Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford announced on social media that he is withdrawing from the NBA draft and returning to the Tigers for his sophomore season, one of several high-profile players to make a last-minute decision about their draft status on Wednesday.”I’m back,” Pettiford said on Instagram.Joining him in returning to school are Kentucky’s Otega Oweh and San Diego State’s Miles Byrd.Arkansas’ Adou Thiero and RJ Luis Jr. of St. John’s, however, announced through their agents that they plan to stay in the draft pool, exhausting their collegiate careers.The deadline for players to withdraw from the draft and maintain college eligibility is Wednesday night at 11:59 p.m. ET.As of 7:00 p.m. ET, among top prospects, only Penn State forward Yanic Konan Niederhauser had yet to make a public statement about his intentions.Pettiford was viewed as a second-round pick in this year’s draft. He said he plans to boost his stock during a second college season.”I was happy to go through the process, getting feedback from NBA teams,” the 6-foot-1 Pettiford told ESPN. “Going back to Auburn is a better situation for me. I see myself being a higher pick next year. It wasn’t 100 percent this year, so I didn’t want to take that chance.”Being a short guard, it won’t be easy to play in the league, but I know I can do it. It’s maybe not the right time.”Pettiford ranked third on Auburn in scoring at 11.6 points per game despite coming off the bench in 37 of his 38 appearances. He averaged a team-leading 3.0 assists per game and was second on the squad with 70 3-point baskets.Auburn went 32-6 last season and reached the Final Four before losing to eventual national champions Florida 79-73.The 6-4 Oweh, like Pettiford, drastically improves his team’s prospects via his 2025-26 return. The junior guard has improved his scoring output in every collegiate season, averaging 16.2 points per game for the 24-12 Wildcats a season ago. He played his first two seasons for Oklahoma before transferring to Kentucky last offseason.