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9th Prospect Withdraws From NBA Draft Within 24 Hours

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Matt De Lima | Last updated May 27, 2025 6:06 PM ET

The 2025 NBA Draft is less than a month away. While the headlines have typically focused on those prospects projected at the top, like Duke's Cooper Flagg and Rutgers stars Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey, there has been a rush of breaking news over the last 24 hours about players withdrawing from the draft and instead deciding to return to their teams for the 2025 season.

Adding himself to the growing list of returning players is Virginia Tech forward Tobi Lawal. According to recent reporting from college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, Lawal is the eighth prospect to withdraw from the draft in the last day.

Other players mentioned by Rothstein in recent posts on X are Indiana's Tayton Conerway, Arkansas' Karter Knox, Houston's Milos Uzan, West Virginia's Brenan Lorient, St. John's' Joson Sanon, Ohio State's Bruce Thornton, Florida's Alex Condon and UAB's Yaxel Lendeborg, who is transferring to Michigan for next season.

Source: Virginia Tech’s Tobi Lawal will withdraw from the 2025 NBA Draft and return to school next season.

Averaged 12.4 PPG and 7.0 RPG last year.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 27, 2025

Lawal, like all of the players opting to withdraw from the draft, is far from a household name. After two seasons spent at VCU, Lawal transferred to the Hokies and made a big impact on the ACC program.

He started 30 games for Virginia Tech and contributed 12.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He was the Hokies' leading scorer and rebounder last season.

In March, Lawal delivered one of the best quotes of the 2024-25 college basketball season when he said, "They thought we were going to be (expletive). I mean, we were still (expletive), but you know, we weren't that bad. You know what I'm saying? We beat expectations."

Expectations remain low for Virginia Tech despite Lawal's return. The Hokies finished with a 13-19 record last season and went just 8-12 in ACC play.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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