First-year Arkansas head coach John Calipari has landed his second five-star recruit of the 2025 high school recruiting class, as shooting guard Meleek Thomas announced his pledge to the Razorbacks on Monday.
Thomas was on Arkansas' campus the weekend of Oct. 5 with fellow five-star guard commit Darius Acuff Jr., and both were able to take in the football team's field-storming win over No. 4 Tennessee.
Prior to his commitment decision, Thomas discussed what he was looking for in a school and Arkansas clearly fit most of his criteria.
"The biggest factor in my decision, it will probably be how hard the coach is going to coach me," Thomas said in an interview with Overtime. The play style, I want to do everything that translates to the next level. So, with me in the right positions, coming off the right sets and the right reads, the right actions."
"I'm very family oriented. How are they going to take care of my family? My people got my back forever. I want to play alongside the best as well. Just so I'm getting that competition level, everyday it's battles, everday we got the same mindset."
A Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, native, Thomas has been a priority target of Calipari's for a while, as the Head Hog offered Thomas while he was at Kentucky in April 2023. Calipari didn't relent in his pursuit of Thomas after moving to Fayetteville, and it paid off in a big way.
In addition to Arkansas, Thomas was courted by UConn, Alabama and Pittsburgh, as well as Kansas State, which was a late addition to his recruitment. He had scheduled a visit to Manhattan for the weekend of Oct. 26, but that was later canceled.
Over the summer, UConn was thought to be the leader for Thomas' commitment, but Dan Hurley's program added five-star Darius Adams, which only helped Arkansas' chances, and Calipari won out for the nation's No. 7-ranked player.
Thomas played for Lincoln Peforming Arts High School as a junior but left in June to sign with Overtime Elite, a developmental league that pits the best players in the nation against each other in Atlanta, Georgia.
Playing with the Overtime City Reapers, Thomas averaged 25.3 points, 3,0 assists, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals across three preseason games. He shot 10-of-19 from three (52.6%) and turned the ball over 10 times.
In two regular-season matchups, Thomas has scored 18 and 32 points, respectively, and secured 12 rebounds in both games. The prolific scorer has maintained a high shooting mark from distance (47.1%) and has racked up six total assists. Thomas did miss two recent contests due to an undisclosed injury, however.
