2026 NBA Draft: 71 early entrants, fewest underclassmen since 2003, to test waters

USC's Elijah Arenas declared for the NBA Draft, but reportedly withdrew his name and will return to USC

Cameron Salerno

Apr 27, 2026

9:20 pm ET

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2 min read

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The NBA released the early entry list for the 2026 NBA Draft on Monday after some uncertainty from some underclassmen who never publicly announced their intentions before the deadline on whether they would return to school or at least test the waters in the 2026 NBA Draft.

One of those prospects was USC's Alijah Arenas. The former top-10 recruit from the 2025 recruiting cycle, as ranked by 247Sports, and the son of former NBA player Gilbert Arenas entered his name into the NBA Draft without publicly announcing it.

However, just hours after the NBA officially released its list of early entrants, Arenas reportedly withdrew from the draft process. Arenas didn't enter the NCAA transfer portal, meaning he will likely return for his sophomore season at USC.

Arenas was the No. 39-ranked player in CBS Sports' NBA Draft Prospect Rankings. Last spring Arenas was involved in a car crash and then suffered a knee injury that required surgery last summer, which caused him to miss the first two months of the 2025-26 college basketball season.

Winners and losers of the early NBA Draft deadline: Duke, Florida retain key starters; UNC loses critical star

Cameron Salerno

The deadline to withdraw from the draft and maintain eligibility to return to school is May 27 at 11:59 p.m. ET. There were only 71 early entrants in the 2026 NBA Draft. That is the lowest total since 2003. Last year, there were 106 early entrants, and in 2021, there were 363.

> The full picture of how NIL reshaped the NBA Draft.

Early-entry numbers climbed from 2016-2021, peaking at 363 when COVID forced seniors to declare to keep draft eligibility.

Alston hit in June 2021, kickstarting the NIL era. Five years later: 71. https://t.co/CtpKRoqfHg pic.twitter.com/8tlrxX5wJu

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 27, 2026

Several of the biggest draft prospects in college basketball waited until the final days of the deadline to officially declare, including Kansas' Darryn Peterson, Duke's Cameron Boozer, and BYU's AJ Dybantsa -- all of whom could be the No. 1 overall pick this summer.

There are also many names, including Arenas, who could return to school for another season. Some of them include Alabama's Amari Allen, Vanderbilt's Tyler Tanner, Arkansas' Meleek Thomas and Stanford's Ebuka Okorie.

Here is the list of all the prospects from the college and International ranks who entered the 2026 NBA Draft as early entrants.

Early entrants in the 2026 NBA Draft

PLAYERSCHOOL/TEAMYear/AgeMatt AbleNorth Carolina StateFreshmanDarius Acuff Jr.ArkansasFreshmanAmari AllenAlabamaFreshmanNate AmentTennesseeFreshmanChristian Anderson Jr.Texas TechSophomoreAlijah ArenasUSCFreshmanFlory BidungaKansasSophomoreFinley BizjackButlerJuniorJohn BlackwellWisconsinJuniorShane BlakeneyDrexelJuniorAnton BonkeCharlotteJuniorCameron BoozerDukeFreshmanMikel Brown Jr.LouisvilleFreshmanRowan BrumbaughTulaneJuniorBrayden BurriesArizonaFreshmanElliot CadeauMichiganJuniorCameron CarrBaylorSophomoreChris Cenac Jr.HoustonFreshmanRueben ChinyeluFloridaJuniorJacob CofieUSCSophomoreCruz DavisHofstraJuniorKennard Davis Jr.BYUJuniorKeanu DawesUtahJuniorAJ DybantsaBYUFreshmanGabe DynesUSCJuniorEian ElmerMiami (OH)JuniorIsaiah EvansDukeSophomoreJeremy Fears Jr.Michigan StateSophomoreKingston FlemingsHoustonFreshmanColby GarlandSan Jose StateJuniorAllen GravesSanta ClaraFreshmanJuke HarrisWake ForestSophomoreIsiah HarwellHoustonFreshmanLou HutchinsonAlabama A&MJuniorMorez Johnson Jr.MichiganSophomoreAcaden LewisVillanovaFreshmanAday MaraMichiganJuniorMilan MomcilovicIowa StateJuniorMalachi MorenoKentuckyFreshmanPaulius MurauskasSaint Mary'sJuniorEbuka OkorieStanfordFreshmanDennis Parker Jr.RadfordJuniorKoa PeatArizonaFreshmanDarryn PetersonKansasFreshmanLabaron Philon Jr.AlabamaSophomoreJayden QuaintanceKentuckySophomoreSebastian RancikColoradoSophomoreBilly Richmond IIIArkansasSophomoreHannes SteinbachWashingtonFreshmanAndrej StojakovicIllinoisJuniorDailyn SwainTexasJuniorTyler TannerVanderbiltSophomoreMeleek ThomasArkansasFreshmanAiden TobiasonTempleSophomoreBryson TuckerWashingtonSophomoreHenri VeesaarNorth CarolinaJuniorKeaton WaglerIllinoisFreshmanLeJuan WattsTexas TechJuniorCaleb WilsonNorth CarolinaFreshmanTounde YessoufouBaylorFreshmanMohammad AminiNancy (France)2005 DOBPavle BackoMega (Serbia)2007 DOBBassala BagayokoBilbao (Spain)2006 DOBFrancesco FerrariVirtus Bologna (Italy)2005 DOBMarc-Owen Fodzo DadaNancy (France)2006 DOBVsevolod IshchenkoLokomotiv (Russia)2005 DOBJack KayilAlba Berlin (Germany)2006 DOBSergio de LarreaValencia (Spain)2005 DOBKarim LopezNew Zealand Breakers (Australia)2007 DOBAlexandros SamodurovPanathinaikos (Greece)2005 DOBLuigi SuigoMega (Serbia)2007 DOB

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