The NBA launched the early entry checklist for the 2026 NBA Draft on Monday after some uncertainty from some underclassmen who by no means publicly introduced their intentions earlier than the deadline on whether or not they would return to highschool or at the least check the waters within the 2026 NBA Draft.
A type of prospects was USC’s Alijah Arenas. The previous top-10 recruit from the 2025 recruiting cycle, as ranked by 247Sports, and the son of former NBA participant Gilbert Arenas entered his title into the NBA Draft with out publicly asserting it.
Nonetheless, simply hours after the NBA formally launched its checklist of early entrants, Arenas reportedly withdrew from the draft course of. Arenas did not enter the NCAA switch portal, that means he’ll seemingly return for his sophomore season at USC.
Arenas was the No. 39-ranked participant in CBS Sports activities’ NBA Draft Prospect Rankings. Final spring Arenas was concerned in a automotive crash after which suffered a knee damage that required surgical procedure final summer season, which induced him to overlook the primary two months of the 2025-26 school basketball season.
Winners and losers of the early NBA Draft deadline: Duke, Florida retain key starters; UNC loses essential star
Cameron Salerno
The deadline to withdraw from the draft and preserve eligibility to return to highschool is Might 27 at 11:59 p.m. ET. There have been solely 71 early entrants within the 2026 NBA Draft. That’s the lowest whole since 2003. Final 12 months, there have been 106 early entrants, and in 2021, there have been 363.
A number of of the most important draft prospects in school basketball waited till the ultimate days of the deadline to formally declare, together with Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, Duke’s Cameron Boozer, and BYU’s AJ Dybantsa — all of whom may very well be the No. 1 total decide this summer season.
There are additionally many names, together with Arenas, who might return to highschool for an additional season. A few of them embrace Alabama’s Amari Allen, Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner, Arkansas’ Meleek Thomas and Stanford’s Ebuka Okorie.
Right here is the checklist of all of the prospects from the faculty and Worldwide ranks who entered the 2026 NBA Draft as early entrants.
Early entrants within the 2026 NBA Draft
| PLAYER | SCHOOL/TEAM | 12 months/Age |
| Matt In a position | North Carolina State | Freshman |
| Darius Acuff Jr. | Arkansas | Freshman |
| Amari Allen | Alabama | Freshman |
| Nate Ament | Tennessee | Freshman |
| Christian Anderson Jr. | Texas Tech | Sophomore |
| Alijah Arenas | USC | Freshman |
| Flory Bidunga | Kansas | Sophomore |
| Finley Bizjack | Butler | Junior |
| John Blackwell | Wisconsin | Junior |
| Shane Blakeney | Drexel | Junior |
| Anton Bonke | Charlotte | Junior |
| Cameron Boozer | Duke | Freshman |
| Mikel Brown Jr. | Louisville | Freshman |
| Rowan Brumbaugh | Tulane | Junior |
| Brayden Burries | Arizona | Freshman |
| Elliot Cadeau | Michigan | Junior |
| Cameron Carr | Baylor | Sophomore |
| Chris Cenac Jr. | Houston | Freshman |
| Rueben Chinyelu | Florida | Junior |
| Jacob Cofie | USC | Sophomore |
| Cruz Davis | Hofstra | Junior |
| Kennard Davis Jr. | BYU | Junior |
| Keanu Dawes | Utah | Junior |
| AJ Dybantsa | BYU | Freshman |
| Gabe Dynes | USC | Junior |
| Eian Elmer | Miami (OH) | Junior |
| Isaiah Evans | Duke | Sophomore |
| Jeremy Fears Jr. | Michigan State | Sophomore |
| Kingston Flemings | Houston | Freshman |
| Colby Garland | San Jose State | Junior |
| Allen Graves | Santa Clara | Freshman |
| Juke Harris | Wake Forest | Sophomore |
| Isiah Harwell | Houston | Freshman |
| Lou Hutchinson | Alabama A&M | Junior |
| Morez Johnson Jr. | Michigan | Sophomore |
| Acaden Lewis | Villanova | Freshman |
| Aday Mara | Michigan | Junior |
| Milan Momcilovic | Iowa State | Junior |
| Malachi Moreno | Kentucky | Freshman |
| Paulius Murauskas | Saint Mary’s | Junior |
| Ebuka Okorie | Stanford | Freshman |
| Dennis Parker Jr. | Radford | Junior |
| Koa Peat | Arizona | Freshman |
| Darryn Peterson | Kansas | Freshman |
| Labaron Philon Jr. | Alabama | Sophomore |
| Jayden Quaintance | Kentucky | Sophomore |
| Sebastian Rancik | Colorado | Sophomore |
| Billy Richmond III | Arkansas | Sophomore |
| Hannes Steinbach | Washington | Freshman |
| Andrej Stojakovic | Illinois | Junior |
| Dailyn Swain | Texas | Junior |
| Tyler Tanner | Vanderbilt | Sophomore |
| Meleek Thomas | Arkansas | Freshman |
| Aiden Tobiason | Temple | Sophomore |
| Bryson Tucker | Washington | Sophomore |
| Henri Veesaar | North Carolina | Junior |
| Keaton Wagler | Illinois | Freshman |
| LeJuan Watts | Texas Tech | Junior |
| Caleb Wilson | North Carolina | Freshman |
| Tounde Yessoufou | Baylor | Freshman |
| Mohammad Amini | Nancy (France) | 2005 DOB |
| Pavle Backo | Mega (Serbia) | 2007 DOB |
| Bassala Bagayoko | Bilbao (Spain) | 2006 DOB |
| Francesco Ferrari | Virtus Bologna (Italy) | 2005 DOB |
| Marc-Owen Fodzo Dada | Nancy (France) | 2006 DOB |
| Vsevolod Ishchenko | Lokomotiv (Russia) | 2005 DOB |
| Jack Kayil | Alba Berlin (Germany) | 2006 DOB |
| Sergio de Larrea | Valencia (Spain) | 2005 DOB |
| Karim Lopez | New Zealand Breakers (Australia) | 2007 DOB |
| Alexandros Samodurov | Panathinaikos (Greece) | 2005 DOB |
| Luigi Suigo | Mega (Serbia) | 2007 DOB |