Todd Peat Sr., left to right, Koa Peat and Jana Peat attend Perry High School’s Spring Signing Day in Gilbert on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. Koa is officially signed to attend Arizona. (Photo by Samuel Nute/Cronkite News)
GILBERT – As Perry High School held its Signing Day ceremony at the school auditorium for 12 athletes Wednesday, an Arizona sports legacy flipped another page as the Peat family watched its youngest child, Koa, sign his letter of intent to play college basketball for the University of Arizona.
Koa, the youngest of seven, sat at his table alongside his mom and dad, Jana and Todd Sr., while his older siblings sat in the audience filled with other students, families and faculty. Sam Duane Jr., Koa’s high school coach and his older brothers’ high school basketball coach at Corona Del Sol, took a moment to acknowledge the history he has with the family.
“Todd, Jana, the whole Peat family, thank you for your trust in me (for) the last 20 years,” Duane said.
Peat, who grew accustomed to big crowds, praise and high pressure situations as he helped lead Perry to four straight boys basketball titles, had a straight face for most of the ceremony, unfazed by the attention he was receiving. Jana looked over at him a few times with a slight smile on her face, to which Koa recognized and smirked back a few times.
The moment crystallized a family affair that has lasted for decades: Peat’s father, Todd, and his brother, Andrus, played in the NFL; his brothers Todd Jr. and Cassius played college football; his brother, Keona, currently plays football for Arizona State; and his sisters Leilani and Maya played college basketball.
He thanked everyone who had helped him on his journey to being the player and person he has become. He also thanked the coaches who recruited him and expressed his excitement to play for Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd. He ended his speech with the common Arizona motto:
“Bear down.”
Peat made his verbal commitment to Wildcat Nation on March 27 on “The Pat McAfee Show,” and his official signing Wednesday capped a recruiting class filled with big names, including five-star Brayden Burries, four-star Dwayne Aristode and three-star Bryce James, son of Lakers star LeBron James.
The four players kept in touch throughout their recruiting processes, and Peat said they believe the trio could become a great tandem if everything aligns.
“We know we’re young guys, (but) we’re going to go out there and work,” Peat said. “I’m super excited for this class coming in and I’m super excited … to just build chemistry and just build a great team.”
Perry men’s basketball player and Arizona signee Koa Peat answers question during a news conference after signing his national letter of intent in Gilbert on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (Photo by Samuel Nute/Cronkite News)
Peat said he recruited Burries, the 6-foot-4 scoring guard from Eleanor Roosevelt High School in San Bernardino, California, at the McDonald’s All American Game, which was shortly after Peat announced his commitment.
“I was talking to him the whole weekend, just asking him where his head is at, just telling him I think me and him would be really good together,” Peat said.
Aside from getting to know and learn with his teammates in Tucson, Peat will train with Team USA this summer. The three-time FIBA gold medalist for the U16 and U17 teams acknowledges that he will have to adjust to a different brand of basketball and that he is better off because of his experiences with the team.
“It’s really physical,” Peat said. “It’s a different game than the American game. It was fun though, playing out there and going through those experiences with Team USA and great coaches and great players, playing with the best 12 players in your class. It was a great experience for me and my family”
The physicality aspect of the game is perhaps enhanced by his family genes. Growing up in an environment with athletes to emulate helped in the development of the three-time Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year.
“He’s grown up in it and he has seen their accomplishments, so maybe that just made him a different type of athlete,” Jana said. “He just seems to be … the best self-motivator and just a great human being, even more so than (as) an athlete.”
NoNo Brown, a Perry guard who signed with Western New Mexico, said he is excited for the journeys he and Koa are taking as they prepare to play with the same level of defense, intensity and playmaking they showed with the Pumas. Peat and Brown were two of the foundational pieces in Perry’s run to four straight Open State boys basketball championships.
Brown’s message to Peat as he begins his own collegiate career was simple.
“Keep the people around you close, trust in God,” Brown said, “and try your hardest every day.”
As Peat thanked his family during his speech, his mother watched from the sidelines – a familiar perch – as the realization hit.
Jana can soon say she will have seven children who played collegiate sports. She also left a message for Koa, her youngest child, as he begins his collegiate journey.
“Koa, you have a lot of hard work to do. You’ve done a lot of hard work. We’re very proud of you, but now you’ve got to deliver to go to the next level,” she said.
“And I know he will do it.”
