The pool of players for 2025 NBA Draft is taking shape after the deadline for players to keep their names in the draft or return to school for the 2025-26 college basketball season came and went. Players had until Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. ET to withdraw from the draft and maintain college eligibility under the NCAA deadline. Even though players had all day to decide their future, there wasn’t much 11th-hour drama in the moments leading up to the official deadline.
A handful of players, such as Washington State star Cedric Coward and Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg, made their intentions known before the deadline. Coward announced last weekend that he would stay in the draft and not transfer to Duke. Lendeborg, a potential first-round pick, decided to bypass the draft and play for Dusty May at Michigan.
On the day of the deadline, St. John’s forward RJ Luis Jr., Penn State big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Florida State forward Jamir Watkins and Arkansas wing Adou Thiero announced they would be staying in the draft.
Kentucky guard Otega Oweh, Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford and San Diego State wing Miles Byrd were among the players who announced their intention to return to school for another season. Pettiford was a potential first-round pick but now will be given the keys to the offense at Auburn for a program fresh off a Final Four appearance.
With the deadline now in the books, here is who’s staying in college and who’s chasing their NBA dreams.
Notable late NBA Draft decisions
Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn State
Big Board ranking: 42
Draft decision: Staying in the draft
Konan Niederhauser had a strong showing at the NBA Draft Combine earlier this month and raised his stock. The 7-foot forward could benefit from other players electing to return to school instead of staying in the draft. Konan Niederhauser projects as a second-round pick. — Cameron Salerno
RJ Luis Jr., St. John’s
Big Board ranking: 71
Draft decision: Staying in the draft
It’s not surprising that Luis is staying in the draft, but after entering the transfer portal after a breakout season at St. John’s, it appeared staying in college could be on the table. Instead, Luis is turning pro. Luis has protectable tools as a 6-foot-7 wing to make an impact at the NBA level, but he will likely slide to the second round of the draft. — Salerno
Labaron Philon, Alabama
Big Board ranking: 23
Draft decision: Returning to Alabama
A late-night surprise! Philon, who told CBS Sports at the NBA Draft Combine that the door was closed on a return to college basketball, has changed his mind and will run it back at Alabama for his sophomore season. The 6-foot-4 lead guard looked poised to be a potential first-round pick next month, but he could skyrocket into the lottery conversation in 2026 with another strong season in Tuscaloosa. It’s a massive boon for an Alabama roster that looked a tad underwhelming … until now. Philon will put his hat in the ring as a legitimate SEC Player of the Year candidate in 2025-26. — Isaac Trotter
Miles Byrd, San Diego State
Big Board ranking: 52
Draft decision: Returning to San Diego State
Byrd is coming off a breakout 2024-25 campaign but still needs more time in college to maximize his stock. Byrd started 30 games and averaged career-highs in points, steals, blocks, assists and rebounds. He should be a candidate to become a first-round pick in 2026 alongside his teammate, Magoon Gwath. — Salerno
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Otega Oweh, Kentucky
Big Board ranking: NR
Draft decision: Returning to Kentucky
Oweh is coming back to Kentucky. The former Oklahoma guard transferred to Kentucky last offseason and enjoyed the best season of his career. Oweh averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists. Returning to school is the right decision and is a huge win for coach Mark Pope. — Salerno
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Adou Thiero, Arkansas
Big Board ranking: 40
Draft decision: Staying in the draft
Arkansas coach John Calipari will rely on Thiero this summer to keep his streak of consecutive drafts with a first-round selection. Calipari has had a player selected in the first round since 2008, which dates back to his time at Memphis. Thiero is a fringe first-round pick who could see a boost in his stock due to other players returning to school. — Salerno
Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
Big Board ranking: 27
Draft decision: Returning to Auburn
Pettiford returning to school isn’t much of a surprise. It’s the right decision. He was going to be a fringe first-round pick. Instead, he gets the chance to return to Auburn and will get the keys to the offense and an NIL deal worth more than $2 million, a source told CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander.
He was a microwave scorer off the bench last season, and his role will increase drastically. Pettiford should be a sleeper All-American candidate. — Salerno
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Jamir Watkins, Florida State
Big Board ranking: 68
Draft decision: Staying in the draft
After entering the transfer portal after two seasons at Florida State, Watkins is remaining in the draft. This is somewhat of a surprising move, as Watkins projects as a mid-to-late second-round selection. Watkins drew interest in the transfer portal from various teams. —Salerno
Nate Bittle, Oregon
Big Board ranking: NR
Draft decision: Returning to Oregon
Bittle withdrew from the NBA Draft and will return to Oregon for his senior season. The 7-foot, 240-pound center is one of the elite stretch bigs in all of college basketball. He shot 40% from 3-point range in Big Ten play while notching the second-best block percentage in league play. Bittle was a Third Team All-Big Ten selection this past season.
The big man’s return gives Oregon one of the elite duos in all of college basketball. Purdue’s point guard-big man combination of Braden Smith and Trey Kaufman-Renn may be the only point guard-big man pairing that is better than Bittle and lead guard Jackson Shelstad. — Trotter
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Big Board ranking: 43
Draft decision: Withdrawing from draft, transferring to Michigan
Lendeborg, a projected first-round pick in two recent mock drafts by CBS Sports, will headline one of the premier transfer portal classes in college basketball at Michigan, which ranks second behind St. John’s in the 247Sports recruiting rankings.
Lendeborg received a NIL package believed to be in the neighborhood of $3 million to return to school, sources indicated to CBS Sports. He led Division l in double-doubles at UAB last season. — Salerno
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Alex Condon, Florida
Big Board ranking: 56
Draft decision: Returning to Florida
One of the biggest offseason wins for the reigning national champions came on the eve of the withdrawal deadline when Condon announced his return to Florida. Condon was Florida’s starting center last season but will benefit by returning to school for another season. He will enter next season as a projected first-round pick in the 2026 draft. — Salerno
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Cedric Coward, Washington State/Duke
Big Board ranking: 18
Draft decision: Staying in the 2025 NBA Draft
One of the biggest winners of the NBA Draft Combine was Coward, so it’s not surprising that he will never play a game for Duke. Coward played in just seven games last season for Washington State and averaged 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
Coward began his career at the Division III level and had a two-year stint at Eastern Washington before transferring to WSU. Coward projected as a first-round pick in multiple mock drafts by CBS Sports. — Salerno
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Milos Uzan, Houston
Big Board ranking: 45
Draft decision: Returning to Houston
Uzan took a significant step forward during his first year at Houston. He was the Cougars’ best 3-point shooter, connecting on 42.8% from beyond the arc. But outside of his performance against Purdue in the Sweet 16 — which saw him score a game-winning bucket to help the Cougars advance — he didn’t have his best showing in the NCAA Tournament.
Houston projects as a preseason top-three team heading into the 2025-26 campaign. Getting Uzan back helps the Cougars make the case for preseason No. 1 this fall. — Salerno
Karter Knox, Arkansas
Big Board ranking: NR
Draft decision: Returning to Arkansas
Knox, the brother of former Kentucky star and lottery pick Kevin Knox ll, played for the same coach his brother did during his first season. Knox was previously committed to Kentucky before flipping to follow coach John Calipari to Arkansas.
Knox should be in line for a larger role in Year 2. He averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds in 36 games for the Razorbacks. — Salerno
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PJ Haggerty, Memphis / Kansas State
Big Board ranking: 63
Draft decision: Withdrawing from draft, transferring to Kansas State
Haggerty will be at his fourth college in four years. After stops at TCU, Tulsa and, most recently, Memphis, Haggerty went through the draft process before withdrawing from the draft. Haggerty was one of the top-ranked players in the transfer portal available. He will join a Kansas State squad coming off a 16-17 showing.
Haggerty averaged 21.7 points and earned All-American honors from CBS Sports. — Salerno
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Darrion Williams, NC State
Big Board ranking: 44
Draft decision: Returning to school, transferring to NC State
Williams was one of the heroes of Texas Tech’s run to the Elite Eight this past spring. After declaring for the draft while simultaneously entering the transfer portal, Williams decided to remove his name from draft consideration and committed to NC State.
Williams’ commitment is part of a roster overhaul at NC State for first-year coach Will Wade. — Salerno
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