One of the most highly sought after recruits in the country played right in Arizona State's backyard. Perry High star forward Koa Peat was ranked eighth in the country and tops in the state, but on Thursday his long recruiting journey came to an end as Peat announced his commitment live on the Pat McAfee show:
BREAKING: @perry_pumas Koa Peat (@kpeat10) is staying in AZ... and will play at @ArizonaMBB. @12SportsAZ
— Cameron Cox (@CamCox12) March 27, 2025
Tough blow for ASU. Great get for the Wildcats. pic.twitter.com/dYwiiq7rzY
Peat chose to play for the Arizona Wildcats, ending a lengthy recruiting saga that had seen Arizona State in the mix all the way to the end. Bobby Hurley had been pushing hard to land Peat, and his two other additions in the 2026 recruiting class both mentioned wanting to play with Peat when they committed to the Sun Devils.
Peat even had family at Arizona State. His brother, Keona, is an offensive lineman for the Sun Devil football team and even got some playing time in a game this past year when Koa was in attendance on a visit.
In the end, though, it didn't matter. Peat chose the in-state rival Wildcats, a program with much more success that's still in the NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils just finished with their fourth losing season in five years and lost last year's 5-star commit Joson Sanon to the transfer portal.
It's a big blow for Hurley, whose questionable retention was seemingly based around a belief he could retain his roster - notably Sanon and fellow 5-star frosh Jayden Quaintance - and add Peat into the fold to form a superteam. Now, only one of those three remains in Tempe, with potential for things to shift even more from here.