5-star Koa Peat chooses Arizona basketball over trio of Texas schools

03/27/2025 12:31 PM

Elite 2025 five-star power forward Koa Peat made his college decision on Thursday, and he is going to play for the Arizona basketball team. Peat is one of the top players in the 2025 class, and he chose the Wildcats over Arizona State, Baylor, Houston and Texas.

“BREAKING: Top-10 senior Koa Peat has committed to Arizona, he announced on @PatMcAfeeShow,” Jeff Borzello said in a post. “Peat chose the Wildcats over Arizona State, while Baylor, Houston and Texas were also on his final list. Ranked No. 9 in the ESPN 100, three-time gold medalist and four-time state champion.”

Koa Peat is a five-star recruit according to 247Sports. He is the #8 player in the 2025 class, the #3 PF and the #1 player in the state of Arizona. Peat currently attends Perry High School in Gilbert, Arizona.

“Peat has been one of the most consistently productive players in high school basketball over the course of his career,” his scouting report reads. “As a freshman, he put up big numbers right away, and has done the same on the 3SSB circuit. Peat, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound forward has continued to do be wildly productive in virtually every setting since, showing his maturity and competitive stamina. He’s broad, powerful, long, and has a body type that you might expect from a family of football players.”

There is a reason why Peat is a top-10 player in the 2025 class. He is bringing a lot of positive attributes to the Arizona basketball program.

“Peat is a constant double-double threat who has good hands, instincts, touch, and a very polished ability to get to his spots inside of 15-18 feet,” the scouting report states. “He thrives in the mid-post, has a high release to get his shot off in the mid-range area, is a good ball-handler for his size, and can attack both sides. He rarely blows right by his defender, but he’s physical, uses his body effectively, has a terrific left hand, and knows how to get to the free-throw line. Additionally, Peat is an advanced processor of the game, who picks up concepts and schemes quickly, is showing increasing passing ability off the dribble, and has good poise with the ball in his hands. He’s capable of taking the ball off the defensive glass and leading the break himself, has made significant strides as a passer, and should be very valuable in dribble hand-off or short-roll action at the next level.”

Remember, Peat is still in high school, and he isn’t perfect. There are aspects of his game that he needs to improve during his time with the Wildcats.

“The missing link in Peat’s skill-set right now is his three-point shooting,” the scouting report continues. “While he has soft natural touch, there is a glitch in his mechanics that gets more pronounced as he extends farther beyond that mid-range area. He connected on 29% of his threes in 3SSB play, making a total of nine threes in 15 games, and went a total of 1-for-5 from three in seven FIBA games earlier in the summer with the USA u17 national team.”

Peat brings a lot to the table offensively, and he has had a lot of success on the defensive end as well.

“Defensively, while Peat is not built like a prototypical rim protector and projects as more of a four, or maybe even undersized five at times, his playmaking metrics (3.1 stocks per game – steals + blocks) again illustrate his length, hands, and instincts,” the scouting report adds. “He’s a very consistent presence on the glass and moves pretty well laterally when he’s in a good stance, but could still stand to improve his ability to close-out at times.”

There haven’t been a lot of players that can slow down Peat at the high school level, but there are some question marks surrounding his future at Arizona.

“The most common questions are about Peat’s long-term potential,” his scouting report says. “He was an early bloomer, being bigger and stronger than the competition at an early age, and thus has less untapped physical upside than other prospects. But what’s undeniable is the long history of productivity and clear intangibles with his maturity, IQ, and leadership ability.”

This is a big pickup for the Arizona basketball program, and it comes on the day that the Wildcats compete for a spot in the Elite Eight. An upset over Duke on Thursday night would make this day even better for Arizona.

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