{"id":726446,"date":"2026-05-05T16:36:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T16:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/726446\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T16:36:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T16:36:18","slug":"juke-harris-withdraws-from-2026-nba-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/726446\/","title":{"rendered":"Juke Harris Withdraws From 2026 NBA Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

After declaring for the 2026 NBA draft<\/a> as an early entrant last month, Juke Harris<\/a> is withdrawing his name and will return to school for his junior year.<\/p>\n

Harris, who spent his first two college seasons playing at Wake Forest, announced on Monday (via Instagram<\/a>) that he\u2019ll be transferring to Tennessee for the 2026\/27 season. He had entered the transfer portal at the same time he decided to test the NBA draft waters.<\/p>\n

Last week, when the NBA announced the 73 prospects<\/a> invited to this month\u2019s draft combine, Harris\u2019 name was on that list. However, the league confirmed today (via Twitter<\/a>) that he has since removed his name from the draft pool and won\u2019t be in attendance in Chicago next week.<\/p>\n

A 6\u20197\u2033 guard\/forward, Harris had a breakout year for the Demon Deacons as a sophomore in 2025\/26, increasing his scoring average from 6.1 points in 19.0 minutes per game as a freshman to 21.4 PPG in 35.1 MPG in his second season. He also bumped his shooting percentages across the board to .444\/.332\/.783 and chipped in 6.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.3 steals per contest.<\/p>\n

Harris\u2019 big year earned him Most Improved Player honors in the ACC and made him a strong candidate to be drafted \u2014 he had been listed as the No. 40 prospect on ESPN\u2019s big board<\/a>. Instead, he\u2019ll look to continue improving his draft stock as a member of the Volunteers next season.<\/p>\n

College underclassmen who are testing the draft waters<\/a> have until the end of the day on May 27 to withdraw if they want to retain their NCAA eligibility. The NBA\u2019s own withdrawal deadline, which generally applies to non-NCAA prospects, is June 13.<\/p>\n

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