44 Prospects Invited To 2026 G League Combine
Earlier today, the NBA revealed the 73 prospects that have been invited to the draft combine in Chicago later this month. That group of players will be joined by a small group of standouts from the G League combine, which takes place from May 8-10 in the days leading up to the main event.
While the league typically doesn’t formally announce which prospect receive invites to the G League combine, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress (Twitter link) has the details, reporting that the following 44 players make up the list of invitees:
- Michael Ajayi, F, Butler (senior)
- Alijah Arenas, G, USC (freshman)
- Donovan Atwell, G/F, Texas Tech (senior)
- Nathan Bittle, C, Oregon (senior)
- Elliot Cadeau, G, Michigan (junior)
- Rafael Castro, F/C, George Washington (senior)
- Zach Cleveland, F, Liberty (senior)
- Jacob Cofie, F, USC (sophomore)
- MJ Collins, G, Utah State (senior)
- Quadir Copeland, G, North Carolina State (senior)
- Melvin Council, G, Kansas (senior)
- Tucker DeVries, G/F, Indiana (senior)
- Tre Donaldson, G, Miami (senior)
- Reynan Dos Santos, G, Mexico City Capitanes (born 2004)
- Malique Ewin, F/C, Arkansas (senior)
- Jamal Fuller, G/F, Long Island (senior)
- Isiah Harwell, G, Houston (freshman)
- Jaden Henley, G/F, Grand Canyon (senior)
- Bryce Hopkins, G/F, St. John’s (senior)
- Graham Ike, F, Gonzaga (senior)
- Kasen Jennings, G, Appalachian State (senior)
- Trey Kaufman-Renn, F, Purdue (senior)
- Keba Keita, C, BYU (senior)
- Kobe Knox, G/F, South Carolina (senior)
- Xaivian Lee, G, Florida (senior)
- Malique Lewis, F, Australia (born 2004)
- Tamin Lipsey, G, Iowa State (senior)
- Fletcher Loyer, G, Purdue (senior)
- Aidan Mahaney, G, Santa Barbara (senior)
- Robert McCray, G, Florida State (senior)
- Kevin (Boopie) Miller, G, SMU (senior)
- Mark Mitchell, F, Missouri (senior)
- Paulius Murauskas, F, Saint Mary’s (junior)
- Jaron Pierre, G, SMU (senior)
- Kowacie Reeves, G/F, Georgia Tech (senior)
- Jaylin Sellers, G, Providence (senior)
- Markhi Strickland, G, North Dakota State (senior)
- Aiden Tobiason, G, Temple (sophomore)
- Seth Trimble, G, North Carolina (senior)
- Cade Tyson, F, Minnesota (senior)
- Ernest Udeh, C, Miami (senior)
- Lamar Wilkerson, G, Indiana (senior)
- Darrion Williams, F, North Carolina State (senior)
- Noam Yaacov, G, Belgium (born 2004)
While the players invited to the G League combine generally aren’t regarded as highly as NBA prospects as those selected for the primary combine, there are always at least a handful who end up in the league on two-way or standard contracts. Last year, for instance, Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Dylan Cardwell, Ryan Nembhard, Amari Williams, Will Richard, and Jahmai Mashack were among the invitees.
The G League combine will give some players who declared for the draft as early entrants an opportunity to see where they stand ahead of the draft withdrawal deadline on May 27. Not all of the players who participate in this event will remain in the draft pool.
Arenas, for instance, is the highest-rated prospect on ESPN’s board among the G League combine invitees, coming in at No. 52, but Ryan Kartje of The Los Angeles Times reported this week that he’s expected to withdraw and return to USC. As Givony notes (Twitter link), the list above is subject to change — if Arenas or other players end up declining invitations because they don’t plan to stay in the draft, they could be replaced before the event begins next Friday.
Portsmouth Invitational Tournament Announces 2026 Rosters
The 2026 Portsmouth Invitational Tournament will take place this week from April 15-18 in Portsmouth, VA. The event features college seniors working to boost their stock ahead of the NBA draft, with invitations to the combine a possibility for some standouts.
Several P.I.T. alumni have gone on to become solid NBA players in recent years, including Toumani Camara, Craig Porter Jr., Daniss Jenkins and Kobe Sanders, among others. Camara (2023) and Sanders (2025) were both second-round picks.
This year’s tournament features eight different teams with eight players apiece, for a total of 64 participants. Here’s the full list, per the P.I.T.:
- Rashaun Agee (Texas A&M)
- Donovan Atwell (Texas Tech)
- Ezra Ausar (USC)
- Robbie Avila (Saint Louis)
- Kylan Boswell (Illinois)
- Duke Brennan (Villanova)
- Nimari Burnett (Michigan)
- John Camden (California)
- Javontae Campbell (Bowling Green)
- Corey Camper Jr. (Nevada)
- Tre Carroll (Xavier)
- Rafael Castro (George Washington)
- Zach Cleveland (Liberty)
- Carson Cooper (Michigan State)
- Quadir Copeland (NC State)
- Melvin Council Jr. (Kansas)
- Malik Dia (Mississippi)
- Josh Dix (Creighton)
- Tre Donaldson (Miami)
- Themus Fulks (UCF)
- David Green (Tulsa)
- J’Vonne Hadley (Louisville)
- Jaden Henley (Grand Canyon)
- Meechie Johnson (South Carolina)
- Nate Johnson (Kansas State)
- Tavari Johnson (Akron)
- Lajae Jones (Florida State)
- Trey Kaufman-Renn (Purdue)
- Jaxon Kohler (Michigan State)
- Riley Kugel (UCF)
- Toibu Lawal (Virginia Tech)
- Xaivian Lee (Florida)
- Tamin Lipsey (Iowa State)
- Ven-Allen Lubin (NC State)
- Amani Lyles (Akron)
- Max Mackinnon (LSU)
- Rienk Mast (Nebraska)
- Robert McCray V (Florida State)
- Devin McGlockton (Vanderbilt)
- Duke Miles (Vanderbilt)
- Kevin (Boopie) Miller (SMU)
- Mark Mitchell (Missouri)
- KeShawn Murphy (Auburn)
- Izaiyah Nelson (USF)
- Moe Odum (Arizona State)
- Felix Okpara (Tennessee)
- Nijel Pack (Oklahoma)
- Kowacie Reeves Jr. (Georgia Tech)
- Malik Reneau (Miami)
- Jordan Riley (East Carolina)
- Chase Ross (Marquette)
- Anthony Roy (Oklahoma State)
- Jaylin Sellers (Providence)
- Tre’Von Spillers (Wake Forest)
- Corey Stephenson (FIU)
- AJ Storr (Mississippi)
- Peter Suder (Miami OH)
- Nick Townsend (Yale)
- Seth Trimble (UNC)
- Cade Tyson (Minnesota)
- Ernest Udeh Jr. (Miami)
- Jalen Washington (Vanderbilt)
- Solomon Washington (Maryland)
- Tre White (Kansas)
Champaign native Boswell, who helped lead the Illini to the Final Four, appears to be one of the top prospects among the group. The 6’2″ guard came in at No. 66 on ESPN’s latest big board, with Volunteers center Okpara (No. 86) and Boilermakers big man Kaufman-Renn (No. 88) among the other prospects on the top-100 list.
Draft Notes: Clingan, Risers, Buzelis, Withdrawals
The “buzz and excitement” surrounding former UConn center Donovan Clingan seems to be growing, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report writes in a post-combine update of his 2024 mock draft. Wasserman had Clingan coming off the board at No. 7 overall in a mock earlier this month, but has bumped the big man up to No. 3 this week after he made a strong impression on NBA evaluators in Chicago.
Zaccharie Risacher (No. 2 to No. 1), Dalton Knecht (No. 10 to No. 7), Tidjane Salaun (No. 21 to No. 12), and Devin Carter (No. 18 to No. 13) are among the other notable lottery risers in Wasserman’s latest mock draft, while Matas Buzelis slipped from No. 5 to No. 11. Opinions are mixed on the G League Ignite forward, according to Wasserman, who says workouts with teams will be “extra important” for Buzelis.
Here are a few more draft updates:
- Guard Xavier DuSell, who declared for the draft following his senior year at Fresno State, has decided to remove his name from the 2024 poll and take advantage of his extra year of eligibility, tweets Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. DuSell will be transferring to Nevada for his super-senior season.
- Following a strong freshman season at Georgia Tech (12.4 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1.1 BPG), forward Baye Ndongo will withdraw from the draft and return to the Yellow Jackets, per Rothstein (Twitter link).
- Jacksonville guard Robert McCray will head back to school for his junior season rather than keeping his name in the draft, tweets Rothstein. McCoy had a breakout season in 2023/24, averaging 18.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 2.9 APG.
- Guard Keyshawn Hall is pulling out of the draft and will transfer to his third college in three years, according to Rothstein (Twitter link). After playing at UNLV as a freshman and George Mason as a sophomore, Hall will head to UCF for his junior season in 2024/25.
- VCU sophomore forward Toibu Lawal has officially withdrawn from the draft and will transfer to Virginia Tech for his junior year, tweets Rothstein.
- As a reminder, the deadline for college early entrants to exit the draft pool and retain their NCAA eligibility is next Wednesday, May 29.
Draft Notes: Brazile, Bradshaw, Traore, More Early Entrants
Arkansas junior forward Trevon Brazile won’t be playing for new Razorbacks head coach John Calipari next season. Brazile tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN that he has decided to forgo his remaining college eligibility and enter the 2024 NBA draft.
“I’m 100 percent into the draft,” Brazile said. “Arkansas made a big hire with John Calipari. I’m happy for the program, but the main thing for me is keeping a one-track mind. I am going out for my dreams in the NBA.”
The No. 42 overall prospect on ESPN’s big board, Brazile had an up-and-down season in his return from ACL surgery, averaging 8.6 points and 5.9 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per game while shooting .488/.353/.695.
According to Givony, Brazile is a candidate to improve his stock during the pre-draft process, since NBA evaluators are intrigued by his combination of length and mobility, as well as his ability to space the floor on offense and protect the rim on defense.
Here are several more draft-related notes and updates:
- Freshman center Aaron Bradshaw is one of several Kentucky players entering the 2024 draft. He announced on Instagram that he’ll test the waters while retaining his NCAA eligibility and also will enter the transfer portal. Bradshaw averaged just 13.7 minutes per game in his first college season, registering 4.9 PPG and 3.3 RPG. He’s the No. 73 prospect on ESPN’s top-100 list.
- French forward Armel Traore, the No. 80 prospect on ESPN’s board, has declared for the draft, he tells Givony (Twitter link). A 6’9″ forward with a 7’3″ wingspan, Traore has had a productive season for Blois Basket in France’s top league, Givony notes.
- Initially thought to be testing the draft waters, Miami forward Norchad Omier has hired an agent and intends to keep his name in the draft pool, as Michelle Kaufman of The Miami Herald details.
- The following players are also among the early entrants for the 2024 draft. They’re testing the waters unless otherwise indicated:
- Jabri Abdur-Rahim, G/F, Georgia (senior) (link via Joe Tipton of On3 Sports)
- Michael Ajayi, F, Pepperdine (junior) (Twitter link)
- Jalen Blackmon, G, Stetson (junior) (Twitter link via Jeff Borzello of ESPN)
- Walter Clayton Jr., G, Florida (junior) (Twitter link)
- Jalen Cook, G, LSU (senior) (Twitter link)
- Note: Cook’s announcement doesn’t say anything about retaining his NCAA eligibility, so we’re assuming he intends to go pro.
- Robert McCray, G, Jacksonville (sophomore) (Instagram link; hat tip to RookieScale.com)
- Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report has updated his 2024 mock draft following the conclusion of the NCAA Tournament. Kentucky’s Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard are the top NCAA players in Wasserman’s mock, coming off the board at No. 2 and 3, respectively.