Florida center Rueben Chinyelu declares for NBA Draft while maintaining college eligibility

Florida center Rueben Chinyelu declared for the NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility, On3 has learned. For now, he’ll weigh between his options of the pros or returning to college.

In 35 games last season, Chinyelu averaged 10.9 points per game, 11.2 rebounds per game, 0.7 assists per game and shot 58.4% from the floor. Chinyelu played two years of Florida after starting his collegiate career at Washington State in 2023-24.

Chinyelu saw his biggest role in 35 games this past season. In 2024-25, he averaged 19 minutes per game and six points per game, helping Florida win the national championship.

As a member of the Class of 2023, Chinyelu was a three-star recruit out of Lagos (NBA Academy Africa), according to the Rivals Industry Ranking. He was the No. 24 center in the class and the No. 168 overall prospect in the class.

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As far as Chinyelu is concerned, he could come back to Florida if he chooses. Florida did get the commitment of upcoming senior Alex Condon to return to the program for 2026-27.

Across three seasons in Gainesville, Condon boasts career averages of 11.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks. He has been named a Third Team All-SEC selection in back-to-back seasons, and scored 12 points with seven rebounds in Florida‘s 65-63 win over Houston in the 2025 National Championship Game.

The 2025-26 season was the best of Condon’s career, as he averaged a career-best 15.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks. This helped fuel the Gators to a 26-7 record and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. After winning their First Round game against Prairie View A&M, however, they were upset by No. 9 seed Iowa 73-72 in the Second Round.