Check another important box off the 2026 NBA Draft timeline. On Wednesday night, the deadline for college players to withdraw their names from the NBA Draft came and went, providing a clear picture of who will be in this year’s field, at least from the college ranks.
The deadline featured a few fireworks with Arizona’s Koa Peat staying in the draft and Arkansas’ Billy Richmond III, Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner and Alabama’s Amari Allen all removing their names from the draft and returning to SEC action next season.
Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic also decided to return to college, where he has already started a bidding war among the top names in college basketball for his veteran net-shredding services
Allen was No. 28 in the last CBS Sports NBA Draft Big Board update and was the best prospect to withdraw his name on Wednesday. Allen’s reasoning is simple, and it mirrors what Labaron Philon did last cycle, when he withdrew from the 2025 draft late, returned to Alabama and turned himself into a lottery pick.
Allen is a fringe first-rounder in 2026 who will now go back to Tuscaloosa to improve his draft stock while proving to NBA decision-makers he can be an effective jumbo Initiator at the next level. The 2027 draft will be weaker, which will also benefit how high Allen will be selected.
The biggest surprise at the withdrawal deadline was Tounde Yessoufou, who not only withdrew from the NBA Draft but also committed to St. John’s in one fell swoop.
NBA Draft withdrawal deadline winners and losers: St. John’s lands Tounde Yessoufou, Koa Peat spurns Arizona
Cameron Salerno
With those decisions made, the attention now narrows to the actual draft, which is less than a month away.
While the 2026 NBA Draft has been one of the most anticipated in recent years because of the elite talent at the top of the class, it will also be remembered for an unprecedented number of players who opted to return to college.
The math has changed for a lot of college players. Simply put, the money is better in college than it is “in the pros” right now. It makes more financial sense to come back to college and get paid than risk a second-round selection or G-League contracts.
Multiple likely first-round selections opted to return to college or didn’t even declare for the draft. Duke’s Patrick Ngongba II, Arizona’s Moteijus Krivas, UConn’s Braylon Mullins, and Alabama’s Allen are among those coming back despite first-round grades.
There are a host of others who had legit first-round aspirations in Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu, Louisville’s Flory Bidunga, Tennessee’s Jake Harris, Baylor’s Yessoufou (transferring to St. John’s), Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner, and Arkansas’ Billy Richmond
That doesn’t even begin to take into account the number of additional players who had a chance to hear their name called in the second round.
In fact, there isn’t a college player with additional eligibility to be found on our big board beyond No. 31, as almost everyone who wasn’t a virtual lock to earn the guaranteed multi-year deal that goes along with being a first-round pick opted to return to college. In other words, the final 69 spots on our big board are comprised entirely of college seniors/graduates or international players.
Of course, that means the depth of this draft is not what we once expected. By extension, though, it also means college seniors like Tarris Reed Jr., Zuby Ejifor, Joshua Jefferson, and Alex Karaban may all have better chances to earn one of those 30 guaranteed contracts.
With the withdrawn names now removed, there are now 13 new names added to the top 100. Below is the CBS Sports NBA Draft Big Board following the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline
Big Board Top 10
Click here for Finkelstein’s full top 100 NBA Draft prospect rankings
1AJ DybantsaBYUSF6-9217Fr2Darryn PetersonKansasPG6-5199Fr3Cameron BoozerDukePF6-9253Fr4Caleb WilsonNorth CarolinaPF6-10210Fr5Keaton WaglerIllinoisPG6-6188Fr6Darius AcuffArkansasPG6-3186Fr7Kingston FlemingsHoustonPG6-3183Fr8Mikel BrownLouisvillePG6-4190Fr9Brayden BurriesArizonaSG6-4215Fr10Nate AmentTennesseePF6-10210Fr11Aday MaraMichiganC7-3260Jr12Yaxel LendeborgMichiganPF6-10240Gr13Jayden QuaintanceKentuckyC6-10255So14Labaron PhilonAlabamaPG6-3176So15Karim LopezMexicoPF6-9221Int16Hannes SteinbachWashingtonPF6-11248Fr17Morez JohnsonMichiganC6-10250So18Koa PeatArizonaPF6-8245Fr19Bennett StirtzIowaPG6-3186Sr20Cameron CarrBaylorSG6-5184RS-So
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