The UConn men’s basketball program could have two one-and-done lottery picks in as many years.
Forward Liam McNeeley, the Big East Freshman of the Year, told ESPN that he will be declaring for the 2025 NBA Draft on Tuesday.
Projected to be selected in the first round, possibly late in the lottery, McNeeley could be the fourth lottery pick in the last three years for the Huskies, who had Jordan Hawkins selected 14th overall in 2023, and Stephon Castle (fourth overall) and Donovan Clingan (seventh overall) last year. Castle was only the program’s second-ever one-and-done lottery pick, joining Andre Drummond.
“I can’t thank God enough for the opportunity that I was given this year,” McNeeley posted to his Instagram on Tuesday. “I want to thank my coaches and teammates that I was blessed to play alongside, and I am very grateful for the time we spent together. I have been honored to play for this historic and legendary program. I will do my best to carry on the legacy of UConn as I pursue my childhood dream of declaring for the 2025 NBA Draft.”
Counted on as a main contributor as soon as he stepped on campus in Storrs, McNeeley put together a freshman campaign in which he averaged a team-high 14.5 points per game in addition to his 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists. His efficiency numbers took a hit down the stretch of the season and in the NCAA Tournament as he finished the year shooting an uncharacteristically low 38.1% from the field and 31.7% from beyond the arc.
The rookie’s top moment came on Feb. 11 when, in just his second game back from the high ankle sprain that kept him out five weeks, he scored a UConn freshman-record 38 points with 10 rebounds, willing the program to its first-ever road win at Creighton. His absence, missing eight games, was “catastrophic, in the basketball sense,” coach Dan Hurley said at the time.
“There’s very few freshmen in the country that could’ve carried the weight that he’s carried with this team this year,” Hurley said as McNeeley accepted his Freshman of the Year honor in March. “He hasn’t had quite strength around him that maybe Steph had last year, the depth, the smooth sailing season, he’s played under more pressure than Alex (Karaban) had to play under as a freshman, than Donovan had to play under as a freshman and obviously than Steph had to play under as a freshman.”
McNeeley’s end to the season didn’t go exactly as he’d hoped, shooting just 2-for-13 from the field in UConn’s NCAA Tournament first round win over Oklahoma, and then recording a team-high 22 points despite his 6-for-16 shooting in the Round of 32 loss to No. 1 seed Florida.
“Skills will translate seamlessly to today’s NBA and his character is absolutely elite,” Hurley wrote in a social media post Tuesday. “Work ethic, super competitive, great teammate, wants to be coached, desperately wants to win, confident yet humble. Good luck my man… It was a pleasure coaching you!”
The Richardson, Texas, native was projected to be picked 14th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in ESPN’s latest mock draft, and 16th overall by the San Antonio Spurs in Bleacher Report’s, which would team him up with Castle in the league.
McNeeley is the fourth player to announce his departure from UConn, as his freshman classmates Isaiah Abraham and Ahmad Nowell each opted to enter the transfer portal. Little-used sophomore center Youssouf Singare was the third to enter the portal on Monday.
The Huskies are recruiting the portal to build out the rest of their roster, reportedly hosting their first portal recruit of the offseason in Georgia point guard Silas Demary Jr., on Tuesday. The incoming freshman class, ranked third in the nation, includes three McDonald’s All-Americans in Braylon Mullins, Darius Adams and Eric Reibe, as well as Australian guard Jacob Furphy.
Originally Published: April 1, 2025 at 1:51 PM EDT
