The final key date of the men’s college basketball offseason is approaching, with the NCAA requiring players who entered the NBA draft to withdraw their names by 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday if they want to return to college.
A handful of notable players already have announced their decisions, headlined by Boogie Fland, who attended the NBA draft combine for two days before withdrawing and transferring to Florida. Former Texas Tech forward Darrion Williams also announced his withdrawal, becoming the best available transfer in the portal as of this writing. (More on that below.)
There are still at least a dozen stay-or-go decisions that will materially impact the 2025-26 college basketball season, which we’ll run through below.
But before we dive in, two disclaimers:
First, we aren’t including players who were not invited to the combine; it’s considered a telltale sign that when players with NCAA eligibility don’t receive an invitation, they should return to college for another season. Oregon’s Nate Bittle falls into this category.
We’re also not including international prospects such as Neoklis Avdalas and Ben Henshall, both of whom could end up in the NCAA should they withdraw from the draft. They have until June 15 to make their decisions.
There are others who have yet to announce — Texas A&M’s Mackenzie Mgbako and Penn State’s Yanic Konan Niederhauser come to mind — but here are the 12 most impactful stay-or-go decisions in the final week before the deadline.
When Uzan entered the NBA draft following the Cougars’ run to the national title game, he was considered a second-round pick and likely to keep his name in the draft. But he struggled at the combine in Chicago, finishing with nine total points on 3-for-12 shooting in the two scrimmages. He wasn’t in ESPN’s post-combine mock draft.
While Kelvin Sampson prepared for Uzan’s departure by signing top-25 recruit Kingston Flemings and Creighton transfer Pop Isaacs, the Cougars would have three starters from a team that won 35 games and reached the championship game if Uzan returns, putting them squarely in the conversation for preseason No. 1.
Lendeborg did nothing to hurt his draft standing at the combine, entering with a late-first-round projection and exiting in a similar position. He measured at 6-foot-10 in shoes with a 7-foot-4 wingspan and had 13 points and nine rebounds in the first scrimmage. The UAB transfer did say he wants to be drafted inside the top 20, though it’s unclear if that means he needs a top-20 guarantee to remain in the draft.
Should Lendeborg make it to Ann Arbor, Dusty May’s team would have a case for a preseason top-five ranking. The Wolverines prepared for his possible NBA decision by bringing in transfers Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois) and Aday Mara (UCLA), but Lendeborg would give them a proven frontcourt anchor.
After Boogie Fland committed to the Gators, all eyes in Gainesville turned toward Condon. Should Condon return to Florida, the “repeat” talk could officially begin; if he opts to stay in the draft, coach Todd Golden has the frontcourt depth to make it work.
Still, a starting five of Fland, Condon, Xaivian Lee, Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu would be elite for the defending national champions.
Condon opted not to participate in the 5-on-5 scrimmage portion of the combine, so there wasn’t a huge opportunity for his stock to move dramatically in one direction or the other. The 6-foot-11 forward slotted in at No. 38 in ESPN’s latest mock draft, and most of the intel surrounding Condon suggests he is more likely to return to college.
After starting just one game as a freshman at Auburn, Pettiford had a real chance to move the needle at the combine — and he took full advantage. He had impressive athletic testing and was the best player on the floor in his team’s first scrimmage, finishing with 23 points and eight assists. The performance didn’t earn him a first-round projection, though, rising only from No. 39 to No. 37 between ESPN’s pre-combine and post-combine mock drafts.
Fantastic opening game from Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford at the NBA draft combine w/ 23 points, 8 assists, 1 turnover and some strong moments defensively showing his instincts and peskiness generating turnovers. Skill-level, feel for the game and explosiveness were on full display pic.twitter.com/rp2E8N9zoM
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 14, 2025
Bruce Pearl will hope Pettiford returns to Auburn. Pettiford could open the season as a preseason All-American, and he will be the primary playmaker for a team with intriguing transfer additions Elyjah Freeman, Keyshawn Hall and Abdul Bashir on the wings. If Pettiford leaves, Auburn won’t have anyone from last season’s team and could be forced to rely on freshman Kaden Magwood to run the point.
We’ve been under the impression that Oweh ultimately would return to Lexington, but he scored in double figures in each of the combine scrimmages and said he was “going through the process as if I’m all-in.” With that said, he still isn’t projected to be picked despite the solid showing in Chicago.
Mark Pope and Kentucky have added 10 new players this offseason, but bringing back a second-team All-SEC performer such as Oweh potentially would push the Wildcats into the preseason top 10. Without him, Pope will have to rely more heavily on newcomers in five-star freshman Jasper Johnson and transfers Denzel Aberdeen (Florida) and Kam Williams (Tulane).
Initially, it looked as if John Calipari and Arkansas were just waiting on Knox. When Calipari released a social media video with a breakdown of the Razorbacks’ 2025-26 roster, he referenced Knox testing the NBA draft waters — and there was no mention of Thiero, who had entered the draft but showed no indication of a possible return. While Knox was unsurprisingly 50-50 when asked about his stay-or-go decision at the combine, Thiero raised some eyebrows by saying “the door is not completely shut” on a return.
Thiero is No. 34 in ESPN’s mock draft, while Knox isn’t projected to be drafted. Both returning to Fayetteville would give Calipari incredible lineup versatility, and even just one of them returning would likely be enough to put Arkansas in the preseason top 10.
Coward’s commitment to Duke pushed the Blue Devils comfortably inside the most recent iteration of the Way-Too-Early Top 25, but that boost seems as if it will be short-lived. Despite playing in just six games at Washington State after transferring from Eastern Washington, Coward’s stock has skyrocketed over the past few weeks.
At the combine, he was measured with a 7-foot-2¼ wingspan and shot 72% during the drills, tied for sixth best. He is ranked No. 30 in ESPN’s mock draft, and some NBA personnel have suggested he might not even last that long. Coward said at the combine that “the information is definitely leaning towards staying in the draft.”
Coach Jon Scheyer has pivoted quickly, however, with the Blue Devils emerging as the favorite to land FC Barcelona wing Dame Sarr.
With Boogie Fland and Darrion Williams withdrawing, there are now only three portalers who attended the combine and have yet to announce their stay-or-go intentions: Luis, Haggerty and Watkins.
Luis and Haggerty are the top two players in ESPN’s transfer rankings, with both garnering All-America honors last season. Watkins is the fourth-best available transfer, but he was the best of the trio at the combine. Luis was inconsistent shooting the ball, while Haggerty had turnover and finishing issues even though his counting stats were impressive.
Watkins had 23 points and five steals in the second scrimmage, showing elite defensive ability. Following the combine, Watkins is the only one projected to be drafted, rising all the way to No. 44 in ESPN’s latest mock.
Should any of these three return to college, expect a high-level recruitment with programs battling it out to land what could be the missing player for a deep run in the 2026 NCAA tournament.
Byrd undoubtedly boosted his stock at the combine. One of the best defensive wings in college basketball last season, he checked in with a 6-foot-10 wingspan and shot the ball well, going 5-for-11 from 3 in the two scrimmages while racking up steals and blocks at the other end of the floor. He said he was 50-50 on his stay-or-go decision at the combine, though, and he is ranked No. 43 in ESPN’s mock draft.
Byrd’s return likely would solidify San Diego State as a preseason top-25 team and the Mountain West favorite. Brian Dutcher brings in three transfers along with ESPN 100 freshman Reese Waters, who redshirted last season after averaging 9.6 points in 2023-24 and will be the team’s most proven offensive player.
