The National Basketball Association (NBA) recently conducted its 2025 entry draft.
For seventh straight draft, a player from a Sun Belt school did not hear their name called—though Appalachian State forward CJ Huntley emerged as a rare bright spot.
The last time the Sun Belt had a player drafted was in 2018, when power forward Kevin Hervey was selected 57th overall by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The senior out of UT-Arlington—then a Sun Belt member before moving to the Western Athletic Conference in 2022—helped lead the Mavericks to a 27-9 and a run to the NIT quarterfinals during his junior campaign.
Off the board! 🏀
With the 57th pick in the 2018 #NBADraft, the @okcthunder select @UTA_MBB’s Kevin Hervey. #SunBeltMBB#ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/q49ZQ9Yr1T
— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) June 22, 2018
Averaging 17.1 points and 8.5 rebounds, Hervey was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. He became just the second player from UT Arlington to earn AP honorable mention All-American honor, following Marquez Haynes. Hervey improved his numbers as a senior, scoring 21.1 points and 8.7 boards per game.
After spending his first professional season with the Thunder’s G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, he signed a two-way contract in December 2019 and split time between the Blue and Thunder. He appeared in just 10 NBA games.
Following that stint, Hervey bounced around various international leagues. His most successful run came with Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A. He helped the team win its second Italian Supercup, while a 80-67 victory over Frutti Extra Bursapor gave the club its first EuroCup and qualified it for the EuroLeague after 14 years.
While no Sun Belt players were selected in the June 25th and 26th, one did sign an undrafted free agent contract. The Phoenix Suns announced they had signed CJ Huntley out of Appalachian State. The forward from Huntersville, NC, was coming off a career year, averaging 15.7 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game.
𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐞 ➡️ 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐱
CJ Huntley is headed to the Phoenix Suns! #TakeTheStairs | @CJ15_Huntley pic.twitter.com/yQa4qR52Oz
— App State Basketball (@AppStateMBB) June 27, 2025
His 15.7 points per game ranked seventh in the Sun Belt, helping him to earn second-team All-Sun Belt honors for the 2024-25 season. Despite earning a top-six seed and a bye to the fourth round, Appalachian State’s season ended with a 61-56 upset to eighth-seeded Old Dominion.
In that lone conference tournament game, Huntley recorded a team-high 18 points and 12 rebounds. It marked his 11th career double-double—all of them during his redshirt senior campaign.
If he makes the Suns 2025-26 roster, he will join a franchise in flux after a recent trade with Houston that brought small forward Dillon Brooks to Phoenix.
CJ Huntley’s opportunity with the Suns adds to a modest but meaningful legacy of Sun Belt talent reaching the NBA, While the conference rarely produced long-term pros, a few former standouts have carved out impressive careers at the highest level.
Of the 37 former Sun Belt players to be drafted into the NBA, only two players played more than 1000 games in the league.
PJ Brown, a center out of Louisiana Tech, was selected 29th overall in the second round in the second round of the 1992 draft by the New Jersey Nets. The Detroit native spent 15 seasons in the NBA, earning NBA All-Defensive Second Team three times— twice with the Miami Heat and once with the Charlotte Hornets in 2001.
May 14, 1997: The Heat’s PJ Brown throws Knicks Charlie Ward to the ground igniting a fight between the two teams during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
pic.twitter.com/cXcmX96gKq— This Day In Sports Clips (@TDISportsClips) May 15, 2025
He capped off his career by winning a championship with the Boston Celtics in 2008, joining the team midseason to strengthen their frontcourt.
The most successful former Sun Belt player came from Little Rock. Guard Derek Fisher was drafted four seasons after Brown, going 24th overall to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Little Rock, Arkansas native would play 1,288 games with five franchises and won five NBA championships with the Lakers.
Fisher is best known for his iconic “0.4 shot” against the San Antonio Spurs. In Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference finals with the series tied at two, Fisher caught an inbound pass from Gary Payton and made a turnaround game-winner with just 0.4 seconds left on the clock.
20 years ago today:
Derek Fisher proved .4 seconds is enough time to get a shot off 🥶pic.twitter.com/KaZpxvhWgD
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) May 13, 2024
Despite recent struggles to produce NBA draft picks, the Sun Belt Conference continues to develop talented players who find alternate paths to the professional level. As CJ Huntley begins his journey with the Phoenix Suns, he represents the resilience and potential of mid-major athletes striving to make their mark. Whether through the draft or free agency, Sun Belt players remain determined to prove they belong on basketball’s biggest stage.
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