He's gone for good: Arizona Wildcats forward Koa Peat staying in 2026 NBA Draft pool

Peat had until 9 p.m. Arizona time Wednesday to withdraw if he wanted to return to college basketball but 247 Sports and Clutch Points reported earlier Wednesday evening Peat would keep his name in the draft and sources confirmed Peat's decision to the Star later Wednesday.

The NBA is expected to release an official withdrawal list Thursday or Friday.

A freshman forward from Chandler who was projected as a first-round NBA Draft pick next month, Peat declared for the NBA Draft on April 24 and initially was expected to stay in the draft, though speculation arose during the NBA Combine earlier this month that he could withdraw after he failed to impress during testing.

Not only did Peat’s NBA stock appear to slip, with some mock drafts projecting him to go late or out of the first round, but the increasingly lucrative NIL market in college basketball has been keeping many of the top collegians out of the draft pool.

Peat has been projected to be drafted in the middle to later stages of the first round in the NBA Draft. While the 2026-27 rookie salary scale is not yet set, a player picked between 11-29 last year would receive a guaranteed two-year deal worth between $2.8 to $5.5 million for the first year — amounts that are lower than what elite college big men have been promised for next season.

Peat has participated fully in the predraft process, competing in a pro day run by his Klutch Sports agency last weekend. But when he competed in the NBA Combine in Chicago earlier this month, Peat struggled in shooting drills. He shot 50% off the dribble, but hit only 28.0% in the 3-point star drill and 24.0% in a spot-up shooting drill.

“If you have bad shooting days, sometimes you can't really get too high or too low about it,” Peat said during his NBA Combine media interview. “I’m just continuing to work on that, not letting it try to consume me, knowing that I can do other things on the court to affect the game, affect winning. I feel like I've won my whole career, and I feel like I can do that at the NBA stage, as well.”

Peat’s shooting mechanics also appeared different at the Combine than during his freshman season at Arizona, when he shot 53.8% from two-point range, mostly within 15 feet of the basket.

Since the college season ended, Peat said he has been working out in Los Angeles with player development coach Chris Johnson. Peat said during the Combine that he was working on both his midrange shooting and his 3-point shooting, along with ball-handling and conditioning, but said he wasn’t necessarily trying to change his shooting mechanics all that much.

“I feel like my mid-range is kind of the same,” Peat said. “I've always had a higher release in the mid range. For my 3, I’m trying to get it down a little bit lower, to get more arc.”

While attending the final day of the NBA Combine in Chicago, UA coach Tommy Lloyd indicated he was steering clear while Peat goes through the predraft process.

“The first thing is, they have to be fully focused and running this race, because this is a lot and this isn't something you can half-step into,” Lloyd said. “The second thing is that the plan all along was for him to come, have a great year, and us have a great year as a team, and then try to go to the NBA.

“I think everyone's willing to see that through.”

On Wednesday morning, during a Big 12 spring meeting news conference Wednesday, Lloyd reiterated the message.

"It's a big decision, and you have to trust no matter what decision you make," Lloyd said. "You don't have a crystal ball, so once you make the decisions, you've got to figure out a way to make it work."

Still, Lloyd's staff has long believed Peat would likely leave and has been working this spring to fill his spot, possibly with another international player though the Wildcats have reportedly also been targeting Iowa State transfer forward Milan Momcilovic, who withdrew from the NBA Draft pool.

Since Peat declared for the draft last month, UA has added Nebraska transfer Lithuanian center Ugnius Jarusevicius and Dutch big man Endurance "Endi" Aiyamenkhue.

Jarusevicius is expected to at least play a backup role behind UA center Motiejus Krivas if he can shake off the back issues that limited him to one game in 2025-26, while Aiyamenkhue is considered more of a developmental player.

Entering UA with four gold medals from playing on USA Basketball junior teams, Peat broke out instantly as a freshman in 2025-26, scoring 30 points on defending national champion Florida in his first game.

Peat wound up averaging 14.1 points and 5.6 rebounds as a freshman for the Wildcats while playing in only three losses, including one against Texas Tech in which he left early with a leg injury.

“It was super special to be from Arizona, go there, take them to a Final Four, the first one in 25 years,” Peat said. And "being coached by Tommy was super special. TJ (Benson, UA assistant) that’s my guy, to be in the gym with him every day. He really helped me a lot with my development and just becoming a better man on and off the court.”