Derik Queen Declares for 2025 NBA Draft After 1 Season at Maryland

After one of the best moments of the NCAA tournament for Maryland, Derik Queen is going to test himself in the 2025 NBA draft.

Queen announced on Friday's episode of SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt he will enter the draft.

Queen figures to hear his name called very early on draft night. B/R's Jonathan Wasserman has him ranked as the No. 7 prospect in this year's class.

In his latest mock posted on Monday, Wasserman had Queen going fifth overall to the Brooklyn Nets and compared his game to Houston Rockets center Alperen Şengün.

"Queen's skill level, scoring versatility and passing IQ have been strong enough indicators of offensive success that certain teams will be willing to look past his defensive limitations," Wasserman wrote.

A 5-star prospect coming out of high school, Queen committed to Maryland all in February 2024. He helped lead the Terrapins to their best season since 2015-16. They won 27 games and advanced to the Sweet 16 before losing to Florida.

Queen played the hero in a second-round game against Colorado State with a buzzer-beater in Maryland's 72-71 victory.

The Terps are set to have a very different roster next season in the wake of head coach Kevin Williams' decision to take the same position at Villanova. Ja'Kobi Gillespie and Rodney Rice entered the transfer portal, with Gillespie committing to Tennessee.

Queen, Gillespie and Rice were Maryland's top three scorers this season. Queen led the team with 16.5 points and tied for the team lead with 9.0 rebounds per game in 36 starts.

There was really nowhere for Queen to go from here in college. He did everything possible for the Terps in his lone season and will parlay that success into being a potential lottery pick in the NBA draft.