Long before Koa Peat was a five-star basketball recruit for Arizona, he was getting a masterclass in professional sports from his older brother, NFL veteran Andrus Peat.
The Wildcats forward has started his college basketball career in style and is a prominent part of the roster under Tommy Lloyd. The 19-year-old averages 14.1 points per game as a freshman and has helped Arizona reach the NCAA Tournament Final Four this year. Earning Big 12 All-Freshman Team Honors, Koa ended the regular season as Arizona’s leading scorer.
Arizona freshman Koa Peat comes from an elite sporting family. To truly understand his rise, you have to look at his family tree
Who Is Andrus Peat? Inside the NFL Career of Koa Peat’s Brother.
Andrus Peat is an American professional football player who plays as an offensive tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 32-year-old is a three-time Pro Bowler, achieving the honor consecutively between 2018 and 2020.
How Are Koa Peat and Andrus Peat Related? A Look at Their Athletic Family
The pair has seven children, all with prominent careers in college sports. Todd Jr., Andrus, Keona, and Cassius all played college basketball at a high level, with Andrus going on to become a three-time NFL Pro Bowler.
Leilani, Maya, and Koa played college basketball, with the youngest sibling, Koa, joining the Arizona Wildcats as a five-star recruit.
How Did Andrus Peat Influence Koa Peat’s Rise in Basketball?
Andrus Peat was a five-star recruit himself, albeit in football, and his career journey inspired Koa, who entered college basketball as a five-star recruit.
Growing up around parents and elder siblings with an elite sporting background also encoded an elite competitive mentality within Koa early on, and the real-life discipline converted into in-game discipline, which helped Koa in his basketball journey.
Koa appreciates his family’s sporting heritage and highlights his sporting background as the driver behind his basketball success.
Koa said, “My dad always gives me the best advice… always pushes me and asks me what I’m doing… Having someone like him that’s been through it and knows what he’s doing is really cool… It was mainly, you know, just watching my brothers play football… my siblings’ journeys through college inspired me to excel.”
The most successful Peat sibling is Andrus Peat, and the three-time NFL Pro-Bowler has acknowledged how proud the family is of Koa.
Andrus highlighted, “We’re super proud of him… He’s a hard worker and does things the right way… He’s a guy who can really handle the ball; he can dribble the ball, he can drive, he can pass, and he can make decisions. He’s a guy who could do the tough things around the basket. He’s great defensively. He’s great on the glass.”
While Koa’s father and most of the elder siblings found splendid success in football, the Arizona Wildcats forward chose basketball, especially during the COVID-19 era, as the 19-year-old focused on developing his basketball skills while quarantining. But the Peat family has been supportive of Koa’s decision, and the Arizona forward looks like he is intent on building his own legacy in a different sport.
