Liam McNeeley Declares for 2025 NBA Draft After 1 Season at UConn

Forward Liam McNeeley is declaring for the 2025 NBA draft after one season at UConn, he told ESPN's Jonathan Givony.

McNeeley is projected as the No. 15 pick in the latest 2025 NBA Mock Draft by Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman.

He was named the Big East Freshman of the Year after leading UConn with 14.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game in 27 appearances this season.

McNeeley missed some time due to a high ankle sprain but returned in time for the NCAA Tournament, where he led the Huskies with 22 points in a second-round loss to Florida.

He told Givony that playing under UConn head coach Dan Hurley was "the best thing that could have happened to me."

"He is very intense and forced me to operate outside my comfort zone and get better as a player and person," McNeeley told Givony. "NBA teams saw that I'm a real competitor. I bring toughness. I can space the floor and shoot, play-make a little. I'm a guy who will have a hard nose and do the dirty work. Someone who will do everything he can to win."

Wasserman reported that McNeeley, who measured in at 6-foot-7 and 210 pounds, showed off "spot-up shooting, off-screen scoring and transition finishing" during his freshman season with the Huskies.

One of the biggest concerns regarding McNeeley's transition to the NBA will be his pull-up shooting, Wasserman noted.

McNeeley was ranked as a five-star prospect after making 44 percent of his shots from deep during his senior season at Cooper Flagg's Montverde Academy, but his three-point shooting dropped to 31.7 percent in college. He also shot just 43.6 percent from two-point range.

Given the demand for wings in the NBA, McNeeley could improve his case for a lottery pick if he is able to impress with his height and wingspan at the NBA draft combine. The 2025 event is set to take place from May 11-18 in Chicago ahead of the June 25 start of the draft.

UConn will now wait for a draft decision from forward Alex Karaban, who is also projected by Wasserman as a lottery pick.