Early entrants who wish to declare for the 2026 NBA draft tentatively have until the end of the day on Saturday, April 25 to make that decision official. That deadline is based on presumed draft dates of June 24-25, which would line up with the league’s typical calendar in recent years but have not yet been officially confirmed.
Players who declare for the draft this year will have to withdraw by the end of the day on May 27 if they wish to retain their NCAA eligibility. The NBA’s withdrawal deadline, which is more relevant for international prospects, would be on June 14 at 5:00 pm Eastern time if the draft begins on June 24.
Typically, the initial number of early entrants declaring for the draft is far bigger than the final total will be, since many players “test the draft waters” to get feedback on their stock before ultimately deciding to withdraw.
However, the total number of early entrants has been trending sharply downward in recent years. This is due in part to players who were granted an extra year of eligibility in 2021 due to COVID-19 having graduated, meaning we no longer have dozens of “seniors” on the early entrant list. Additionally, the implementation of a rule allowing student athletes to be compensated for their name, image, and likeness (NIL) has made college basketball more lucrative than going pro for many young players.
Back in 2022, a total of 283 early entrants tested the draft waters and 149 kept their names in the draft pool. In 2025, those figures were down to just 109 and 46, respectively, and this year’s totals will likely be closer to those recent numbers.
We’ll use the space below to keep track of reports and announcements on early entrant prospects and their decisions. We’ll archive them all here in a running list, which will be accessible anytime under “Hoops Rumors Features” on the right sidebar of our desktop site, or in the “Features” page found in our mobile menu.
The players below are listed in alphabetical order. If you have any corrections or omissions, please contact us.
Last updated 4-11-26 (12:00 pm CT)
College Underclassmen
Expected to remain in draft:
- Christian Anderson, G, Texas Tech (sophomore)
- Mikel Brown Jr., G, Louisville (freshman)
- Chris Cenac, F/C, Houston (freshman)
- Allen Graves, F, Santa Clara (freshman)
- Labaron Philon, G, Alabama (sophomore)
- Dailyn Swain, G/F, Texas (junior)
- Bryson Tucker, F, Washington (sophomore)
- Caleb Wilson, F, North Carolina (freshman)
- Tounde Yessoufou, G/F, Baylor (freshman)
Testing the draft waters:
Note: Some of these players may also be transferring to new schools; their 2025/26 school is listed here.
- Matt Able, G, North Carolina State (freshman)
- Dai Dai Ames, G, California (junior)
- Flory Bidunga, F/C, Kansas (sophomore)
- Finley Bizjack, G, Butler (junior)
- John Blackwell, G, Wisconsin (junior)
- Rowan Brumbaugh, G, Tulane (junior)
- Jeremy Fears, G, Michigan State (junior)
- Juke Harris, G, Wake Forest (sophomore)
- Acaden Lewis, G, Villanova (freshman)
- John Mobley Jr., G, Ohio State (sophomore)
- Milan Momcilovic, F, Iowa State (junior)
- Malachi Moreno, C, Kentucky (freshman)
- Ebuka Okorie, G, Stanford (freshman)
- Dennis Parker, G, Radford (junior)
- LeJuan Watts, F, Texas Tech (junior)
International players
Note: The country indicates where the player had been playing, not necessarily where he was born.
- Karim Lopez, F, Australia (born 2007)