Draft Notes: Graves, Okorie, Evans, Veesaar, Kayil
When he declared for the 2026 NBA draft earlier this spring, Santa Clara freshman forward Allen Graves also entered the NCAA transfer portal. However, he has been focused more on improving his draft stock than on lining up a new college for next season, per Jeff Borzello of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Borzello, Graves said he has only had conversations with two schools since entering the transfer: LSU and Duke. Kentucky also reached out to his representatives, Graves said, but LSU and Duke would be his top two choices if he decides to play his sophomore season.
For now though, Graves is leaning toward keeping his name in the draft pool as long as he feels confident about being a first-round pick, which seems like an increasingly realistic outcome. In their most recent mock drafts, Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports had Graves at No. 16 overall, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report had him at No. 20, and ESPN’s Jeremy Woo had him at No. 22.
Here are a few more draft-related updates from this week’s combine:
- Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie, who is viewed as a possible first-round pick, intends to remain in the draft and forgo his remaining NCAA eligibility, according to Borzello (Twitter link). “I already talked with (Stanford coach) Kyle Smith and I talked to my agents and my family,” Okorie said. “I’m staying in the draft.” When Okorie declared for the draft, he was said to be leaning strongly toward going pro but was leaving the door open for a return to Stanford.
- As expected, Duke wing Isaiah Evans and UNC center Henri Veesaar, who rank 21st and 31st, respectively, on ESPN’s big board, will keep their names in the draft and go pro, according to Borzello (Twitter links). Evans said that he’s “fully in” and hasn’t talked to the Blue Devils at all about returning, while Veesaar said he’s “all-in” on the draft. “It’s 100% my decision to stay. I think it’s the right decision, basketball-wise,” the North Carolina big man added.
- German point guard Jack Kayil had committed to Gonzaga for the 2026/27 season, but he plans to remain in the draft instead of going to college, agents Kevin Bradbury and Milan Nikolic tell Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Kayil is ranked just 61st on ESPN’s board, but he has receiving “first-round feedback” in Chicago this week after an excellent season with the German team Alba Berlin, Givony reports.
- Givony (Twitter link) passes along the names of several of the notable prospects who aren’t participating in 5-on-5 scrimmages at the combine, pointing out that some of them may have already decided to return to school and won’t want to risk suffering an injury.
NBA Announces 73 Invitees For 2026 Draft Combine
The NBA announced today (via Twitter) that 73 prospects have been invited to attend this year’s draft combine, which will take place in Chicago from May 10-17.
In addition to those 73 players, a handful of standout players from the G League combine, which is also held in Chicago just before the combine begins, are expected to receive invites to stick around for the main event.
Not all of the prospects invited to the combine will end up remaining in the 2026 draft pool, since many are early entrants who are testing the waters while retaining their NCAA eligibility.
College players must withdraw from the draft by the end of the day on May 27 if they wish to preserve that eligibility, while non-college players face a decision deadline of June 13. The feedback they receive from NBA teams at the combine may be a deciding factor for players who are on the fence.
Here’s the list of players who have been invited to the 2026 draft combine:
(Note: For players in international leagues, the country listed is where they had been playing, not necessarily where they’re from.)
- Matt Able, G, North Carolina State (freshman)
- Darius Acuff, G, Arkansas (freshman)
- Amari Allen, F, Alabama (freshman)
- Nate Ament, F, Tennessee (freshman)
- Christian Anderson, G, Texas Tech (sophomore)
- Tobe Awaka, F, Arizona (senior)
- Flory Bidunga, F/C, Kansas (sophomore)
- Tyler Bilodeau, F, UCLA (senior)
- John Blackwell, G, Wisconsin (junior)
- Cameron Boozer, F, Duke (freshman)
- Kylan Boswell, G, Illinois (senior)
- Nick Boyd, G, Wisconsin (senior)
- Jaden Bradley, G, Arizona (senior)
- Trevon Brazile, F, Arkansas (senior)
- Maliq Brown, F, Duke (senior)
- Mikel Brown Jr., G, Louisville (freshman)
- Brayden Burries, G, Arizona (freshman)
- Cameron Carr, G, Baylor (junior)
- Chris Cenac, F/C, Houston (freshman)
- Rueben Chinyelu, C, Florida (junior)
- Ryan Conwell, G, Louisville (senior)
- Sergio De Larrea, G, Spain (born 2005)
- AJ Dybantsa, F, BYU (freshman)
- Zuby Ejiofor, F, St. John’s (senior)
- Isaiah Evans, G/F, Duke (sophomore)
- Jeremy Fears, G, Michigan State (junior)
- Kingston Flemings, G, Houston (freshman)
- Ja’Kobi Gillespie, G, Tennessee (senior)
- Allen Graves, F, Santa Clara (freshman)
- Keyshawn Hall, G/F, Auburn (senior)
- Juke Harris, G, Wake Forest (sophomore)
- Joshua Jefferson, F, Iowa State (senior)
- Morez Johnson, F/C, Michigan (sophomore)
- Alex Karaban, F, UConn (senior)
- Jack Kayil, G, Germany (born 2006)
- Toibu Lawal, F, Virginia Tech (senior)
- Yaxel Lendeborg, F, Michigan (senior)
- Karim Lopez, F, Australia (born 2007)
- Aday Mara, C, Michigan (junior)
- Nick Martinelli, F, Northwestern (senior)
- Baba Miller, F/C, Cincinnati (senior)
- Dillon Mitchell, F, St. John’s (senior)
- Milan Momcilovic, F, Iowa State (junior)
- Malachi Moreno, C, Kentucky (freshman)
- Izaiyah Nelson, F, South Florida (senior)
- Tyler Nickel, F, Vanderbilt (senior)
- Ebuka Okorie, G, Stanford (freshman)
- Felix Okpara, C, Tennessee (senior)
- Ugonna Onyenso, C, Virginia (senior)
- Otega Oweh, G, Kentucky (senior)
- Koa Peat, F, Arizona (freshman)
- Darryn Peterson, G, Kansas (freshman)
- Labaron Philon, G, Alabama (sophomore)
- Jayden Quaintance, F/C, Kentucky (sophomore)
- Tarris Reed, C, UConn (senior)
- Billy Richmond, G/F, Arkansas (sophomore)
- Richie Saunders, G, BYU (senior)
- Emanuel Sharp, G, Houston (senior)
- Braden Smith, G, Purdue (senior)
- Hannes Steinbach, F, Washington (freshman)
- Bennett Stirtz, G, Iowa (senior)
- Andrej Stojakovic, G/F, Illinois (junior)
- Peter Suder, G, Miami (OH) (senior)
- Luigi Suigo, C, Serbia (born 2007)
- Dailyn Swain, G/F, Texas (junior)
- Tyler Tanner, G, Vanderbilt (sophomore)
- Meleek Thomas, G, Arkansas (freshman)
- Bruce Thornton, G, Ohio State (senior)
- Milos Uzan, G, Houston (senior)
- Henri Veesaar, C, North Carolina (junior)
- Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois (freshman)
- Caleb Wilson, F, North Carolina (freshman)
- Tounde Yessoufou, G/F, Baylor (freshman)
It’s worth noting that the NBA and the NBPA agreed to several combine-related changes in their latest Collective Bargaining Agreement. Here are a few of those changes:
- A player who is invited to the draft combine and declines to attend without an excused absence will be ineligible to be drafted. He would become eligible the following year by attending the combine. There will be exceptions made for a player whose FIBA season is ongoing, who is injured, or who is dealing with a family matter (such as a tragedy or the birth of a child). That player would be required to complete combine activities at a later date.
- Players who attend the draft combine will be required to undergo physical exams, share medical history, participate in strength, agility, and performance testing, take part in shooting drills, receive anthropometric measurements, and conduct interviews with teams and the media. Scrimmages won’t be mandatory.
- Medical results from the combine will be distributed to select teams based on where the player is projected to be drafted. Only teams drafting in the top 10 would get access to medical info for the projected No. 1 pick; teams in the top 15 would receive medical info for players in the 2-6 range, while teams in the top 25 would get access to info for the players in the 7-10 range.
Koa Peat, Henri Veesaar Among Players Entering Draft
Arizona freshman forward Koa Peat has declared for the 2026 NBA draft, formally announcing his decision on social media (Instagram link).
A 6’8″ forward, Peat earned a spot on the All-Big 12 third team and the conference’s All-Freshman team after averaging 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 27.8 minutes per game across 36 outings (all starts) in 2025/26. The 19-year-old made 52.8% of his field goal attempts, though he wasn’t much of a threat from beyond the arc (7-of-20) and hit just 62.3% of his free throws.
Peat scored at least 14 points in all five of the Wildcats’ games in the NCAA tournament and had a double-double (16 points, 11 rebounds) in the Final Four loss to Michigan, though he converted just 6-of-18 shots from the floor in that game.
Peat is considered a probable first-round pick, ranking 21st on ESPN’s big board and coming in at No. 22 in Bleacher Report’s most recent mock draft. According to Jeremy Woo of ESPN, NBA scouts like Peat’s physicality, toughness, and defensive IQ, but aren’t sure how his offensive game will translate to the NBA.
Here are more updates on draft decisions ahead of Friday night’s deadline for early entrants:
- Duke guard/forward Dame Sarr, the No. 31 player on ESPN’s top-100 list, will return to school for his sophomore season rather than testing the draft waters, according to the Blue Devils (Twitter link). Sarr averaged 6.4 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 38 games (30 starts) as a freshman while earning a place on the ACC’s All-Defensive team.
- Estonian center Henri Veesaar had one more year of college eligibility remaining, but he intends to enter the draft and go pro, reports Matt Norlander of CBS Sports (Twitter link). Veesaar spent three seasons, including one redshirt year, at Arizona before playing for UNC in 2025/26. He had a breakout year for the Tar Heels, averaging 17.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, and 1.2 BPG on .608/.426/.615 shooting, and is the No. 45 player on ESPN’s board.
- Alba Berlin point guard Jack Kayil and KK Mega Basket center Pavle Backo are entering their names in the 2026 draft, their respective agents tell Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter links). As Givony points out, Kayil has already committed to Gonzaga for the 2026/27 season but the German guard is testing the NBA draft waters as well.
- After spending his first three college seasons at Drexel, guard Shane Blakeney is declaring for the NBA draft while maintaining his final year of NCAA eligibility, agent Kevin Martin announced (via Instagram). If Blakeney withdraws from the draft pool, the plan is for him to transfer to South Carolina, as the Gamecocks officially confirmed (Twitter link).