Local basketball star Koa Peat has committed to the Arizona Wildcats, he announced Tuesday while appearing on The Pat McAfee Show.
“Coach Tommy’s a great coach, they have great assistants over there for my development and they’re a great program,” Peat said.
Koa Peat, the No. 9 prospect on the 2025 ESPN 100, announced he is committing to The University of Arizona. @SCNext
(via @PatMcAfeeShow) pic.twitter.com/mtSdwlreic
— ESPN (@espn) March 27, 2025
At 6-foot-8 and 235 pounds, the Gilbert Perry High School forward is viewed as a consensus top-10 prospect in the 2025 class. He chose the Wildcats over ASU, Baylor, Houston and Texas.
When 2025 prospect rankings first emerged, there was an initial consensus top-3 of Duke forward Cooper Flagg (before he reclassified to 2024), Cameron Boozer (a Duke commit) and Peat.
Since then, he has taken a slight slip in the rankings, as prospects such as Darryn Peterson (Kansas) and Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas) have risen and top prospect AJ Dybantsa (BYU) reclassified up from 2026. Still, he is between Nos. 6 and 8 across the four major recruiting sites.
Peat is the headliner for the Wildcats in a 2025 class that also includes 6-foot-8 wing Dwayne Aristode (No. 24 by 247 Sports’ composite ranking) and Bryce James (No. 257), the son of LeBron.
Sweet 16-bound Arizona will likely have plenty of NBA decisions for its players to make (Carter Bryant, Henri Veesaar and KJ Lewis) while other players, such as Caleb Love and Trey Townsend, will be out of eligibility.
Koa Peat among most decorated Arizona high school players
Peat won Arizona state championships in each of his four years, completing a rare sweep. He first won the 6A title before the Open Division tournament began the next year, winning it each time out and doing so with a fractured hand as a senior.
During his time at Perry, he played with Utah Jazz wing Cody Williams as well as Boise State big man Dylan Anderson, who spent his freshman collegiate season at Arizona (2022-23).
Peat played for Team USA in the 2023 U16 AmeriCup and later won USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year for his performance, averaging 17.2 points (58.7% shooting), 8.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game.
This past July, he averaged 17.9 points (62.5% from the field), 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.9 steals en route to his second gold at the 2024 U17 World Cup.
