Chances Rueben Chinyelu will stay at Florida based on NBA draft status

Florida basketball enters the summer atop many of the way-too-early rankings after getting two-thirds of its starting frontcourt back from the NBA draft. Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon removed their names from consideration to return for one more season, while a majority of the remaining roster has also signed on for another run.

However, there remains one major question that could make a significant difference in next season's outcome — that of reigning Defensive Player of the Year Rueben Chinyelu, who is still testing the draft waters. The 22-year-old, who still has a year of collegiate eligibility remaining, is doing his due diligence, evaluating his value with NBA scouts before committing to a career-defining decision.

The prognosticators who are predicting Florida's dominance in the 2025-26 campaign have based their outlooks on the assumption that Chinyelu will return for his senior year, but it is not quite a foregone conclusion. It is possible that the lure of the pros could outweigh the benefits of returning to Gainesville, though it does seem unlikely based on some of his draft projections.

According to ESPN's Jeremy Woo, who published his 2026 NBA draft big board rankings as well as a mock draft this week, the native of Nigeria finds himself buried among the pool of draft-eligible players. On Woo's big board, which offers a representation of the available player pool and insight into executives' and scouts' views, Chinyelu sits at No. 43 while projected to be selected by the Denver Nuggets at No. 49 in his mock.