A look at some big names here:

The players who will join first-year Arkansas basketball head coach John Calipari at SEC Basketball Media Day were announced on Tuesday.

Calipari will be joined by guard Johnell Davis and forward Adou Thiero in Birmingham, Alabama, next Tuesday, Oct. 15, with a time window of 2:30 p.m. to 4:35 p.m. CT.

Both Davis and Thiero are entering their first seasons with the Razorbacks, as Davis transferred to Arkansas from Florida Atlantic and Thiero followed Calipari from Kentucky over the offseason.

Davis is a fifth-year senior who has spent the last four seasons with the Owls of Florida Atlantic. He was a key part in the team's Final Four run in 2023, as he averaged 13.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game that season. In the postseason, he bumped that average to 15.4 points in five games, including an explosion for 29 points in the second round against Fairleigh Dickinson.

Last season, his numbers were even higher, as the Gary, Indiana, native averaged 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest. He worked out for several NBA teams after the season ended, but opted to remove his name from the 2024 NBA Draft and play at Arkansas.

Thiero is heading into his third season of college basketball after playing two seasons at Kentucky under Calipari. Last season he appeared in 25 games and averaged 7.2 points and five rebounds per game.

Where Thiero stands to improve the most is in his three-point shot, something he's said has been a focus for him this offseason.

"That will make it harder for defenders to guard me, because they cant just sit back," Thiero said Sept. 12. "When they’re closing out, I can shoot the ball and it’ll go in, so they’ll have to get a hand up and I can beat them off the dribble. With my size, I can get to the rim, finish, with my athleticism I can dunk on somebody.”

Davis and Thiero are two of seven transfers on this year's team, which only features one returning scholarship player from a season ago — junior forward Trevon Brazile.

The Arkansas Razorbacks are currently in preseason practice and will take the floor for preseason charity exhibitions against Kansas inside Bud Walton Arena on Oct. 25 and at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, against the TCU Horned Frogs on Nov. 1. Be sure to tune in to HawgBeat for updates on the Hoop Hogs ahead of season tip-off.

Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy posted his regular rumor mill piece and touched on multiple topics, including Meleek Thomas and Arkansas. Here is the excerpt for that:

MAKES SPLASH WITH THOMAS

"Arkansas has long been among the front-runners to land five-star guard Meleek Thomas, and last week's visit seems to have solidified the Razorbacks’ position as one of, if not the, most likely landing spot for the Pittsburgh native.

Thomas recently canceled a visit to Alabama. As of now, a visit to Kansas State remains on the schedule for Oct. 26, but the future of that trip seemed a little up in the air as of Sunday afternoon. A cancellation would be extremely positive news for Arkansas fans, as K-State has the financial support and relationships in place to become a threat.

Should Thomas set foot in Manhattan as scheduled, there could be some white knuckle moments in Fayetteville. If not, it might be time for celebration in the Hawgs' recruiting office."

From @RileyMcFerran

At the midway mark of the season, Arkansas (4-2, 2-1 SEC) has a much-needed bye week to rest up and refocus before closing out its 2024-25 campaign.

Head coach Sam Pittman's squad began the year with a 70-0 blowout over Arkansas-Pine Bluff at War Memorial Stadium before losing in heartbreaking fashion, 39-31 (OT), at then-No. 16 Oklahoma State in Week 2.

The Razorbacks rebounded in less-than-stellar fashion with a 10-point home victory over UAB, and then started SEC play by knocking off Auburn, 24-14, at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Arkansas then lost the final Southwest Classic at AT&T Stadium, 21-17, to then-No. 24 Texas A&M.

Arkansas shocked the college football world over the weekend when it defeated then-No. 4 Tennessee, 19-14, behind a remarkable defensive performance from Travis Williams' bunch.

Through those six games, Arkansas finds itself improved compared to last season in most offensive and defensive statistical categories.The Hogs boast three top-25 offensive and five top-50 defensive categories.

Here's a look at the rest of Arkansas' stats and Pro Football Focus grades so far this year:

Season Stats - Arkansas (FBS rank out of 134 teams)​

Offense

~ Scoring: 33.0 (41st)
~ Total yards: 484.8 (13th)
~ Passing: 285.3 (25th)
~ Rushing: 199.5 (29th)
~ Third downs: 52.8% (8th)
~ Sacks allowed/game: 2.33 (90th)
~ Turnovers: 9 (98th)

Defense

~ Scoring: 19.2 (34th)
~ Total yards: 321.5 (39th)
~ Passing: 214.7 (68th)
~ Rushing: 106.8 (30th)
~ Third downs: 33.3% (33rd)
~ Sacks/game: 2.33 (46th)
~ Turnovers forced: 7 (55th)

Pro Football Focus (season grades)​

Team Grades (Rank out of 134 FBS teams)

~ Overall: 88.1 (47th)

~ Offense: 80.3 (23rd)
~ Passing: 81.3 (30th)
~ Rushing: 85.0 (18th)
~ Receiving: 72.6 (40th)
~ Pass blocking: 65.9 (84th)
~ Run blocking: 67.1 (43rd)

~ Defense: 76.6 (75th)
~ Run defense: 87.3 (24th)
~ Tackling: 65.0 (73rd)
~ Pass rush: 66.5 (85th)
~ Coverage: 63.8 (106th)
~ Special teams: 79.8 (45th)

Note: Only players with 15+ snaps minimum listed.

PFF Season Grades Through 6 Games