Alexander Brown
New Arkansas coach John Calipari landed Kentucky transfer Adou Thiero on Monday from the transfer portal. Thiero is the fifth former Kentucky player or committed player to follow Calipari to Arkansas this offseason.
News of Thiero’s commitment comes days after Calipari signed former Florida Atlantic star Johnell Davis, who is the No. 1 player in the world. CBS Sports Transfer Ratings. The 2023-24 AAC Co-Player of the Year is the second major addition to the transfer portal Calipari has landed in his tenure, joining Tennessee forward Jonas Aidoo. Aidoo is one of the top 2024 transfers in college basketball and was one of the best defenders in the country at his position.
Last month, Arkansas landed a commitment from four-star wing Billy Richmond, who previously signed his National Letter of Intent to play for Calipari at Kentucky.
Richmond is the third member of Kentucky’s star-studded 2024 recruiting class to follow Calipari to Arkansas. Four-star forward Karter Knox was the first to abandon his commitment to Arkansas to play for Calipari. The Knox family has ties to Calipari, as his older brother, Kevin Knox II, played for him at Kentucky during the 2017-18 season.
Calipari’s second high school commitment of the offseason came from another former player in his Kentucky recruiting class. Calipari signed four-star guard Boogie Fland on Thursday. The first commitment of the Calipari era at Arkansas was another familiar face: Zvonimir Ivišić, who played at Kentucky last season.
There is still a lot of work for Calipari and his staff to form a complete roster ahead of the season that begins in less than seven months, but after making the biggest impact of the offseason earlier this month to replace former coach Eric Musselman with one of the preeminent in the sport, the Razorbacks are off to a strong start.
CBS Sports is tracking the status of Arkansas’ roster and recruiting class in real time. This is where all of Arkansas’ current players and commitments are.
EUATSI
Newcomers to Arkansas
Zvonimir Ivišić (transfer from Kentucky)
GP: 15 | GS: 0 | PPG: 5.5 | RPG: 3.3
Although Ivišić didn’t play much during his freshman season, he made an impact when he did. Hours after being ruled eligible by the NCAA on Jan. 20, Ivišić recorded 13 points, five rebounds and two assists in his college debut. Days after Ivišić entered the transfer portal, he announced that he would follow Calipari and had committed to Arkansas. He should have a bigger role in Year 2.
Jonas Aidoo (Tennessee transfer)
GP: 36 | GS: 36 | PPG: 11.4 | RPG: 7.3
Aidoo is one of the most underrated players in the country because he can play at four or five and defend both positions at a high level. Aidoo was one of the best blockers in the SEC last season (1.8 bpg). Aidoo should be in line to be a Day 1 starter for Calipari after starting all 36 games last season for the Volunteers.
Johnell Davis (FAU transfer)
GP: 34 | GS: 34 | PPG: 18.2 | RPG: 6.3
Davis was one of the best midfield players in the country last season. After spending four seasons at FAU, Davis entered the transfer portal and simultaneously declared for the 2024 NBA Draft. Davis will go through the preliminary process this month before making a final decision. If he does indeed return to college, it would be a huge boost for the Razorbacks.
Adou Thiero (Arkansas transfer)
GP: 25 | GS: 19 | PPG: 7.2 | RPG: 5
Thiero entered his name into the transfer portal last month and was the number 77 player available in David Cobb’s transfer portal rankings. Thiero played a larger role during his second season in Lexington, making 19 starts and 25 starts, averaging career highs in almost every statistical category.
Arkansas players not expected to return
Tramon Mark (committed to Texas)
GP: 31 | GS: 28 | PPG: 16.2 | RPG: 4.3
Mark will be at his third school in three years after transferring to the program from Houston last offseason. The 6-foot-1 point guard is coming off the best season of his career and has recorded the most points of his career. Mark has committed to Texas to continue his collegiate career.
Khalif Battle (on transfer portal)
GP: 32 | GS: 13 | PPG: 14.8 | RPG: 3.3
Battle began his career at Butler during the 2019-20 campaign before transferring to Temple. Battle spent three seasons at Temple before spending his only season with the Razorbacks. Battle’s next and final stop in his college career will be his fourth school. He entered the transfer portal earlier this month.
Makhi Mitchell (out of eligibility)
GP: 33 | GS: 5 | PPG: 8.6 | RPG: 4.6
Mitchell averaged 8.6 points and started five games for Arkansas last season. Prior to his arrival in Fayetteville, Arkansas, he made stops in Maryland and Rhode Island.
Trevon Brazile (declared for NBA Draft/entered transfer portal)
GP: 26 | GS: 23 | PPG: 8.6 | RPG: 5.9
Brazile declared for the 2024 NBA Draft after averaging 8.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. Brazile began his career at Missouri before transferring to Arkansas ahead of the 2022-23 season. Brazlie entered the transfer portal hours before the deadline.
Keyon Menifield Jr. (in the transfer portal)
GP: 14 | GS: 4 | PPG: 7.9 | RPG: 2.1
Menifield started 21 games during his freshman season at Washington before transferring to Arkansas. He started four games and appeared in 14 games total. He will be looking for his third school in three years.
Jalen Graham (out of eligibility)
GP: 21 | GS: 5 | PPG: 7.6 | RPG: 3.0
After spending the first three years of his career at Arizona State, Graham transferred to Arkansas. He averaged 7.6 points in his final college season.
El Ellis (out of eligibility)
GP: 31 | GS: 22 | PPG: 6.5 | RPG: 2.0
The former Louisville point guard averaged 17.7 points and 4.4 assists during the 2022-23 campaign. He started 22 games in his final college season at Arkansas and averaged a career-low 6.5 points per game.
Davonte Davis (in the transfer portal)
GP: 30 | GS: 23 | PPG: 5.9 | RPG: 3.4
The former three-star prospect committed to Arkansas in the 2020 recruiting cycle and has spent the past four seasons with the program. The highlight of his career at Arkansas was a 25-point outburst in a win over Kansas in the second round of the 2023 NCAA tournament.
Jeremiah Davenport (out of eligibility)
GP: 31 | GS: 8 | PPG: 5.0 | RPG: 1.8
Davenport spent the first four seasons of his college career at Cincinnati before transferring to Arkansas last offseason. He appeared in 31 games and averaged 5.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists.
Layden Blocker (in the transfer portal)
GP: 27 | GS: 5 | PPG: 3.7 | RPG: 1.6
The former four-star prospect from the 2023 recruiting cycle averaged 3.7 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists during his freshman season in Fayetteville. Blocker entered the transfer portal last month.
Chandler Lawson (out of eligibility)
GP: 33 | GS: 27 | PPG: 3.7 | RPG: 3.1
Lawson was a four-star prospect in the 2019 recruiting cycle and had stops at Oregon and Memphis before spending his final college season at Arkansas. Lawson started 27 games and made 33 appearances in total.
Joseph Pinion (in the transfer portal)
GP: 19 | GS: 1 | PPG: 2.4 | RPG: 0.6
Pinion entered the transfer portal after playing in 19 games last season with Arkansas. He has made 26 appearances during the 2022-23 campaign.
Baye Fall (in the transfer portal)
GP: 9 | GS: 0 | PPG: 0.8 | RPG: 1.3
Fall entered the transfer portal after making nine appearances last season. Fall was the No. 29 player overall in 247Sports’ 2023 recruiting cycle.
Denijay Harris (in transfer portal)
GP: 11 | GS: 1 | PPG: 0.6 | RPG: 0.8
Harris entered the transfer portal after appearing in 11 games last season. He spent the previous three years at Southern Miss.
Arkansas recruits are no longer committed
#45 Isaiah Elohim (committed to USC)
The former Arkansas signee requested the release of his National Letter of Intent shortly after Musselman took the USC job. Elohim committed to USC on Monday.
#72 Jalen Shelley
Like Elohim, Shelley left Arkansas shortly after the coaching change. Shelley has been committed to the Razorbacks since high school at Louisville, Alabama, Creighton, Houston and more. He is expected to have many suitors for his services because he is one of the most uncommitted players on the board.
New Arkansas recruiting class
Kentucky has finished in the top five recruiting classes in every cycle since 247Sports began tracking team rankings in 2010 under Calipari. The Wildcats landed the No. 1 recruiting class in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2020 and 2023 under his watch. But in an era where age and experience dominate college basketball, relying so much on one-and-done prospects has started to hurt Kentucky in recent seasons. Kentucky’s star-studded 2024 recruiting class trailed only Duke in the team rankings. Most of Calipari’s former Kentucky commitments are expected to at least take a look at Arkansas before deciding where they will play next season.
Here’s a look at Arkansas’ list and entry recruitment class with 247Sports ratings.
#20 Karter Knox (previously committed to Kentucky)
Knox committed to Kentucky on March 9 for Louisville, USF, and a return to Overtime Elite. He was the highest-rated high school player on available advice after former Indiana signee Liam McNeeley requested release from his NLI. Knox’s brother, Kobe, is a current USF player. Former Kentucky assistant coach Kenny Paynenow on Calipari’s staff at Arkansas, helped recruit Kevin to Kentucky and tried to recruit Karter to Louisville before his firing.
#22 Billy Richmond (Previously committed to Kentucky)
Richmond committed to Kentucky on December 21 over Alabama, LSU and Memphis, but disabled on April 16. The Richmond family has deep ties to Calipari. Richmond’s father, also named Billy Richmond, played for Calipari at Memphis from 2002 to 2004. Richmond is considered an athletic lefty with a chance to make an immediate impact when he steps onto campus this fall at Arkansas.
#26 Boogie Fland (formerly committed to Kentucky)
The McDonald’s All-American is one of the best combo guards in the country and trails only Rutgers signee Dylan Harper as the best player at the position. Fland originally committed to Kentucky over Alabama, UConn, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina and St. Fland followed Calipari to Arkansas and will play for the Razorbacks this season.
