Seven NCAA early entrants pulled their names from the NBA draft before Wednesday’s withdrawal deadline, choosing to return to college basketball instead.
Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress reported the news, identifying all seven players along with the schools they will represent next season.
The players withdrawing are Kennard Davis, Keanu Dawes, Gabe Dynes, Eian Elmer, Louis Hutchinson, Sebastian Rancik, and LeJuan Watts.
Davis is a guard/forward who will play as a junior, Dawes is a junior forward, and Dynes is a junior center returning to competition.
Elmer is a junior forward, Hutchinson is a junior guard/forward, Rancik is a sophomore forward, and Watts is a junior forward.
At least six of the seven players will be transferring to new programs rather than returning to their previous schools for the 2026/27 season.
Davis is headed to Missouri, Dawes is going to Kansas, Dynes will play at Louisville, and Elmer has committed to Wisconsin.
Rancik is committed to Florida State while Watts is set to suit up for Washington, rounding out the known transfer destinations among the group.
Hutchinson, who has played for four programs since 2022, remains in the transfer portal and will likely move on to a new school as well.
None of the seven players appeared on ESPN’s top-100 list for 2026, and all had been among the only early entrants whose draft plans had not previously been announced or reported.
According to the tracker, there are now 26 college early entrants expected to remain in the draft pool, while 34 reportedly withdrew by 11:59 pm ET on Wednesday.
The data is not yet official, with confirmation from the NBA still needed to verify that both lists are accurate and complete.
With the NCAA withdrawal deadline now passed, the next key date on the draft calendar is June 13, the NBA’s own withdrawal deadline.
The 11 international prospects who declared for the draft will have until that Saturday to decide whether to keep their names in or pull out entirely.
