Overview

• Only 106 early entrants declared for the 2025 draft, the smallest underclassman pool since 2015.
• Projected first-round talents such as Alabama’s Labaron Philon and Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg withdrew at the deadline to retain college eligibility.
• SEC programs gained a boost as Florida kept Alex Condon and Boogie Fland, Alabama held onto Philon and Auburn welcomed back Tahaad Pettiford under lucrative NIL offers.
• Michigan’s national title outlook improved after Lendeborg’s return and the addition of other high-impact transfers.
• With talent thinning beyond the lottery, teams face a depleted late-first and second-round field and must recalibrate expectations for draft depth.