College Basketball

Zach Edey not returning to Purdue after this season, will declare for 2024 NBA Draft

Published Feb. 26, 2024 4:53 p.m. ET

Purdue star center Zach Edey will not return to the Boilermakers for his final year of collegiate eligibility and will instead declare for the 2024 NBA Draft at the end of the current season, CBS Sports reported Monday.

Edey is a senior but had an extra year of eligibility due to the NCAA's COVID-19 pandemic-caused waiver for all players during the 2020-21 academic year. He is the reigning unanimous national college basketball player of the year and is averaging 23.7 points, 11.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game this season, once again powering Purdue to becoming one of the top teams in the entire nation. Edey's points and rebounds averages are the highest among all men's players in the Power 6 conferences.

Edey opted to forego the professional ranks and return to Purdue after last season, when the Boilermakers entered March Madness as a No. 1 seed and were considered one of the favorites to win the national championship but instead became the second top seed in NCAA men's basketball tournament history to lose to a No. 16 seed in the round of 64.

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