SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara men's basketball star Allen Graves announced his intentions to enter the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday in a social media post. The big man will test the waters after helping lead the Broncos to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996.

"We are so thrilled for Allen to pursue his dream of playing in the NBA," head coach Herb Sendek said. "He is an outstanding player and person, both on and off the court, and has a very bright and long career ahead of him. He is a special talent, as evidenced by all of his success this season, and the sky is the limit for him at the next level."
 
A native of Ponchatoula, La., Graves put together one of the finest freshman campaigns in program history as a redshirt this season after sitting out in 2024-25. The forward played in all 35 games in which he ranked third on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game while leading the Broncos on the boards with 6.5 rebounds. Winning both the WCC's Freshman and Sixth Man of the Year honors, Graves was also a First Team All-WCC and Second Team NABC All-District selection.

Graves, who logged 26 games of double-figure scoring, won the WCC's Freshman of the Week honors a program-record six times and was a finalist for the Kyle Macy Award, handed out to the nation's top freshman. He tallied 67 steals, tied for the most among freshmen in NCAA Division I and the most by a freshman in program history, and also posted the third-most blocks by a Bronco Freshman with 33 rejections.

Graves' draft stock rose methodically throughout the season, especially following his eye-popping 30-point, 13-rebound effort on the road against Washington State on Feb. 7. His stock continued to rise throughout the rest of conference play where he helped the Broncos set a program record with 15 WCC victories en route to a third-place finish, and a run in the WCC Championship where SCU advanced to the title game for the first time since 2007. Graves is graded as a late-first to second round talent by the majority of draft pundits.

Graves is looking to become Santa Clara's third NBA Draft pick over the last five years. The Broncos produced back-to-back first round selections in 2022 and 2023 in the form of NBA All-Star and 2025 NBA Champion Jalen Williams and Golden State Warrior Brandin Podziemski.