Duke men’s basketball guard Tyrese Proctor set to return for junior season.

The Blue Devils have lost a number of players this summer, but one important player will remain.

Tyrese Proctor, a sophomore guard, will forgo the chance to enter the NBA Draft in favor of returning to Duke for a third year, according to a story published by Adam Zagoria on Thursday afternoon. For the past two seasons, the 6-foot-5 sophomore captain has been a pillar of the Blue Devils’ lineup, and in 2024–25, he will still be there to lend a strong hand to a young team.

After re-classing to come to Durham a year early for his freshman campaign, Proctor started in 34 contests as a rookie, leading the Blue Devils to an ACC tournament title and the NCAA tournament round of 32. Instead of opting for the NBA Draft like fellow freshmen Dereck Lively II and Dariq Whitehead, however, Proctor elected to come back for his sophomore season alongside classmates Mark Mitchell and Kyle Filipowski, helping the Blue Devils to a preseason No. 2 ranking.

Proctor was an integral piece of head coach Jon Scheyer’s rotation in 2023-24, starting all but six of the 32 games he played. Amid limited depth, Proctor answered the bell, averaging 10.5 points and 3.7 assists, both improvements from his freshman season. His field-goal rate and 3-point clip also increased by four and three percent, respectively, helping Duke to the NCAA Elite Eight.

Despite occasional streakiness in his scoring, the Sydney native is an elite on-ball defender and operates best as the offense’s primary ball handler, a responsibility he will almost certainly hold next season.

Proctor is a welcome homecoming during Mark Mitchell’s departure. There are currently just three legitimate guards on Duke’s bench: Proctor, Caleb Foster, and Jaylen Blakes. There are no shooting or point guards in the upcoming recruiting class. Proctor’s exceptional passing ability will also be a huge assistance in developing the outstanding freshmen players of the upcoming season, namely five-star forward Cooper Flagg and center Khaman Maluach.

The only player from 2023–24 who has made an announcement about returning to Durham is Proctor.

The Chronicle asked for a statement from the program, but it didn’t come back right away.