Before hearing their names called by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver at Barclays Center in Brooklyn next week, Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey will be taking center stage at two other iconic New York sports venues.
The former Rutgers basketball stars will each throw out the first pitch at a local MLB game over the next week.
Harper, a 6-foot-4 guard who is projected to be picked No. 2 overall in next Wednesday’s first round, will throw out the first pitch at Yankees Stadium on Sunday, when the Yankees host the Baltimore Orioles.
Bailey, the 6-foot-7 forward whose potential draft position is all over the map, will throw out the first pitch at Citi Field on Tuesday, when the Mets host the Atlanta Braves.
Harper and Bailey are the two highest-ranked recruits to ever sign with the Scarlet Knights, but they were unable to meet the astronomical expectations surrounding them during their one season in Piscataway. Rutgers finished with a 15-17 record, losing in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament and failing to reach the NCAA Tournament.
If Harper and Bailey are both chosen inside the first 10 slots, Rutgers would become the first team in college basketball history to miss the NCAA Tournament with two top-10 NBA Draft picks on its roster.
The 2025 NBA Draft is set to begin at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 25, in Brooklyn.
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Brian Fonseca may be reached at bfonseca@njadvancemedia.com.