South Carolina star Collin Murray-Boyles is declaring for the 2025 NBA Draft after earning second-team all-SEC honors as a sophomore, according to ESPN. The 6-foot-8 forward is regarded as a potential first-round pick after exceeding modest expectations as a four-star prospect from the Class of 2023.
Murray-Boyles blossomed into one of the nation’s top freshmen during the second half of the 2023-24 season following a bout with mononucleosis that derailed the beginning of his college career. He took his game to greater heights as a sophomore, averaging a team-high 16.7 points on 58.5% shooting, 8.1 rebounds and 1.4 blocks this season.
The physically imposing Murray-Boyles is a deft finisher around the rim and out of isolations. Though he’s a force on the block, Murray-Boyles is also agile enough to switch onto smaller players defensively, which lends some NBA upside to his otherwise old-school style.
Few prospects in the 2025 draft class have the deft interior touch of Murray-Boyles, who rarely gets sped up even when opponents bring double teams. Murray-Boyles was the only player in the SEC during the 2024-25 season who shot better than 50% from the floor on more than 10 attempts per game in conference action.
Collin Murray-Boyles’ NBA Draft projection
Murray-Boyles could be a polarizing player in the 2025 NBA Draft class due to his lack of athleticism and the fact that he rarely showed much of an outside shot. But his combination of offensive efficiency and defensive versatility will be attractive to teams in the first round.
The Columbia native ranks No. 20 in the 2025 CBS Sports NBA Draft Prospect Rankings and went in the early 20s of the most-recent mock drafts from Kyle Boone and Adam Finkelstein.
“There will be questions about how his game fits with his lack of floor spacing, but Murray-Boyles is a long, strong and rugged forward, or maybe even small-ball five, who could thrive in a more supporting role,” Finkelstein wrote.
Impact on South Carolina
The Gamecocks were fortunate to get Murray-Boyles back for his sophomore season after he closed his freshman campaign with enough of a flurry to generate significant attention from scouts. Now, after a 12-20 (2-16 SEC) season, coach Lamont Paris must chart a course forward without him. No. 2 scorer Jamarii Thomas and No. 3 scorer Nick Pringle are also out of eligibility, which leaves South Carolina with significant offensive production to replace.
Look for South Carolina to be extremely aggressive in the transfer portal as Paris seeks to reclaim the positive trajectory the program demonstrated in 2023-24. That season, a strong transfer class helped propel the Gamecocks to the NCAA Tournament with a No. 6 seed.
Read the full article here