Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari made a loud opening statement in the Class of 2025 by landing five-star Darius Acuff Jr. a month ago.
The top point guard in the class rated as high as No. 4 overall nationally by 247 Sports, Acuff remains the only committed five star out of the 2025 crop.
Making such a strong start to the recruiting cycle presents the opportunity for a domino effect of other elite prospects coming to Arkansas. That led Fox Sports national reporter Aaron Torres to ask the question – is Arkansas about to put together a historic recruiting class in 2025?
He said it’s possible to see the Hogs pull in a top-ranked class if a few certain pieces fall into place. Here’s a look at some of the other big fish in the pond that Calipari and his staff are pursuing.
Meleek Thomas with Arkansas, UConn Basketball: Reports Conflict
Calipari’s quest for elite guards didn’t end with Acuff, as another top target for the Hogs in the 2025 class is Meleek Thomas. The 6-foot-3 combo guard is a consensus top ten prospect ranked as high as No. 5 nationally by Rivals. The Pittsburgh native is currently sharpening his skills at Overtime Elite in Atlanta.
Joe Tipton, a national recruiting insider and graphics connoisseur for On3, recently told Best of Arkansas Sports that Thomas is the most electrifying prospect in the class – the type of player who will be an instant fan favorite wherever he signs. He added that Thomas has described himself as a “scoring machine.”
In addition to Acuff, the top point guard in the class and a relentless scorer, Arkansas is also looking to add Thomas into the fold to create the nation’s most lethal young backcourt. Of course, there’s stiff competition for a prospect of his caliber.
“Meleek is a big-time priority for them,” Tipton said. “The main two contenders for Meleek would be Arkansas and UConn.”
Some recent reports say UConn has cooled its interest in Thomas to pursue other guard targets, such as four-star Acaden Lewis, Torres suggested UConn has been the strong favorite for a long time, but Arkansas and other schools have come on strong for Thomas recently – with the back-to-back national champions hardly in the mix anymore.
“The last time I talked about him I had completely eliminated Arkansas from contention,” he said. “From June on, that guy was going to be a UConn Husky…but as time has gone on, I’ll be blunt, it feels like it’s trending away from UConn.”
Tipton clarified these reports are not accurate, and UConn remains in pursuit of Thomas. Calipari does appear more willing to play the long game on him than Huskies head coach Dan Hurley, and that patience may pay off for Arkansas when decision day comes around. The Hogs also just missed the cut on five-star guard Jasper Johnson, who narrowed down his finalists to Kentucky, Alabama and North Carolina. That will likely see them ramp up their pursuit of Thomas.
Tipton added that he doesn’t think the addition of Acuff will scare Thomas off from Arkansas, and that he is still “very much interested” in the Hogs. Indeed, he is set to visit Fayetteville on September 13. It could be a challenge for the two to figure out how to work together and share the ball, but not an impossible task, he added.
Thomas narrowed his list to seven schools in July, and Tipton predicted he will make his decision before the November early signing period.
Calipari’s Consistency With Caleb Wilson Could Pay Off
Coach Cal puts priority on relationships with players and coaches to an extent few of his counterparts do. It appears that’s coming in handy again in Arkansas’ recruitment of five-star forward Caleb Wilson.
The Atlanta product is a consensus top-ten prospect who Tipton said has the highest upside of any prospect in the class due to his size and versatility. At the end of July, Wilson dropped his top 12, which included Arkansas and a host of blue blood schools.
Outside of that list, he’s also been receiving heavy interest from BYU, according to Tipton. The Cougars have become major players in the recruiting landscape after replacing Kentucky-bound head coach Mark Pope with Kevin Young.
The Cougars are also well in the mix for top prospect AJ Dybantsa – Arkansas pursued him, but didn’t make the cut for his top seven schools. It remains to be seen whether the Mormon lifestyle is one that appeals to these top prospects, but it’s worth noting that they’re even in the conversation – BYU did not land a single four or five-star high school recruit during Pope’s entire tenure.
Tipton said many coaches backed off their pursuit of Wilson after he had a rough patch on the AAU circuit earlier this year, but Calipari has stayed true the whole time.
“He didn’t have the best spring, and a lot of schools that he had offers from cooled on him a little bit,” he said. “Arkansas was one that never did. They were always consistent in his recruitment, and I think Caleb and his family appreciated that.”
After an impressive summer performance at the Peach Jam, those same schools tried to hop back on the bus. Calipari’s loyalty might be credit in the bank for Arkansas in its continued chase for his services.
Interestingly, Wilson took an unofficial visit to a familiar face last week – Eric Musselman and USC. He was in Los Angeles for the Mamba Day event, and Tipton said he “stopped by” for a visit with the Trojans while he was out west.
After Calipari and Musselman went head-to-head in the recruitment of DJ Wagner, it looks like there may be another jousting match between the current and former Head Hog for the services of Wilson.
The rising senior is unlikely to decide in the November early signing period, and his recruitment is likely to drag out into the spring of 2025, according to Tipton.
The race is far from over, but Torres said Arkansas is “in as good a spot as anybody for Caleb.” The well-connected Twitter account HS Top Recruits also lists the Hogs as the favorite for Wilson.
Crowded Queue for Hogs’ Other Frontcourt Targets
While Calipari is certainly most focused on Wilson out of the class’ forwards, Arkansas has also been in contact with a number of other frontcourt pieces. That includes five-star power forward Koa Peat, a top-five prospect according to 247 Sports and ESPN.
Tipton said Peat is a prospect whose recruitment has been difficult to monitor. Coming from a family of athletes, he is handling the process very professionally and keeping his cards close to the chest, he said.
The presumed current leader to land Peat is his home-state school, Arizona, but Tipton said Calipari can make up ground quickly – and that it would be unwise to rule the Hogs out with an official visit on the books in the fall.
Calipari has also been leveraging his reputation to go after Cameron Boozer, the No. 2 overall prospect in the class. The Hogs are chasing from behind in that race, though, as Torres said that “we all know Duke is going to get” him. Boozer’s father, Carlos, starred for the Blue Devils before a lengthy career in the NBA. HS Top Recruits also lists Miami and Florida as significant contenders.
As far as the center position goes, Arkansas has stepped up its pursuit of Chris Cenac after previous top target Malachi Moreno committed to his home-state school Kentucky. Cenac has a host of other schools after him, but his recruitment is in its early stages and he has yet to set up any visits, Tipton said.
“I’ve heard that they’re trying to get involved,” he said. “I would anticipate Arkansas getting an official visit at some point.”
Cenac is a Louisiana native, and LSU is expected to provide tough competition in the recruiting battle, Tipton added.
Meleek Thomas Backup Options
In the backcourt, the Hogs also have a couple of “plan B” targets in case Calipari’s master plan falls through.
One rumored target for a while was Johnson, though Tipton said there was always more smoke than fire there.
“From what I’ve been able to gather, Arkansas is not recruiting him anymore,” he said on Sunday. “[Calipari] may have re-offered him, but they never really pursued him, not as much as schools like Alabama, North Carolina and Kentucky.”
A day later, Johnson announced his finalists and eliminated Arkansas from his list. As far as where he eventually ends up, Tipton also has an updated prediction: “A week ago I would have told you Alabama, but now I would lean more towards Kentucky.”
A Lexington native, it would be a pretty terrible look if the Wildcats are not able to haul in such an elite local prospect. Fortunately for Pope and Co., it appears Rupp Arena is Johnson’s most likely destination.
Calipari’s staff recently extended a surprising offer to four-star guard Kingston Flemings, a consensus top-30 prospect small in stature but lightning quick with the ball in his hands, according to scouting reports. Tipton said while there are obvious question marks surrounding his fit at Arkansas, he’s a prospect Calipari could get if he ends up needing him.
“He’s always been a big fan of Coach Cal,” he said. “I think it’d be really difficult for him to play alongside Acuff…but one of the things I’ve learned is that you can’t count Coach Cal out, especially if he zeroes in on a guy.”
Judging by that intel, Flemings feels like a solid backup option in case the Hogs end up swinging and missing on Thomas.
The sea of five stars on this list are a testament to the recruiting prowess that Coach Cal brings, wherever he goes. The hard part will be adjusting that Monstars-level talent into better on-court results than what he achieved in his most recent years at Kentucky.
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Full segment of Aaron Torres on Arkansas’ potential 2025 class:
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