UConn center Donovan Clingan enters the NBA draft

UConn 7-foot-2 sophomore Donovan Clingan — a cornerstone of back-to-back NCAA tournament teams — will enter the 2024 NBA draft, Clingan told ESPN on Friday.

The No. 3 prospect on ESPN's Top 100 Players list, Clingan is projected to become the No. 1 pick in June's draft after a dominant late-season and NCAA tournament run.

Clingan leaves UConn to join the NBA after a historic high school and college career. Before joining coach Dan Hurley at UConn, Clingan became one of Connecticut's all-time school legends for Bristol Central High School under coach Tim Barrett.

After overcoming some early season struggles, Clingan, 20, played his best basketball in March and April. He used his 7-foot-7 wingspan and tremendous timing to become a prolific player, with a 2.5 average that ranked eighth in the country.

Clingan also played a huge role in the nation's No. 1 offense. The Huskies ran many of their half-court sets through Clingan in the low, middle and high posts. He set screens, facilitated by off the dribble, finished well with both hands and displayed polished footwork at the rim.

Clingan averaged 15.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.2 blocks for the Huskies in 2024, all above his season averages. He had a career-high eight blocks in a second-round win over Northwestern. His 19 total blocks in the NCAA Tournament was the most since the 2016 tournament.

Clingan was one of two players with 400 points, 80 blocks and 50 assists in Division I this season — along with Purdue's John R. Wooden Award-winner Zach Eddy, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The NBA Draft will be Wednesday, June 26 and Thursday, June 27 in New York City.

ESPN NBA Draft analyst Jonathan Givony contributed to this report.