would handle the higher level of play. He finished with a combined slash line of .248/.331/.421 with 63 hits, including 13 doubles, two triples and nine home runs for the year. Since that time, his offensive production has fallen off.

Salas spent the 2024 season in High-A Fort Wayne and made 469 plate appearances in 111 games. His final line was .206/.288/.311 with 85 hits, including 27 doubles, two triples and four home runs. The expectation was with more time at the lower level Salas would find comfort at the plate and develop offensive consistency that would allow him to continue his progression through the minors at a more realistic pace.

Despite a down offensive year in High-A, Salas started the 2025 season in San Antonio with the Double-A affiliate. He played in just 10 games and made 41 plate appearances before it was announced in May that he suffered a stress reaction in his lower back in the middle of April. Initially, Salas was expected to miss a couple months, but he did not play the remainder of the season. Salas finished with a slash line of .188/.325/.219 and recorded six hits with one double, no triples and no homeruns before the injury.

Based on the performance or lack thereof by Salas, it makes sense that he would have a dramatic fall in the prospect rankings. Salas is expected to be ready for Spring Training, and a healthy season could go a long way toward him re-establishing his value and surely that is what Padres president of baseball operations and general manager A.J. Preller is hoping for. If Padres evaluations say Salas is not going to achieve the potential he had when he signed with San Diego, Preller could use a bounce-back season from him to move Salas in a trade that would improve the big-league roster for the second half of 2026 or 2027.

He is still a teenager and Padres fans would hate to see Preller and the organization give up on the former top prospect too soon, but Salas may no longer be the untouchable farmhand destined for stardom that he once was. By the time all is said and done, he may just be another prospect who is moved in a Preller deal.

The NBA has announced its rosters for the 2026 Rising Stars game. Sophomore standout Jaylon Tyson will be there to represent the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Tyson is averaging 13.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. He’s gone from a fringe rotational player to a bona fide starting-caliber talent in the first half of the season. His leap as a three-point shooter (46% this season) is only one of many reasons for his success.

“He’s just built up the equity, and that’s confidence in himself,” Atkinson said. “It started in Summer League, then he just built it with his work.”

The Cavs have fully embraced Tyson’s breakout. He’s started in 27 games this season and is playing close to 30 minutes per game. No one would have predicted this in the summer, but even Cleveland’s veterans have recognized his importance. Donovan Mitchell, especially, has taken Tyson under his wing.

“Donovan has believed in him since day one,” said Aktinson. “He’s anointed him, like, ‘okay, I need you, we’re going to get you better.‘ So I think that when your superstar believes in you, that’s even more important than when the coach believes in you.”

Tyson is joined by other rising stars such as Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle and Alex Sarr. He’s the first Cavalier to play in the game since Evan Mobley in his rookie and sophomore seasons.

The Cavaliers, who have the most expensive roster in the NBA, are hamstrung by their financial situation. That limits them from adding talent at the trade deadline or in the offseason — and makes young talent like Tyson all the more important. This is their easiest, if not only, option for improving the roster without making any major changes. That means Tyson’s development is more than an inspiring story; it’s pivotal to the future of the franchise.