Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn detailed Thursday an injury that junior outfielder Kendall Diggs has been battling through during the 2024 season for the fifth-ranked Razorbacks.

This week featured two days off before a return with voluntary workouts Wednesday for the Hogs, and that time off was much-needed for a guy like Diggs, who still might not play Friday.

The Olathe, Kansas, native is batting just .208 in conference play with an on-base percentage of just .303, but it's worth noting the injury he's been playing through.

"The biggest issue is he’s hurt," Van Horn said. "He hurt himself sliding head first on a field that had a little too much water on it in the first inning and he stuck basically and he hurt his left shoulder, his non-throwing arm.

"He didn’t really say a whole lot about it, although we were really worried about him when it happened. Because I have seen that a dozen times. Usually something happens. Usually a tear, and it pops out, pops in."

That slide occurred all the way back on March 10 in an 18-5 win over McNeese State — the final weekend game before the start of SEC play.

"I think it was early in the game," Van Horn said. "I don’t know. The guy probably gave him a steal sign and it was a play at the plate. He slid headfirst and kind of didn’t slide real good. And the first inning, it was a little wet there. We’ve had the injury a lot.

"(Matt) Goodheart had it. Not to add onto that. His was really bad. I can go as far as back as my second year with Danny Hamblin. His shoulder just started popping out all the time. Kendall is not quite as bad, but it is still annoying. But yeah, that’s when it happened.”

To make matters worse, Diggs hit a wall in Game 3 at Kentucky on Sunday and he's been hurting again, Van Horn said.

"When he hit the wall the other day in the first inning against Kentucky in Game 3, when the ball went off the top of the wall and bounced out, he fell down," Van Horn said. "It’s bothering him again. We’re not sure if he’s going to start tomorrow or not. The pain’s starting to go away, and then he hits the wall again. So he’s dealing with that.

"I just want him to be up front with me and tell me that he’s pain-free, or I don’t want to play him. That’s my thing. I just want him to not have anything mental, something lurking in there thinking, ‘I can’t swing at that pitch, I can’t hit that pitch, and that’s why I’m not hitting that pitch.’ I’d rather play somebody else."

For the season, Diggs ranks fourth on the team with 42 hits and his 11 doubles are the most of any Razorback batter. He's also tied with Wehiwa Aloy for the team lead in strikeouts (46) and his .247 batting average for the year is the lowest of the lineup regulars.

"He had a really good game Friday at Kentucky," Van Horn said. "He drove in four runs, double, single. Not so good after that. Saturday he probably felt the same way he did Friday and not much happened. And then Sunday he kind of hurts himself after he had … I don’t think he’d even hit yet. We’ll see how it goes today."

Van Horn said Diggs didn't swing in Wednesday's voluntary team workout, but he was doing other activities and playing defense. Diggs is expected to swing Thursday, plus Van Horn added that the junior right fielder said he's feeling better.

Diggs slashed .299/.436/.547 with 12 doubles, 12 homers and a team-high 63 runs batted in as a sophomore in 2023.

The Razorbacks will open the series against Mississippi State at 6:30 p.m. CT Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. The game will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

Good stuff here from stewhog. I'll add some cliffs below.

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- The Hogs' 6.8 runs per game ranks 146th nationally.

- As of May 6th in their respective seasons, former national champs rankings in scoring: 2017 Florida (225th), 2015 Virginia (153rd), 2013 UCLA (205th).

- Those Florida and UCLA teams ranked 14th in ERA as of May 6 in their respective seasons. Arkansas currently ranks 2nd.

- Arkansas currently ranks 15th nationally in average run differential, which is better than 6 of the last 10 national champs.

- Worst season in run production since 2014 for Arkansas so far.

- Run production improved in each of Nate Thompson's first three seasons, but the same can't be said for the last three.

- Since Tony Vitello left Arkansas as hitting coach ahead of the 2018 season, he's helped Tennessee to lead the SEC in runs per game.

- Runs scored by Arkansas in the five season-ending postseason losses since Thompson took over as hitting coach: 0, 4, 2, 0, 4

- Since Vitello got to Tennessee, the Vols have averaged 6.27 runs/game in the NCAA Tournament. In the same span, Arkansas has averaged 7.31 runs/game in the NCAAT. To take it further, Arkansas is averaging 7.26 runs/game in the regular season during that span, compared to 7.69 for the Vols — so the the Hogs are actually scoring more in the NCAAT than regular season (smaller sample size).

New Arkansas men’s basketball coach John Calipari is continuing to build out his coaching staff, as the Razorbacks' coaching staff directory now shows several additions to the program, with some names that are coming from Kentucky.

Kevin Butty, Kevin Gallagher and James “Bruiser” Flint are listed as basketball assistants, but have no roles listed beyond that.

Butty was a video coordinator at Kentucky, while Gallagher was the assistant video coordinator. Flint was the associate to the head coach at Kentucky, a role he began in May 2021 after serving as an assistant for the 2020-2021 season.

Additionally, Calipari said on the “Ways to Win” podcast, which is co-hosted by former Oregon State head coach Craig Robinson, that former Kentucky graduate assistant Tyler Ulis — who also played for Kentucky from 2014 to 2016 — is joining his staff as well. He did not say what role Ulis will have at Arkansas.

Another addition to the staff shows Brad Calipari, John’s son. Brad served as the director of on-court player development at Vanderbilt under Jerry Stackhouse last season after spending the 2022-2023 season under NBA veteran Rod Strickland at Long Island.

Flint is the longest-tenured coach on the list, beginning his college coaching career in 1988 with Coppin State.

He was with Calipari at Massachusetts and took over the Minutemen program after Calipari left for the NBA. He was the head coach at Drexel from 2002-2016 and spent three seasons as an assistant at Indiana before heading to Kentucky.

While looking at baseball stuff, I randomly saw a link to the D1 women's golf NCAA tournament live stats. Arkansas women's golf team is winning their regional on the last day. Currently 5 strokes ahead of 2nd place. The top 5 teams advance so i think it's safe to assume they will move on. WPS

Live Standings

From Tony Tsoukalas with the Transfer Portal team

Arkansas: B+​

Key additions: Larry Worth, LB (Jacksonville State); Stephen Dix Jr., LB (Marshall); Anthony Switzer, DB (Utah State); Khafre Brown, WR (South Florida)

Key subtractions: Lorando "Snaxx" Johnson, DB (Baylor); Max Fletcher, P (Cincinnati)

Outlook: Arkansas lost a starting cornerback in Johnson as well as Fletcher, who ranked third in the SEC in punting average last season. However, Sam Pittman did well to restock what was a depleted roster with some nice pieces.

Dix and Worth should compete for starting roles in a linebacker room that desperately needed bolstering. Meanwhile, Switzer might be a strong candidate to man the team's linebacker/safety hybrid HOG position. On the other side of the ball, Brown is a solid addition at receiver.

KSR is saying Calipari said it tonight, but I’m not 100% sure where. Ulis was a student assistant under Cal the past two seasons after playing for him with the Wildcats.

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Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn didn't fully commit to keeping the No. 5 Razorbacks' same starting rotation ahead of this weekend's series against the No. 14 Mississippi State Bulldogs at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville.

"We’re not sure on it right now," Van Horn said after Monday's Swatter's Club luncheon. "We’re going to make sure that everybody is good to go and have some conversations and then kind of go from there."

Ace left-hander Hagen Smith and junior righty Brady Tygart have started a game in each of the 12 weekends of baseball the Hogs have played this year, while Texas Tech transfer Mason Molina has started on 11 weekends as he missed the Florida series (April 26-27) due to an ankle injury.

One thing is for sure — Smith is pitching Friday no matter what. The nation's best pitcher, Smith owns a 9-0 record with a 1.36 ERA, 125 strikeouts and 25 walks in 66.0 innings pitched this year.

"He's been amazing," Van Horn said Monday. "He's one of the best pitchers I've ever seen at this level. There's been guys that go through college that have pitched in the big leagues for 20 years and won Cy Young Awards that are not better than what he's doing. Not better than him."

As for Tygart and Molina, their jobs might be up for grabs. The former allowed five earned runs on six hits at Kentucky, while the latter allowed three earned runs on three hits against the Wildcats in just three innings.

Meanwhile, sophomore right-hander Gage Wood has put together a pair of solid appearances in a row to get his name in the conversation.

"These guys have to pitch good, because when we get down to the end of the year, we can't just hope they can get it back or hope that they do it," Van Horn said. "We've got to put somebody out there that can do it. So Gage Wood, he could take somebody's job. Because that's the way I feel. I may upset some people, but that's okay. I've got a lot of people mad at me all the time."

Tygart (4-2, 3.34 ERA) pieced together back-to-back starts at South Carolina and against Florida, but he struggled to locate with three walks and two strikeouts in three innings of work against Kentucky.

"The other day, he'd probably tell you it might be his worst start he's ever had," Van Horn said. "Velocity was down. Breaking ball, couldn't throw for a strike. He had a rough start."

Molina (3-2, 3.81 ERA) hasn't gotten out of the fourth inning in either of his last two starts. He walked seven and allowed two earned runs on two hits in 3.1 innings at South Carolina on April 20, and his next outing featured three walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs on three hits in three innings at Kentucky.

"We gave him last week off because he had a little bit of a twisted ankle," Van Horn said. "The weekend before that, he walked 7 in 3.1 (innings). Unheard of. Probably one of the worst starts we've had here in a long time.

"Gave him the ball (Sunday) and just too many balls. Too many scattered pitches and next thing you know, we're losing pretty good. A little frustrating. He has some really good starts, but he's got to be better."

Wood (3-1, 2.81 ERA) made his first career start April 30 and he threw three innings of scoreless ball with four strikeouts and no walks at home against Missouri State.

The Batesville native threw 4.1 innings of relief at Kentucky on Saturday, when he gave up three earned runs on three hits, but looked dominant at times with six strikeouts compared to just two walks.

"It’s been good that (Wood) got to start (against Missouri State) and threw three innings," Van Horn said. "Then he threw 70-something (79) pitches on Saturday. Kind of building up, and even, we’ve been building him up in his bullpens.

"Got that pitch count up a little bit, just in case we needed to do this. We’ll see how it works out. It would be nice if our rotation would get back together and roll, but they've got to do it."

Arkansas should officially announce its rotation at some point Thursday.

The Razorbacks will open the series against Mississippi State at 6:30 p.m. CT Friday at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. The game will be streamed live on SEC Network+.

@jacksoncollier watched some highlights of a Kentucky blue-white scrimmage on the Northern Kentucky campus. Do you think they might do that next year at Arkansas? Maybe come to central Arkansas area.

How do we get in on this?

John Tyson, the CEO of Tyson Foods and billionaire from Northwest Arkansas, has become somewhat of a local celebrity around Fayetteville in recent weeks.

After word got out he was somewhat of a middleman between Arkansas Athletics Director Hunter Yurachek and new Razorback basketball coach John Calipari, Tyson became a hometown hero, getting a standing ovation at Calipari's introductory press conference inside Bud Walton Arena on April 10.

Tyson spoke to Bo Mattingly in an interview with Hogs Plus, and he talked about what his role was in the hire that shook the college basketball landscape.

“Yurachek said, ‘Well, who would you hire?’ and I said, ‘Well, coach Cal,’” Tyson said. “So he said, ‘Well, is he interested?’” and I said to Hunter, ‘I don’t mind making the call,’ because I didn’t know if he was interested or not.”

Tyson’s involvement didn’t stop there, however. With a move of that magnitude, Tyson told Yurachek he needed to start preparations.

“I said, ‘If we’re going to make the call, you need to have your ducks in a row before we make the call,'" Tyson said. "'You need to know it’s funded. You need to know you’ve worked with your chancellor, the board of trustees, because it’ll move pretty quickly.’”

The deal came together quickly, indeed. Both Calipari and Yurachek were in Phoenix for the Final Four, which is where, Calipari said, the two met for 15 minutes to talk about the opening.

That meeting took place because of the relationship Calipari and Tyson have.

“Whatever John Tyson would ask me to do, I’m doing,” Calipari said April 10. “'I need you to meet with our AD. He’s going to go through some stuff. I want you to talk to him and help him out. He’s a good man. You’re going to love meeting him.' And we did.”

Tyson talked about making that same phone call from his point of view, and it turns out he made the call at the perfect time.

“I said, ‘Well, I’ll just give Coach Cal a call tomorrow morning,’" Tyson said. "And something in my gut said ‘No, just go ahead and call now, because I didn’t want to have any regrets. And Coach Cal told me had I not called that night, he would have already been on an airplane leaving Arizona. So they wouldn’t have had the face-to-face (meeting).”

Reports coming out around the same time as Calipari’s exodus to Arkansas seemed to indicate Tyson wasn’t just helping with the hire but also with a massive NIL figure to bring players to the program.

Interestingly, Tyson seemed to somewhat refute those reports.

“For everybody out there, we need NIL money,” Tyson said. “Let’s get this on the record. I didn’t write a big check for NIL, but I did help like a lot of families who put money into the (Razorback Foundation).”

That money that he gave to the Razorback Foundation helped secure the over $7 million contract Calipari has with Arkansas.

“The Razorback Foundation is where a lot of salaries are managed, they do it for Coach (Sam Pittman), Coach Van Horn,” Tyson said. “So the foundation is where they do the add-ons to the base salary of the university. So I made a commitment to Hunter to help in that context.”

Tyson went on to say that even though there wasn’t a blank check, he does try to help in that department.

“There was some help, but not to the degree that I wrote a blank check for Coach Cal to help out,” Tyson said. “So, we all need to help because the NIL helps all sports.”

The NIL support shouldn’t stop at the big three sports of football, basketball and baseball, though. Tyson understands that and said he likes to support the teams that most don’t think about.

“I’ve helped the NIL in different sports," Tyson said. "Primarily I try to help the sports nobody else thinks about. Track, nobody thinks about track. Women’s track, men’s track, women’s golf. The bigger sports are the ones people seem to be more attracted to.”

Tyson’s involvement doesn’t just stop with athletics, though. He said he wants the University of Arkansas to succeed, both on and off the field.

“One of the things I’m most proud of is the Gene Tyson Early Education Building on campus,” Tyson said. “Up until we gave that money for those students that are going to become our teachers, they were still going to school in a World War II Quonset hut. So that was the commitment on our campus to our teachers in early education."

From @RileyMcFerran


Head coach Sam Pittman and the Arkansas Razorbacks have landed a transfer wide receiver, as South Florida's Khafre Brown announced his commitment to the Hogs on Monday.

A 6-foot-0, 195-pound North Carolina native, Brown caught 27 passes for 435 yards and five touchdowns for the Bulls last season. His most productive game came against Western Kentucky, when he totaled 95 receiving yards and a touchdown on three catches.

Each of Brown's five touchdown catches came in separate games, with the final coming in the Boca Raton Bowl over Syracuse on Dec. 21, 2023.

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Ranked as a four-star prospect out of high school, Brown originally chose the North Carolina Tar Heels over offers from programs like Tennessee, Alabama, Duke, Florida State, Michigan, Ohio State and others.

During his freshman campaign at North Carolina, Brown was spectacular with 15 catches for 337 yards (22.5 yards per catch) and two touchdowns. After suffering a lower body injury during the offseason leading into his sophomore year, Brown was never able to fully recover and only played 78 snaps during the 2021-22 season.

The speedster took his talents to the transfer portal and ended up at USF, where he's combined for 496 yards and five touchdowns on 31 catches in two seasons.

According to Pro Football Focus, Brown totaled 431 snaps in 2023-24 and finished with an overall offensive grade of 63.0 — incuding a pass grade of 66.3.

Following Brown's commitment, the Razorbacks now sit with 81 scholarship players on their projected roster. Be sure to follow along at The Trough premium message board for updates on all the offseason action.

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Arkansas landed a commitment from BYU transfer defensive lineman Danny Saili, he announced on Monday afternoon

The 6-foot-3, 355 pound native of Topeka, Kansas, transferred to the Cougars by way of Hutchinson Community College, where Arkansas running back signee Tyrell Reed also came from.

Saili was named to 2023 Jayhawk Conference First Team for racking up 21 tackles, four sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss. He flipped his commitment from Texas Tech to BYU back in December and he hit the portal again on May 1 after spending the spring with the Cougars.

"Yeah [Saili] is going to be a guy that's going to be on the field," BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said this spring. "We've gotta get him in playing shape, but we're starting to see a lot of the big guys doing a lot of good things."

Saili will provide much-needed depth on the interior of Arkansas' defensive line. He will have two years of eligibility remaining. Click here for a full look at the Razorbacks current roster organized by position.

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Mystik Dan (Arkansas) wins Kentucky Derby…and one of our coaches was there with the owners. His wife looks happy but he looks like he went conservative on his wager and only bet a $2/Show. Login to view embedded media

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Nm

DVH: “We actually talked to him about it. If you really look at the numbers, you’ll need to look at one of the other schools in the other division. But whatever. Those are things that you shouldn’t put out there, in my opinion.”

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Head coach John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks will host Kentucky transfer guard D.J. Wagner this weekend for a visit, according to a report from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.

The 6-foot-4, 192-pound guard started 28 of the 29 games he appeared in as a freshman in 2023-24. Wagner averaged 9.9 points, 3.3 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game to earn himself a spot on the All-SEC Freshman Team.

Wagner scored 19 points and hit a career-best four threes in the 111-102 win over Arkansas inside Bud Walton Arena on March 2. The former five-star prospect scored a season-high 28 points in a Nov. 24 win over Marshall.

D.J. is the son of former Memphis star Dajuan Wagner, who Calipari coached with the Tigers. Dajuan Wagner was a one-and-done for Memphis and he was selected No. 6 overall in the 2002 NBA Draft.

A native of Camden, New Jersey, Wagner was named the 2023 McDonald’s All-American Game MVP, and he was the Gatorade New Jersey Player of the Year for three straight seasons. Other honors in high school included being the 2023 Iverson Classic Co-MVP, Iverson Classic 3-point Champion and the Iverson Classic National High School Player of the Year.

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The Arkansas football team is hosting another transfer defensive tackle this weekend, as HawgBeat can confirm that Grand Valley State's Jay'viar Suggs will be visiting Fayetteville on Sunday.

A 6-foot-3, 295-pound soon-to-be junior, Suggs racked up 21 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and five sacks in 2023 for Division II GVSU. He also defended four passes and forced one fumble in 11 games played.

Since entering the transfer portal, the Flint, Michigan, native has been offered by programs like Purdue, Kentucky, Miami, Minnesota, Michigan State, Nebraska, Louisville, TCU, Iowa, Wisconsin and Kansas State among others.

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Suggs' most productive game came against Michigan Tech, when he totaled four tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. He recorded at least one sack in four separate games.

During the 2022 season, Suggs recorded 21 total tackles, seven tackles for loss and three sacks. He also recorded five defendes passes and a forced fumble.

Arkansas has made the defensive tackle position a priority during the spring transfer portal window, as head coach Sam Pittman and the Hogs have already hosted three known prospects in Suggs, Louisville's Tawfiq Thomas and Texas Southern's Elinus Noel III.

As things currently stand, Arkansas has 78 scholarship players on its roster. Be sure to follow along at The Trough premium message board for updates on all the offseason action.

Landon Hammond will be here June 14-16.

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Probably no reason to freak out just yet, but screw me. Kid worked his ass off all offseason. Hopefully nothing too crazy.

You think either of these is a fair trade, or at least close?

Russell Wilson (4) and Logan Thomas (8) for Travis Kelce (1).

Antonio Brown (140) for Tyreek Hill (1).

Numbers in ()s are the league ranks according to our scoring system.

Would take 2-4.

The phrase "best season for a college baseball pitcher ever" has been tossed around more than once over the past four seasons for three pitchers from two different schools. Two of those pitchers are Arkansas' Kevin Kopps and Hagen Smith, while the other is LSU's Paul Skenes.

As Razorback baseball fans know well, Kopps won the 2021 Golden Spikes Award after posting a 0.90 ERA in 89.2 innings pitched with a 12-1 record, 11 saves, 18 walks and 131 strikeouts. He also added a 0.76 WHIP in a season that some consider to be the most dominant ever by a college relief pitcher.

Skenes transferred to the Tigers from Air Force prior to the 2023 season and he dazzled as a workhorse week after week pumping in consistent triple digits. The 2023 Dick Howser Trophy winner, Skenes had a 13-2 record with a 1.69 ERA in 122.2 innings. He recorded just 20 walks compared to a whopping 209 strikeouts and limited opponents to a .165 batting average to make himself the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Just one season removed from Skenes being a generational prospect, again it is Dave Van Horn's Arkansas Razorbacks with a dominant arm — junior lefty Hagen Smith.

The national leader in strikeouts per nine innings (16.65), Smith is given a side-by-side comparison to Skenes' 2023 season on the television broadcast just about every week now.

The numbers are more comparable than you might think.



The above graphic from the SEC Network broadcast of Arkansas 2-1 win over Florida on April 26 shows the comparison between Skenes' 2023 season and Smith's 2024 season through 10 starts. With 6.1 more innings pitched, Skenes' numbers aside from ERA are all a little better than Smith's, including average fastball velocity.

Smith's velo from the left side isn't what Skenes was doing in 2023. The big right-handed transfer from Air Force was regularly touching triple digits, which Smith can do, but much less often.

"He’s really good," LSU head coach Jay Johnson said of Smith on March 28. "He’s one of the best pitchers I’ve ever faced in my entire career."
For a more accurate comparison of the two, HawgBeat has broken down Skene's 2023 campaign and Smith's 2024 season through 12 starts following a 14-strikeout performance at No. 8 Kentucky on Friday.

A 'coach's dream': Hagen Smith pumps gas in 14-strikeout game

Hagen Smith and Paul Skenes through 12 starts


It's also worth noting that Skenes threw 100-plus pitches in eight of his first 12 starts, while Arkansas has put a little less on Smith's plate, as he's done so just three times in that span this season, including Friday's 14-strikeout performance by him.

Skenes finished No. 1 in the nation in strikeouts (209), No. 1 in strikeouts per nine innings (15.33) and No. 1 in WHIP (0.75), and he finished No. 2 in the nation in ERA (1.69), No. 3 in strikeout-to-walk ratio (10.45), and No. 5 in hits allowed per nine innings (5.28).

Smith currently ranks third in strikeouts (125), first in strikeouts per nine innings (17.05), second in WHIP (0.82), first in ERA (1.36) and first in hits allowed per nine innings (3.95).

"His average fastball was 98," South Carolina head coach Mark Kingston said after facing Smith on April 19. "He threw a slider for strikes all night, and that’s why he’s going to be the first pitcher off the board for the Major League draft. He’s done that to everybody this year, and we were no different.”

Arkansas is 12-0 in games that Smith has started this season, and the Hogs are 31-7 overall in games started by Smith in his career. He now has 324 career strikeouts — 21 shy of Nick Schmidt's program record 345 — plus he's now tied with Isaiah Campbell for the sixth-most strikeouts in a season (125) in program history. David Walling's 155 strikeouts in 1999 ranks first.

While Smith still has two more weekends in the regular season and the entire postseason to go, it's definitely fair to say he's keeping pace with Skenes through 12 starts. LSU won the national championship with Skenes leading the way in 2023 as well, so Hog fans can only hope that is another trend going for their team.

STORY: https://arkansas.rivals.com/news/arkansas-guard-davonte-davis-to-enter-transfer-portal

Arkansas guard Davonte "Devo" Davis is expected to enter the transfer potal, according to a report from 24/7 High School Hoops. Davis is the fourth Razorback to enter the transfer portal so far, as he joins Keyon Menifield Jr., Joseph Pinion and Denijay Harris.

A native of Jacksonville, Arkansas, Davis was a beloved player for his home-state program, setting records and helping restore the program to levels of success it had not seen in decades.

The tenacious defender appeared in 132 games over four seasons, tied for fifth all-time with Pat Bradley, Steven Hill and Ky Madden. Davis also amassed 3,720 minutes played (4th), 1,118 points (31st), and 314 assists (9th). He was also just the 9th Razorback to reach 900+ points, 400+ rebounds, 200+ assists & 100+ steals in his Arkansas career.

While Davis was in Fayetteville, the Razorbacks went to back-to-back Elite Eights and a Sweet Sixteen in three consecutive years. As a freshman, Davis was called upon to make big-time plays to keep Arkansas' postseason alive, hitting key shots against Oral Roberts and Texas Tech, while also defending Red Raider guard Mac McClung.

His role changed each year, but Davis bought in each time as he played off ball, on-ball and was a primary and secondary scorer when needed. He wore his emotions on his sleeve and garnered the admiration of the fanbase.

Davis's success was not limited to the basketball court. He was named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll three times and was on the Arkansas Athletics Department's Honor Roll four times.

Despite being a senior and playing four years in college, Davis has a year of eligibility left due to the COVID pandemic in 2020. Keep track of all of the Arkansas roster updates and portal contacts here.

More information about Davis can be found on his Arkansas roster player page.

If anyone has any for sale I’d be interested!

From Rob Cassidy


HOOVER, Ala. – There isn't a more well-rounded guard in the 2025 class than five-star Darryn Peterson. The 6-foot-5, 195-pound Peterson does a little bit of everything on the court and does it all well. There’s a reason his recruitment is overflowing with bluebloods and other heavy hitters, after all.

Following one of his Phenom United squad’s games at adidas 3SSB in Birmingham, Peterson spoke to Rivals about where things stand as they relate to his college recruitment and what might be next for his process.

*****

ON UPCOMING VISITS:

“The next one I’m setting up is a North Carolina official, but we don't have that date yet.”

ON WHAT HE HOPES TO SEE DURING HIS NORTH CAROLINA VISIT:

“I’m excited to see what it’s like down there. I watched some of their games this year and I’ve been waiting to take this official visit for a while. Watching RJ Davis and how ball dominant he was and how he got to hoop this year, I feel like if I go there we could have similar type games.”

ON COACHES THAT HAVE REACHED OUT RECENTLY:

“I just recently got a re-offer from coach [Mark] Pope and the Kentucky staff. At Arkansas, I’ve already talked to coach Chin [Coleman] and coach (John Calipari). I’m pretty sure I’m going to go visit there, too.”

ON CALIPARI TAKING THE JOB:

“I thought he'd be there for life. He was telling me that I was coming there next year and all that, so I didn’t expect him to leave at all.”

ON THE MESSAGE FROM CALIPARI:

“He said he got a new job, but nothing has changed. They still want me. They are still going to have Kentucky-type everything.”

ON KENTUCKY:

“I might go visit there again. They say the same things. They want me there just like Cal wanted me there. They say they watched stuff and have seen me and are really interested.”

ON SCHOOLS IN THE MIX TO LAND HIS COMMITMENT:

“Kansas, Ohio State, Kentucky, Arkansas and North Carolina. There’s probably another one I’m forgetting. My dad knows all of them.”

ON KANSAS:

“I went there when I was young – in eighth grade for an unofficial. I haven’t taken an official yet, but I’m going to visit there, too.”

ON BILL SELF:

“That’s my guy. He’s been watching me since freshman year. He just tells me to keep getting better and that they want me. They feel like Kansas is the best place for me. I like how they run their sets, I like a coach that runs sets but doesn’t over-coach. He has sets that they put in, but he lets his guards figure it out in crunch time.”

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RIVALS' REACTION​

It’s unclear how serious things with Kentucky and Arkansas will get, seeing as both programs are under new leadership but both seem to have a puncher’s chance to climb into the thick of things should they get Peterson on campus during the fall or summer. Kansas and North Carolina seem like the most serious players for the time being.