Arenas' decision was biggest unknown at the NBA's deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft
By Cameron Salerno Apr 27, 2026 at 6:41 pm ET • 2 min read 
Getty Images 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. Notably, Arenas didn't enter the NCAA transfer portal, meaning his options are to stay in the draft or return for his sophomore season at USC.
Arenas is 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. If Arenas stays in the draft, he would likely be a Day 2 pick.
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.
