Ace Bailey’s Rutgers career is over after one season.
The star freshman told ESPN he is declaring for the 2025 NBA Draft on Wednesday. Bailey’s decision isn’t a surprise at all. He’s considered a likely top-five pick and could go as high as No. 2 behind Duke’s Cooper Flagg this June.
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Bailey was part of the No. 2 recruiting class in the country ahead of the 2024-25 season as he enrolled at Rutgers with fellow five-star freshman Dylan Harper and three other highly-touted recruits. However, their arrival in Piscataway didn’t result in an NCAA tournament appearance as Rutgers struggled to get production from players other than Harper and Bailey. Rutgers went 15-17 overall.
Harper was the team’s leading scorer with 19.4 points per game, while Bailey averaged 17.6 points a contest and led the team with 7.2 rebounds per game. No other Rutgers player averaged more than 8.2 points per game, and Bailey and Harper were the teams’ leading rebounders. Harper was also the Scarlet Knights’ assists leader.
Bailey’s declaration comes nearly a month after Harper declared for the draft. The son of former NBA guard Ron Harper declared for the draft in March. The two players could go in back-to-back picks behind Flagg, who declared for the draft on Monday. The Duke star is widely considered to be the No. 1 overall pick after averaging 19.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game and winning the Wooden and Naismith Awards.
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Bailey was the No. 2 player in the 2024 recruiting class behind Flagg and the top power forward in the country. Harper was the No. 3 overall player and the No. 1 shooting guard.
The 2025 NBA Draft Lottery is set for May 12. The Charlotte Hornets, Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards each have a 14% chance of getting the top pick, while the New Orleans Pelicans have a 12.5% chance and the Philadelphia 76ers have a 10.5% chance after their nightmarish season. The Sixers’ pick is top-6 protected in a trade with Oklahoma City. If the Sixers end up outside the top six, the Thunder have the rights to Philly’s pick.
