Koa Peat made an impression during his debut playing for Arizona on Monday. The freshman helped the team secure a 93-87 win against Florida after having played overseas this summer for the USA’s 19-and-under team.
Koa Peat became the second Big 12 freshman to debut with 30 or more points
Peat helped secure the win by scoring 30 points, adding 7 rebounds and 5 assists, according to ESPN. His performance means he became the second Big 12 freshman to debut with 30 or more points. The first person to achieve this score was Kansas State’s Michael Beasley who scored 32 points during his debut in 2007.
Peat, who graduated from Perry High School in Gilbert, Arizona, credited his teammates Motiejus Krivas and Tobe Awaka in helping him make his college debut.
“Those guys I think are some of the best forwards, centers in the country,” he told TNT Sports. “They don’t really get noticed as much as these other guys, but I think they showed it tonight, I think we showed it tonight that we’re a really good front court.”
“I’m just thankful for my teammates,” Peat added.
.@coachbrucepearl had to remind Koa Peat he flew all the way to Istanbul to try and recruit him and AJ Dybantsa 😂✈️
— TNT Sports U.S. (@TNTSportsUS) November 4, 2025
"Neither one of you even gave me a sniff!" 💀 pic.twitter.com/B8C1EuuqRJ
Koa Peat played for Team USA this summer
The 18-year-old spent his summer playing in Switzerland for the USA’s 19-and-under World Cup team. He made his debut after the team won gold.
“I feel like I’ve been kind of forgotten,” Peat previously said, according to ESPN. “I’m just trying to remind people and show them what I’m about.”
“It was a coming out party for him, so to speak,” Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd added. “Everyone’s known about him, but no one’s really, really studied him and watched him, and he’s a special player.”
Peat was coached by Lloyd during his summer playing for Team USA.
“He ran some of the same sets at USA, so coming to U of A in the fall, it was pretty easy to adapt to those,” Peat said. “I think what really helped me [tonight] was just the practices. We practiced really hard throughout the week, leading up to this game. And I’m just grateful to have coaches and teammates that put me in positions to be good, and especially [Bradley]. He just makes my game so easy … he’s one of the best point guards in the country, if not the best point guard in the country.”