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2025 NBA Draft: Prospect Guide For NCAA Tournament

Matt Hanifan / College Hoops, NBA / March 18, 2025

NBA Draft NCAA Tournament — The 2025 NCAA Tournament tips off Tuesday with the First Four. Who are potential 2025 NBA Draft prospects to watch out for? (Rob Kinnan-Imagn Images)

2025 NBA Draft: Prospect Guide For NCAA Tournament

The 2025 NCAA Tournament tips off Wednesday with the First Four in Dayton, Ohio. This is a crucial time in the college basketball calendar for a multitude of reasons, especially when it comes to NBA evaluators potentially getting their last in-person look at players playing games before the draft in June.

While there’s still a lot of time between now and then, who are some potential 2025 NBA Draft prospects that you should monitor throughout these next few weeks? Let’s examine!

(NOTE: Not every matchup will have spark notes on players. Some will, some won’t.)

First Four:

Texas vs. Xavier:

Texas:

Tre Johnson, G

Xavier:

Dailyn Swain, F

Swain has caught my attention in recent weeks, but what you need to know is that Tre Johnson continues to emerge as a top-flight prospect after leading the SEC (toughest conference in country) in scoring at 18-years-old. He is very efficient 2.5-level scorer with more playmaking and defensive chops than some give him credit for. If there’s any reason to watch, it’s because of him.

San Diego State vs. North Carolina:

San Diego State:

Miles Byrd, G/F
Magoon Gwath, C

North Carolina:

UNC and San Diego State offer a more intriguing set of prospects. Miles Byrd and Ian Jackson have both received buzz as potential guards who could be late-first/early second-round fliers. Byrd, a redshirt sophomore, is an athletic guard with great length and one of the best defensive playmakers in this class; Jackson’s a secondary shot-creator in UNC’s offense.

Powell’s offense is rawer than an uncooked steak, but he’s got knuckle draggers for arms and has very good instincts defensively. Gwath is also an elite shot-blocking big, but his frame and undeveloped skillset offensively will probably lead him to be a player to watch for in 2026 and beyond.

South Region:

No. 1 Auburn vs. No. 16 Alabama State/Saint Francis

Auburn:

Johni Broome, F
Tahaad Pettiford, G

Johni Broome may very well be the Naismith Player of the Year who’s an excellent low-post player, rebounder and rim protector. I am still unsure about his NBA prospects because of his fit, but he has a very strong floor. Despite coming off the bench, Pettiford, a lightning-quick 6-foot-1 guard, is worth a watch. If anything, he murders drop coverage off the bounce and is pretty feisty defensively. He’s small, however–very small, which is concerning.

No. 8: Louisville vs. No. 9 Creighton

Louisville:

Chucky Hepburn, G
Terrence Edwards, G

Creighton:

Ryan Kalkbrenner, C
Jackson McAndrew, C

Kalkbrenner is the player to watch here; few bigs in this upcoming class are more accomplished. He moves like a 55-year-old speed walking at 6 am, but he’s an excellent play finisher with very good verticality, hands and screen-setting ability (even though he does set a healthy amount of uncalled illegal ones). He’s your prototypical modern-day rim-running big.

No. 5: Michigan vs. No. 12 UC San Diego

Michigan:

Danny Wolf, F/C
Vlad Goldin, G

Wolf is a 7-footer who has guard skills, even though there are rightful concerns about the turnovers and decision-making. However, there aren’t many 7-footers who move the way he does. That will be a big test against a UC San Diego team that’s excellent at generating deflections and forcing turnovers.

No. 4 Texas A&M vs. No. 13 Yale

Texas A&M:

Wade Taylor, G

Yale:

John Poulakidas, G

No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 Texas/Xavier

Ole Miss:

Sean Pedulla, G
Matthew Murrell, G

No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 14 Lipscomb

Iowa State:

Milan Momcilovic, F
Joshua Jefferson, F

No. 7 Marquette vs. No. 10 New Mexico

Marquette:

Kam Jones, G
David Joplin, F
Stevie Mitchell, G

New Mexico:

Kam Jones is the highlight of this game; his efficiency has taken a dip on-ball this year but he’s a crafty shot-creating southpaw. He’s done a great job making plays for himself and others throughout the season. I love me some Donovan Dent too–even though he’s very small. Keep eyes on Joplin, Mitchell and Washington, but the former two are the two to keep eyes on this year.

No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 15 Bryant

Michigan State:

Bryant:

Earl Timberlake, F

I think Richardson, the son of Jason Richardson, is the only player worth mentioning here. He’s gotten better as the season’s aged and is a very efficient multi-level scorer at 6-foot-3. He’s got great footwork and can be relied upon to make plays for others. He’s been one of my biggest risers since the start of the season.

West Region:

No. 1 Florida vs. No. 16 Norfolk State:

Florida:

Walter Clayton Jr., G
Alex Condon, C

No. 8 UConn vs. No. 9 Oklahoma

UConn:

Oklahoma:

Jeremiah Fears, G

Jeremiah Fears against the two-time defending National Champions is a fascinating matchup. Fears has improved as a lead creator and finisher over the last 10 games and will be up against a UConn team that won’t be afraid to exploit his weaknesses defensively. Keep eyes on McNeeley, a 6-foot-8 wing who’s struggled shooting the rock since coming off a midseason ankle injury.

No. 5 Memphis vs. No. 12 Colorado State:

Memphis:

Colorado State:

Nique Clifford, G
Kyan Evans, G

No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 13 Grand Canyon

Maryland:

Grand Canyon:

Tyon Grant-Foster, F

I’m admittedly lower on Queen than most, but he’s worth mentioning because he’s getting top-10 buzz. He’s a super skilled big, but can’t play a lick of defense to save his life despite having good counting stats. He doesn’t move very well north-south and isn’t a strong vertical athlete, which raises cause for concern because he’s an undersized center. His skill set offensively is tantalizing, however.

Angel Reese: Derik Queen is literally ‘baby’ Nikola Jokic

No. 6 Missouri vs. No. 11 Drake

Missouri:

Drake:

Bennett Stirtz, G

No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 UNC Wilmington

Texas Tech:

Darrion Williams, F (if he plays; injured)
JT Toppin, F
Chance McMillan, G

No. 7 Kansas vs. No. 10 Arkansas

Kansas:

Arkansas:

Boogie Fland, G
Adou Thiero, F (if he plays; injured)
Zvonimir Ivisic, C

If you watched any college basketball over the last ~~17,580~~ five seasons, you’ve probably watched at least one game of Hunter Dickinson, so we don’t need to go over that. The real story is Boogie Fland is back after missing two months with a hand injury. He was one of my favorite point guards in this class, but didn’t really get a chance to prove his stock in SEC play. Thiero, an athletic battering ram who’s a very good defensive playmaker, will be another key name to track.

No. 2 St. John’s vs. No. 10 Omaha

St. John’s:

Omaha:

Marquel Sutton, G/F

East Region:

No. 1 Duke vs. No. 16 American/Mount St. Mary’s:

Duke:

I’ll be interested to see if Flagg, coming off a sprained ankle suffered in their ACC Tournament opener, plays in their first game. Either way, Duke is loaded with first-round talent–particularly Flagg, the best player in the country, Knueppel and Maluach. All three players are phenomenal in their own way, but there’s also stuff there with Proctor, who’s developed as a shooter and secondary creator, and Evans, a lights-out shooter.

Buy stock in Duke’s Kon Knueppel

No. 8 Mississippi State vs. No. 9 Baylor:

Mississippi State:

Josh Hubbard, G
KeShawn Murphy, F

Baylor:

V.J. Edgecombe is must-watch television.

No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 Liberty

Oregon:

Nathan Battle, C
Jackson Shelstad, G

Liberty:

Owen Aquino, F
Taelon Peter, G

No. 4 Arizona vs. No. 13 Akron

Arizona:

Akron:

Nate Johnson, G

While he’s still not super featured in what they want to do, Bryant is the big ticket here. His role has increased throughout the season, but it’s still not anything that’s eye-popping. However, he is quite athletic and can defend multiple positions defensively … if he can continue to improve his shot, he can become a real player. I think there’s untapped potential there.

No. 6 BYU vs. No. 11 VCU

BYU:

VCU:

Max Shulga, G
Joseph Bamisile, G

Once heralded as a top-5 prospect in this class, Demin’s stock has fallen off a cliff. His best two skills are his passing and off-ball defense, but he hasn’t provided much else for most of the season. I think Catchings is the best prospect in this game right now because of his shotmaking a versatility defensively.

2025 NBA Draft: 4 way-too-early candidates to go No. 2 overall

No. 3 Wisconsin vs. No. 14 Montana

Wisconsin:

John Tonje, G/F
Nolan Winter, F

Montana:

Money Williams, G

No. 7 Saint Mary’s vs. No. 10 Vanderbilt

Saint Mary’s:

Augustas Marciulionis, G

Vanderbilt:

No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 15 Robert Morris:

Alabama:

Midwest Region:

No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 SIUE

Houston:

Milos Uzan, G
JoJo Tugler, F/C
J’Wan Roberts, F

No. 8 Gonzaga vs. No. 9 Georgia

Gonzaga:

Georgia:

Asa Newell, F/C

I currently have Newell as my top big in the class, though there’s not a big gap between him, Maluach and Thomas Sorber. Newell’s fluidity and motor for his size pop off the screen. His season-long 3-point shooting wasn’t great, but he got more comfortable with it late in the season, where he was more efficient. He will have to get stronger, but he’s got the tools to be a successful big at the NBA level. I think he will be a better NBA player than college player because of better spacing as well.

No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 12 McNeese State

Clemson:

Chase Hunter, G
Ian Schieffelin, F

McNeese State:

Christian Schumate, G
Javohn Garcia, G

No. 4 Purdue vs. No. 13 High Point:

Purdue:

High Point:

Kimani Hamilton, F

No. 6 Illinois vs. No. 11 SDSU/Xavier

Illinois:

Jakucionis’ efficiency has taken an overall dip and I do have some questions about his athleticism, but I love the player. He’s physical defensively and has a nose for the basketball. He’s also a very crafty playmaker–even though he’s been turnover-prone at different points this season. He’s still one of the best point guards in this class behind Dylan Harper and one player to keep tabs on this week.

No. 3 Kentucky vs. No. 14 Troy

Kentucky:

No. 7 UCLA vs. No. 10 Utah State

UCLA: