When the NBA announced its initial early entrant list for the 2025 NBA draft, there were just 106 names on that list. As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic writes, that’s the lowest total since 91 players declared early in 2015, which was the last year before college players were granted permission to test the draft waters while maintaining their NCAA eligibility.

According to Vorkunov, a handful of factors contributed to the major drop-off in early entrants this season, but the money now available to college players is easily the No. 1 factor. Prospects increasingly have opportunities to earn higher “salaries” playing college basketball than they would if they were a second-round pick in the NBA, Vorkunov points out.

The name, image, and likeness (NIL) money available to NCAA players isn’t just reducing the number of American-born players entering the draft. As Vorkunov details, international prospects have also become increasingly inclined to leave top teams and developmental programs in Europe in order to play college basketball, lowering the number of international early entrants.

Here’s more on the 2025 NBA draft:

• Sam Vecenie of The Athletic has published a new mock draft ahead of this year’s lottery and combine, with Texas wing Tre Johnson among his big risers — the No. 7 pick in Vecenie’s March mock draft, Johnson moves up to No. 3 this time around, with Ace Bailey slipping to No. 5. Arizona’s Carter Bryant is among the other notable risers on Vecenie’s board, moving up to No. 9 after coming in at No. 23 in his previous mock draft. According to Vecenie, Bryant has a “ton of juice when you talk to front offices” and has moved into the No. 7 to No. 16 range of the draft.
• Although Cooper Flagg is considered a high-end talent at No. 1 overall and Dylan Harper looks locked in at No. 2, teams around the NBA have “real questions” about the average value of this year’s draft class starting at No. 3, Vecenie notes within that new mock draft. While there are solid prospects to be had in the middle of the lottery and into the teens, those players come with significantly more question marks, so the results of the lottery will be especially important for teams seeking a cornerstone player, Vecenie explains.
• According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony (Twitter link), all 75 prospects invited to this month’s NBA combine in Chicago are among the top 100 players on ESPN’s big board. ESPN’s top 56 prospects all made the cut, with No. 57 Mouhamed Faye of Reggio Emilia representing the site’s highest-ranked player who didn’t get a combine invite. Kentucky’s Amari Williams (No. 58) and Malique Lewis of South East Melbourne (No. 59) are the others in ESPN’s top 60 who weren’t invited to the event.

Tomlinson comes to Muncie after two seasons as an assistant coach with the University of Indianapolis women’s soccer team.

The Gainsborough, England native was a graduate assistant for the UIndy men’s team for the 2021 and 2022 seasons after graduating from Holy Cross College where he was the starting goalkeeper. He made 43 starts in 51 matches played with 140 saves and an overall record of 19-18-3 from 2017-19.

Tomlinson has served as the director of goalkeeping for FC Pride since 2022 and also assisted with the Michiana Echo club when he played at Holy Cross.

Dennis joins the team after a season as an assistant coach at Saint Francis, where she coached a pair of NEC All-Conference players, and a decorated playing career as a defender at the University of South Florida from 2017-21.

The Sunrise, Fla., native was the head coach for the Plantation Eagles FC for two years before going to Saint Francis in February of 2024. She also had stints as the head coach at Florida Premier FC and an assistant coach for Tampa Bay United.

Dennis played professionally for Afturelding FC and was a part of the Jamaica Women’s National Team from 2017 to 2022. She was an AAC First Team All-Conference pick, AAC Co-Defensive Player of the Year and United Soccer Coaches All-Region First Team selection during her collegiate career.

“I am excited to welcome Chyanne and Lewis to Ball State! They both represent the type of character and passion I was looking for,” Stoots said. “I know our student-athletes will greatly benefit from their leadership, soccer knowledge and their commitment to growth and development.”

Millis stays in Muncie after a four-year playing career when she started in 60 out of 71 games played as a defender from 2017-21. She had eight assists and played in more than 5,000 minutes in her career at Ball State.

The Livonia, Mich., native was named to the Academic All-MAC Team and Academic All-District by the College Sports Communicators multiple times and is set to graduate Saturday with a degree in strategic communications (advertising).

 

Levelle Moton is a good coach and by all accounts, a good man too. He’s been at NCCU since 2009 and has had some brilliant stretches. He could have taken a better job any number of times, but he’s coaching at his alma mater and clearly loves it there.

Moton has some strong thoughts on how college basketball has changed in the era of NIL and the transfer portal and how that has affected schools farther down the food chain.

Check out what he said on Run Your Race podcast, as quoted in the article linked above:

“The person that you thought you could trust, you can’t trust. Everybody’s in it just for the money. The most important thing during that time was, I learned it’s no honor among thieves.

“Now you fast forward and you looking at this NCAA business, and everybody’s chasing it, and it’s no more morals, it’s no more values, it’s no more.”

For Power Conferences like the ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 and Big East schools, it’s not a big deal because the talent moves upwards. Schools farther down the line have to identify players and try to develop them, and now, as soon as they do that, the players transfer up.

It must be unbelievably frustrating for coaches like Moton. Understandably, he’d like to see some reforms to the reforms.

He goes on to point out that if you keep transferring, you won’t get enough credits to graduate, and once you’re out of eligibility, the schools are no longer obliged to pay for your education, which kind of undercuts the whole point of college sports.

As the article goes on to point out, up to 40 percent of players go into the portal now. A lot of these players are going to find that they lost their old spot and don’t have a new one.

These are solvable problems, whether it’s the NCAA, Congress or the schools themselves and they should be solved. Some of the players are getting good money and some are graduating. But it’s possible that some are more exploited than they were in the old system.

Is it possible to completely separate the product (basketball) and education?

Conceivably, but it might end up entirely destroying the college game. It’s a lot more engaging for fans if actual students are playing, however you structure it.

If it does end up with a total separation, it’s hard to see how college ball competes with the NBA which isn’t doing particularly well at the moment anyway.

However you look at it, the game has changed dramatically, suddenly and with little planning. It’s no way to run a railroad. Former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has long called for a commissioner or something along those lines. That may or may not work, but strong if not visionary leadership is definitely needed.

Tennessee athletic director Danny White heard the news of Texas reportedly spending a pretty penny on their 2025 roster. In response, he wanted to reassure Volunteers fans around the globe that they’re doing everything they can to compete in the SEC.

According to Kirk Bohls of The Houston Chronicle, Texas will spend “between $35 million and $40 million” on the 2025 roster. Players will reportedly be paid through multiple different avenues, including revenue-sharing, once the House settlement is reached. The Longhorns are still using a collective as well.

“It currently sits somewhere, ‘between $35 million and $40 million,’ which counts the likely revenue-sharing allotment expected to be $20.5 million as well as payouts through the Texas One Fund, a connected source tells the Houston Chronicle,” Bohls said.

Bohls went on to add that quarterback Arch Manning is the highest-paid player on the roster “by far” but “doesn’t take a dime from the school.” Manning has signed multiple NIL deals with big-time brands in recent months and Bohls reports everything has been arranged by him and his family. No help has come from the school.

With that in mind, White claimed that it’s tough to pinpoint which reports are true, and which ones are exaggerated. Tennessee’s numbers might not be as gaudy, but the Volunteers leader spoke about the unique situation college football is in regarding NIL and roster building in response to the news coming out of Texas.

“I think it’s hard to know what’s true,” White told the media, via Volquest. “Numbers have been thrown out. We are as competitive as anyone else in the NIL space. We came out the gate as a leader, and continue to have our foot on the gas. Knowing how our resources have grown — in the last four years, we’ve grown from $140 million in annual revenue, to where when we close our books this year, closer to $280 million, almost double. That’s this fanbase. That’s why we’re here doing this.

“Whatever the rules of engagement are, if it’s about investing in our teams, and making sure that they have every advantage possible, that’s what we’re going to do. We’re a competitive administration. We have competitive coaches. We’re not generating all this revenue to make me feel good, we’re generating revenue to investment in our programs and compete at a high level.”

All told, it’s tough to argue with Danny White, as Tennessee has been doing everything it can to compete for a national title on the football field. We’ll see how the Volunteers do in 2025, but after making the College Football Playoff last season, the goal will certainly be to make a bit of a run this season.