Louisville freshman Mikel Brown Jr. plans to enter the 2026 NBA Draft, he told Andscape's Marc J. Spears.
The 6-foot-5 guard is widely projected to be a top-10 pick.
"Obviously, it's just been a dream of mine to be able to be in this position," Brown said. "The little kid in me would freaking scream just to know that I have an opportunity to play at the highest level, which has been a dream of mine since I started picking up a basketball. So yeah, I'll be taking that next step."
Brown was the No. 8 overall recruit on the ESPN 100 coming out of high school.
The Florida native missed 14 games with a back injury during his lone campaign with the Cardinals but was productive when available, averaging 18.2 points, 4.7 assists, 3.3 boards, and 1.2 steals across 21 appearances.
Brown earned All-ACC third-team honors and a spot on the conference's All-Rookie team. He dropped a season-high 45 points against NC State last February to break Cooper Flagg's ACC single-game scoring mark.
"Obviously, this season was very challenging for me not to be able to compete just because of my physical health," Brown said. "Unfortunately, I hated to be that way, but I just wasn't able to just get out there and play. So, just me maturing and just learning so much about the game this past year meant a lot to me, and it just changed my mindset.
"I definitely just took that next step as being that leader of the team and being the most vocal on the team. I know what I'm capable of and I feel that I prepared myself for the next level, and I will continue to work hard and prepare for it even more so."
