Top high school basketball recruit has deep ties to Arizona State
After reeling in two five-star recruits in the offseason — including the highest-ranked recruit in Arizona State men's basketball history — Bobby Hurley is closing in on another big-time player.
Koa Peat, a 6-foot-8 class of 2025 forward who plays at nearby Perry High School in Gilbert, narrowed his list to five schools on Wednesday — and the Sun Devils made the cut. His final five are Arizona State, Arizona, Baylor, Houston and Texas.
Peat is almost certainly a one-and-done college player. Rated the nation's No. 6 overall prospect by On3, Peat is already projected as a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. He averaged 20.5 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.2 blocks for Perry last season and was named the Gatorade Arizona Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Besides playing his high school games just 20 miles from Arizona State's campus, Perry has deep ties to ASU. His brother, Keona, is a freshman offensive lineman on the Sun Devils' football team.
Koa Peat was in attendance for Arizona State's season-opening win over Idaho State on Monday, and Dillingham sat next to him for part of the game.
Five ⭐️ prospect Koa Peat is in attendance for Arizona State vs. Idaho State.@DevilsDigest pic.twitter.com/blibBD6Q6b
— Justin LaCertosa (@LaCertosaSports) November 6, 2024
Local five-star recruit Koa Peat, No.6 overall in the 2025 class, was sitting with Kenny Dillingham for several minutes here at the ASU vs. Idaho State game. Putting in some cross-sport recruiting time, it seemed. Peat's brother, Keona Peat, is an OL on ASU's football team.
— Chris Karpman (@ChrisKarpman) November 6, 2024
Koa Peat took an official visit to Arizona State in early September and was in attendance for ASU football's season-opening 48-7 win over Wyoming. Late in the game, in a nod to his brother being on the sideline, Dillingham gave Keona Peat a carry.
"He's done a great job for our program. Him and his family are really important to ASU and ASU athletics," Dillingham said about Keona Peat after the Wyoming game. "His brother's a high school coach out here. Awesome guy. Their family is born and raised here. He's one of the family members who chose to stay in the state here, which is pretty cool. So we got an opportunity to hand him the ball, have a little excitement for the family being a local kid here."
Five-star freshman Jayden Quaintance, the aforementioned highest-ranked recruit in ASU basketball history, is only 17 years old and won't be eligible for the NBA Draft until 2026. Assuming he returns to ASU for his sophomore season, pairing him alongside Peat would give Hurley one of the best frontcourts in the nation.
Peat will not be cheap, though. He currently holds a $1.3 million NIL valuation, according to On3. He has not announced when he will make his final college decision.
Check out highlights from Peat's junior high school season:
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Ben Sherman has been covering the sports world for most of his journalism career, including 17 years with The Oregonian/OregonLive. One of his favorite memories was covering the 1999 Fiesta Bowl - the first BCS National Championship Game - at Sun Devil Stadium.