Forward Koa Peat, a projected first-round pick, will remain in the 2026 NBA Draft and will not return to Arizona for his sophomore season.
Peat’s decision was one of the handful still unknown before the NBA on Thursday released a list of 38 early-entry candidates who withdrew from the draft pool.
The 6-foot-8 Peat, who admitted he struggled at the NBA Draft Combine, averaged 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists while helping to lead the Wildcats to the Big 12 regular-season and conference titles.
The Arizona native raised his game during the NCAA Tournament, averaging 17.2 points and 7.6 boards in five games as the Wildcats advanced to the Final Four before falling to Michigan.
While Peat heads to the pros, many of the early-entry candidates that withdrew will change uniforms in the college ranks as they entered the transfer portal at the same time as testing the draft waters.
Iowa State forward Milan Momcilovic may be the single most sought-after player in the group, with recent reports naming Arizona, Kentucky, Louisville and St. John’s as his suitors. Ex-Kansas big man Flory Bidunga is already committed to Louisville, as is Southern California 7-foot-5 center Gabe Dynes.
Earlier this week, Billy Richmond III reportedly changed course at the last minute and chose to return for another year at Arkansas.
And most recently, Baylor guard Tounde Yessoufou withdrew from the draft Thursday and announced his commitment to St. John’s. A five-star recruit last year, Yessoufou averaged 17.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game for the Bears as a freshman.
The list included three international players taking their names out of consideration: Bassala Bagayoko (Bilbao, Spain), Marc-Owen Fodzo Dada (Nancy, France) and Alexandros Samodurov (Panathinaikos, Greece). North Carolina is reported to have interest in Samodurov, a power forward.
Players withdrawing from draft (with 2025-26 school):
Matt Able, North Carolina State
Amari Allen, Alabama
Alijah Arenas, USC
Flory Bidunga, Kansas
Finley Bizjack, Butler
John Blackwell, Wisconsin
Shane Blakeney, Drexel
Anton Bonke, Charlotte
Rowan Brumbaugh, Tulane
Elliot Cadeau, Michigan
Rueben Chinyelu, Florida
Jacob Cofie, USC
Cruz Davis, Hofstra
Kennard Davis Jr., BYU
Keanu Dawes, Utah
Gabe Dynes, USC
Eian Elmer, Miami (Ohio)
Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State
Colby Garland, San Jose State
Juke Harris, Wake Forest
Isiah Harwell, Houston
Lou Hutchinson, Alabama A&M
Acaden Lewis, Villanova
John Mobley Jr., Ohio State
Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State
Malachi Moreno, Kentucky
Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary’s
Dennis Parker Jr., Radford
Sebastian Rancik, Colorado
Billy Richmond III, Arkansas
Andrej Stojakovic, Illinois
Tyler Tanner, Vanderbilt
Aiden Tobiason, Temple
LeJuan Watts, Texas Tech
Tounde Yessoufou, Baylor
–Field Level Media
