By the end of this week Arizona will have a lot more clarity when it comes to how its 2026-27 roster will look, or at least how much work has to be done to complete it.
The NCAA transfer portal closes on Tuesday night, while the deadline to declare for the 2026 NBA Draft is midnight Friday.
To this point the UA has seen two players enter the portal: wing Dwayne Aristode and forward Sidi Gueye, leaving the Wildcats with nine members of the 2025-26 team (including walk-ons) still on the roster. But that
number is likely to go down by at least a couple, as projected 1st round picks Brayden Burries and Koa Peat are both expected to declare for the draft.
Those are just a matter of when, not if. The real uncertainty lies with two other Wildcats who could get drafted but also could benefit from another year in college.
Center Motiejus Krivas and wing Ivan Kharchenkov are both on draft boards, with Sporting News slotting Krivas as the No. 22 pick in its latest mock draft and Kharchenkov someone whose stock could rise with a strong showing at the NBA Draft combine if he were to get an invite. If either declared they would probably do so while maintaining their eligibility, giving them until May 27 to return to school or stay in the draft.
UA players like Jaden Bradley, Pelle Larsson and Caleb Love have gone this route in the past, testing the wasters before ultimately coming back to Tucson.
Once Arizona knows how many spots it has to fill it can focus fully on finding those replacements. So far the Wildcats have signed a pair of guards, Derek Dixon from North Carolina and JJ Mandaquit from Washington, to address its most major need, but more transfers are likely to be added.
At least one big man—two if Krivas leaves—and an additional wing are the top targets.
Further prep signings are also possible. Arizona signed 4-star combo guard Cameron Holmes in November and 5-star guard Caleb Holt committed in March and his signing should be made official soon. There are a few high-profile US-based prospects that haven’t committed, but most likely the UA would look overseas.
