Arkansas basketball 2025-26 roster breakdown update
HawgBeat provides an update on Arkansas' roster breakdown.
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The Arkansas basketball season has been over for almost a week and a half now, and the coaching staff is working on building next season’s roster.
It’s been relatively quiet in recent days for the Hogs. There still hasn’t been a transfer portal commitment, and four roster spots have opened. Still, there's been some roster movement for the Razorbacks, and several spots have opened in recent days.
Freshman guard Casmir Chavis was the first player to enter the transfer portal, and Melo Sanchez and Zvonimir Ivisic followed suit not long after. Ivisic has since committed to Illinois, where his brother Tomislav plays.
The most recent roster move came from freshman guard Boogie Fland, who declared for the 2025 NBA Draft on Friday.
With the shakeup, let's take a look at who can and can't come back to the program, and some of the latest intel surrounding Arkansas' transfer portal targets.
Potential Returners
Potential Returners| Name | Pos. | Height, Weight | Class in 25-26 | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| D.J. Wagner | G | 6-4, 195 lbs. | Jr. | 11.2 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 3.6 Ast |
| Adou Thiero | F | 6-8, 220 lbs. | Sr. | 15.1 Pts, 5.8 Reb, 1.9 Ast |
| Trevon Brazile | F | 6-10, 180 lbs. | R-Sr. | 6.8 Pts, 5.4 Reb, 0.7 Ast |
| Karter Knox | F | 6-6, 220 lbs. | So. | 8.3 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 1.0 Ast |
| Billy Richmond III | F | 6-5, 205 lbs. | So. | 5.7 Pts, 3.0 Reb, 1.4 Ast |
| Ayden Kelley | G | 5-10, 170 lbs. | So. | 1.0 Pts, 0.5 Reb, 0.0 Ast |
| Jaden Karuletwa | G | 6-5, 185 lbs. | So. | 0.0 Pts, 0.0 Reb, 0.0 Ast |
As mentioned above, four Razorbacks from last year's squad have moved on. The departure of Sanchez and Chavis don't mean much in terms of on-court production, as they barely played, but it is notable because it clears up two scholarships to use for incoming players.
There were rumors in recent days about Fland returning to play college basketball, but those appear to have been squashed after his NBA Draft declaration.
Retention has been a big point of emphasis for head coach John Calipari as he builds the roster for next season. Late last season, he talked about how important that was for the success of fellow SEC programs like Texas A&M.
"Buzz said it best, the number one thing is retention," Calipari said on Feb. 15. "Like, we're playing teams that have been together and we're throwing guys together. I had no team. I'm not— no excuses. I still think I got a good group, but we had no team, no staff, no schedule, nothing...Buzz, his number one thing was retention. And guess what? It's paid off."
While fans may get impatient with the players from last year's team announcing their decisions to return to Fayetteville, it's important to remember that in this day and age of college basketball, these things take time. Athletes need to consult agents and their families, and they need to weigh all of their options before they make a decision. It's not always as cut and dry as it may have been in years past.
As far as who might return, all seven on the board above have the option. Right now, the staff wants D.J. Wagner back, so it's his choice if he decides to play in a Razorback uniform next season. There's also Adou Thiero, whose play this season caused him to jump up draft boards. His knee injury impacted that late in the season, so the possibility of his return to Fayetteville has gotten more interesting in recent days.
Freshmen Billy Richmond III and Karter Knox are two guys the coaching staff wants to retain, and so far there's been no indication that they're considering the portal. It also sounds like the Hogs are in a good spot to retain Trevon Brazile for his final season of eligibility as well.
Incoming Players
Incoming players
| Name | Pos. | Stars | Prev. School/Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Darius Acuff Jr. | G | 5 | IMG Academy |
| Meleek Thomas | G | 5 | Overtime Elite |
| Isaiah Sealy | G | 4 | Springdale HS |
| Karim Rtail | F | Neptūnas-Akvaservis |
Right now, Arkansas doesn't have any transfer portal commitments, with all four incoming players coming from either the international or high school ranks.
There are three high school players in the class of 2025, which ranks sixth, according to Rivals. Five-star guards Acuff and Thomas headline the class, with four-star guard Isaiah Sealy opting to stay home and be a Razorback.
Both Acuff and Thomas played in the McDonald's All-American Game last Monday night, and Acuff finished his senior season with IMG Academy last week with a 75-57 loss to Wasatch Academy in the Chipotle National Tournament on Wednesday.
The Hogs also have one international player, Karim Rtail, coming to Fayetteville. The Lebanese forward announced his commitment on March 19 and has been playing professionally in Lithuania, where he averaged 8.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game for Neptūnas-Akvaservis.
Calipari and his staff are also still heavily involved with five-star forward Nate Ament, who played with Acuff and Thomas at the McDonald's All-American Game last week. The two Arkansas signees got the opportunity to get in his ear about choosing the Razorbacks.
"My pitch to Nate has been, 'You want to come play with winners, and play with players that's going to be for you,'" Thomas said last Monday. "We're not just telling him to come to Arkansas just because we want another five-star, we want another very good player. I'm telling him to come to Arkansas because we feel he could be a real asset for our team."
Because Ament isn't officially signed at Arkansas, we're leaving him off the table above for now. He had originally planned to make his announcement on April 1, but decided to push back that decision. Arkansas feels good about its position with the Warrenton, Virginia, product.
Out of Eligibility
Out of eligibility| Name | Pos. | Height/Weight | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jonas Aidoo | C | 6-11, 240 lbs. | 6.9 Pts, 5.0 Reb, 0.8 Ast |
| Johnell Davis | G | 6-4, 210 lbs. | 12.0 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 1.6 Ast |
| Lawson Blake | F | 6-10, 240 lbs. | DNP (Achilles injury) |
| Kareem Watkins | G | 5-8, 175 lbs. | 0.3 Reb, 0.3 Ast |
Two of Arkansas' most veteran players have no option to return, as both Aidoo and Davis are fully out of eligibility. Both dealt with injuries in the offseason that hindered their ability on the court throughout the season, but they turned it up late and the Razorbacks likely wouldn't have made their NCAA Tournament without them.
Blake was a walk-on for all four years of his Razorback career, and while he technically could get a medical redshirt from the NCAA because he ruptured his Achilles tendon in the offseason, that's doesn't appear to be the plan.
Watkins rode the end of the bench and only appeared in three games in his final season of eligibility.
Latest intel in the transfer portal
To be clear, just because there's been no movement for the Hogs in the transfer portal doesn't mean the coaching staff isn't actively working in it.
The frontcourt has seemed to be where Arkansas has placed most of its interest, which makes sense as the Hogs lost their two centers — Ivisic to the portal and Aidoo without eligibility.
Arkansas has been connected to several high-level transfers, and the latest smoke surrounding Florida State transfer Malique Ewin. Nothing is official, and transfer portal recruiting changes by the minute, but things do seem to be trending well for him to commit to Arkansas.
There's also been movement between Arkansas and UCLA transfer center Aday Mara. He averaged 6.4 points and four rebounds per game, but if he comes to Arkansas it would most likely be in a backup role. He only averaged 13 minutes per game for the Bruins a season ago.
Another name that has been linked to Arkansas is South Carolina transfer forward Nick Pringle. The Hogs have been in contact with him since March 26, and sources have indicated to HawgBeat he's a realistic option for Arkansas.
Lamar Wilkerson, a transfer guard out of Sam Houston State, had been in talks with Arkansas for a while, but that talk has gotten quieter and it seems Arkansas is no longer in the race for his services.
The transfer portal world changes by the second, so what's true today may not necessarily be true tomorrow. Be sure to stay tuned to HawgBeat for the latest developments around Arkansas basketball's roster construction.
