Florida center Rueben Chinyelu invited to 2026 NBA Draft Combine
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After not being invited to the 2025 NBA Draft Combine, Florida center Rueben Chinyelu has punched his ticket this year. It was announced Friday that he is one of 73 invitees for the combine this month.
The 2026 NBA Draft Combine will take place from May 10-17 in Chicago at Wintrust Arena and the Marriott Marquis. On April 20, Chinyelu declared for the draft while maintaining his eligibility for the second year in a row.
After starting 40 games at center on Florida’s 2025 national title team, Chinyelu went through the NBA Draft process last offseason but was not invited to the combine with Alex Condon, Walter Clayton Jr. and Alijah Martin. Chinyelu did get invited to the 2025 NBA G League Elite Camp and worked out with some teams before deciding to return to school.
Chinyelu is projected as a second-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft after averaging a double-double as a junior with 10.9 points and 11.2 rebounds. Condon and Thomas Haugh have decided to return for their senior seasons, and UF coach Todd Golden is hoping that Chinyelu does the same after going through the draft process again.
“Rueben’s going to test. Obviously, we want what’s best for him, but selfishly we would like him back also,” Golden said. “… I’d be lying if I didn’t think Tommy coming back and Condo coming back appealed to him to come back as well. Like, they’re all boys, and they all want to be together, so there’s different variables out there.
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“But again, I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hoping we get the big fella back.”
Chinyelu had a record-setting year in 2025-26 with the single-season school records for double-doubles (19) and offensive rebounds (137). His 393 total rebounds on the season ranked No. 3 in program history behind Neal Walk.
Chinyelu collected several postseason accolades: Naismith, NABC and Field of 68 Defensive Player of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, SEC All-Defensive Team, first-team All-SEC honors and SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
The list of invited players is below.
2026 NBA Draft Combine invitees
| Player Name | College / Club |
|---|---|
| Matt Able | North Carolina State |
| Darius Acuff Jr. | Arkansas |
| Amari Allen | Alabama |
| Nate Ament | Tennessee |
| Christian Anderson Jr. | Texas Tech |
| Tobe Awaka | Arizona |
| Flory Bidunga | Kansas |
| Tyler Bilodeau | UCLA |
| John Blackwell | Wisconsin |
| Cameron Boozer | Duke |
| Kylan Boswell | Illinois |
| Nick Boyd | Wisconsin |
| Jaden Bradley | Arizona |
| Trevon Brazile | Arkansas |
| Maliq Brown | Duke |
| Mikel Brown Jr. | Louisville |
| Brayden Burries | Arizona |
| Cameron Carr | Baylor |
| Chris Cenac Jr. | Houston |
| Rueben Chinyelu | Florida |
| Ryan Conwell | Louisville |
| AJ Dybantsa | BYU |
| Zuby Ejiofor | St. John’s |
| Isaiah Evans | Duke |
| Jeremy Fears Jr. | Michigan State |
| Kingston Flemings | Houston |
| Ja’Kobi Gillespie | Tennessee |
| Allen Graves | Santa Clara |
| Keyshawn Hall | Auburn |
| Juke Harris | Wake Forest |
| Joshua Jefferson | Iowa State |
| Morez Johnson Jr. | Michigan |
| Alex Karaban | UConn |
| Jack Kayil | Alba Berlin (Germany) |
| Sergio de Larrea | Valencia (Spain) |
| Tobi Lawal | Virginia Tech |
| Yaxel Lendeborg | Michigan |
| Karim Lopez | New Zealand Breakers (Australia) |
| Aday Mara | Michigan |
| Nick Martinelli | Northwestern |
| Baba Miller | Cincinnati |
| Dillon Mitchell | St. John’s |
| Milan Momcilovic | Iowa State |
| Malachi Moreno | Kentucky |
| Izaiyah Nelson | South Florida |
| Tyler Nickel | Vanderbilt |
| Ebuka Okorie | Stanford |
| Felix Okpara | Tennessee |
| Ugonna Onyenso | Virginia |
| Otega Oweh | Kentucky |
| Koa Peat | Arizona |
| Darryn Peterson | Kansas |
| Labaron Philon Jr. | Alabama |
| Jayden Quaintance | Kentucky |
| Tarris Reed Jr. | UConn |
| Billy Richmond III | Arkansas |
| Richie Saunders | BYU |
| Emanuel Sharp | Houston |
| Braden Smith | Purdue |
| Hannes Steinbach | Washington |
| Bennett Stirtz | Iowa |
| Andrej Stojaković | Illinois |
| Peter Suder | Miami (OH) |
| Luigi Suigo | Mega (Serbia) |
| Dailyn Swain | Texas |
| Tyler Tanner | Vanderbilt |
| Meleek Thomas | Arkansas |
| Bruce Thornton | Ohio State |
| Milos Uzan | Houston |
| Henri Veesaar | North Carolina |
| Keaton Wagler | Illinois |
| Caleb Wilson | North Carolina |
| Tounde Yessoufou | Baylor |
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