St. Bonaventure’s Dominick Welch enters NBA Draft evaluation process, will maintain eligibility | College Sports

Welch, who recently completed his fourth season with the St. Bonaventure men’s basketball team, announced Friday on his social media accounts that he will enter the draft evaluation process while maintaining his college eligibility.

“I just felt like it was the best and most comfortable position for me right now, to test the waters to see where I’m at,” Welch told the News. “Just trying to go through the process and get that feedback.”

The former Cheektowaga standout is the third player from this season’s Bonnies team to announce his intentions, following a season in which St. Bonaventure fielded five senior starters and reached the National Invitation Tournament semifinals, losing 84-77 to Xavier on March 29 in New York. Welch was named to the NIT’s all-tournament team after scoring a game-high 25 points against the Musketeers, including 7 for 10 on 3-pointers. 

Jalen Adaway announced April 8 that he will forgo his final season of eligibility to pursue a professional basketball career, and forward/center Osun Osunniyi announced Sunday that he will also enter the NBA Draft evaluation process while maintaining his college eligibility.

As of Friday afternoon, guards Jaren Holmes and Kyle Lofton had not announced their plans for next season. 

Each of Bona’s five senior starters had an extra year of eligibility, which the NCAA granted in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Welch finished his fourth season with the Bonnies by averaging 12.3 points, six rebounds and 37.5 minutes in 33 games. He has 1,198 points and 649 rebounds in four seasons, and is also Western New York’s all-time leading scorer in boys basketball, with 2,376 points in five seasons at Cheektowaga.

Welch will earn his degree in video production in May from St. Bonaventure, but said the flexibility of entering the NBA Draft evaluation process factored into his decision.

“It’s to get the feedback from the teams you work out for, who may say what you need to improve on, and still have the opportunity to come back to school in the one-year stretch you have,” Welch said. “It’s a good opportunity.”

The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft is April 24.

The NBA combine is scheduled for May 16-22 in Chicago, and the early-entry withdrawal deadline for underclassmen who want to maintain their college eligibility is June 1, at 11:59 p.m. ET.

The early-entry withdrawal deadline for draft prospects is 5 p.m. June 13. The NBA draft is July 29.

The window of time between the announcement of his decision and the June 1 withdrawal deadline factored into Welch’s decision.

“It was a difficult decision,” Welch said of choosing to enter the NBA Draft evaluation process. “Trying to figure out what my other teammates are doing, and it’s really trying to figure out what my future home is, and I’m discussing with my parents and my family.”