Two High-Profile Freshman Beat Deadline, Declare for NBA Draft

Two high-profile college freshman are on step closer to the NBA.

Saturday evening marked the deadline for college basketball players to declare for the NBA Draft as "early entrants", with a few potential lottery picks entering before the clock struck midnight.

Players who declare for the NBA Draft are still elidigble to return to college if they withdraw from the pool of entrants before 5 p.m. on June 15.

Two of the most high-profile players to declare for the draft on Saturday were Arizona freshman Carter Bryant and Duke freshman Khaman Maluach.

Source: Arizona freshman Carter Bryant will appear on the NBA's early-entrant list when it's released next week. The deadline to declare for the NBA Draft was yesterday at 11:59pm ET. pic.twitter.com/19tezhdoCm
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 27, 2025

NBA next. Duke forever.

Thank you @khaman_maluach!! 💙💙👿 pic.twitter.com/pFq01qKla4
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) April 27, 2025

Bryant averaged 6.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, an assist and a block in 19.3 minutes per game as a true freshman. Bryant also shot 37.1% from beyond the arc on almost three attempts per contest.

Listed at 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds, Carter has great size on the wing to go along with a decent perimeter shot. If the Wildcats' standout can consistently knock down triples, he has the potential to develop into a valuable "3&D" role player.

Bryant was a 5-star prospect coming out of Centenniel High School in Corona, California, rated the No. 24 overall prospect and No. 5 power forward in the 2024 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

NBA Draft on SI's most recent big board ranked Bryant as the No. 20 overall prospect in the 2025 draft class.

Perhaps an even bigger name in the college basketball landscape, Maluach enters his name into the NBA Draft after helping Duke to the Final 4 alongside fellow NBA Draft prospects Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel.

In his lone season with the Blue Devils, Maluach averaged 8.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 71.2% from the field. Listed at 7-2 and 250 pounds, Maluach has incredible size that should make him an intriguing prospect in this summer's draft.

Hailing from Sudan and competing at the NBA Academy in high school, Maluach was the No. 4 overall prospect and No. 1 center in the 2024 recruiting class, according to 247Sports.

Maluach was the No. 7 prospect on NBA Draft on SI's most recent big board.

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.