Arizona Wildcats Insider Podcast: UA Freshmen in Mock Draft

Arizona basketball has a loaded incoming freshmen class that ranks No. 1 nationally with two players listed as draft picks in recent mock drafts.

Mar 8, 2025; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Arizona Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd watches game play during the second half against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images | William Purnell-Imagn Images

Welcome! To another edition of the Arizona Wildcats Insider Podcast featuring your host Troy Hutchison, who will be delivering a daily podcast discussing everything happening surrounding Arizona athletics giving you an inside look at all the programs on campus.

Hutchison has been covering Arizona for the last seven years with his coverage spanning all-across UA’s campus from football and men’s basketball to Title IX sports. Plus, with so many former Wildcats playing at the next level in their prospective sports there will be moments where he will take a deep dive into the Cats execling outside of Tucson.

Arizona basketball is welcoming in the No. 1 recruiting class according to the Rivals recruiting services. The class features three 5-star recruits in Koa Peat, Brayden Burries and Dwayne Aristode along with four other prospects making the group a total of seven players.

This summer, Peat and head coach Tommy Lloyd wrapped up the FIBA World Cup games winning the gold for U19 Team USA and earning his fourth gold medal to become the most decorated junior basketball player in Team USA history.

Everywhere Peat has gone, he has won. He has won four state titles and has been named Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year three times.

When looking at Arizona’s potential starting lineup, Peat seems to be a lock to get a starting role in the frontcourt alongside forward Tobe Awaka to make for a difficult duo for any opponents to go at in games.

Burries was not a part of the team but was able to get to Tucson and workout with remaining staff and players.

In those workouts, Burries was able to get in drills with point guard Jaden Bradley and shooting guard Anthony Dell’Orso.

Burries and Bradley are projected to be the starting backcourt for Arizona. So, them getting in work together will only help them gel quicker before the start of the 2025-26 season.

The California Gatorade Player of the Year winner is used to playing with the ball in his hands and controlling the typo of the game. However, at Arizona, the odds are that Bradley will be the main ball handler and Burries will have to learn to play off the ball at times.

Both Burries and Peat have been listed in recent NBA way-too-early mock drafts as first round picks along with other incoming freshmen from either recruiting class.

In this podcast, Hutchison goes over his thoughts on the two players and talks about the impact they could have in their first season.

Please be sure to let us know your thoughts on Burries and Peat and what you expect out of them this year. To do so, follow us on our X account by clicking on the link.