Arkansas Razorbacks in Top Eight for No. 1 SF in 2027 Class

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach John Calipari has the Razorbacks in firm position once again to land one of the nation's top prep prospects in the country in 5-star Demarcus Henry.

The No. 1 small forward prospect in the 2027 class trimmed his list of 29 offers to eight finalists Monday, he announced on his YouTube channel. Teams considered as main contenders for Henry are Arkansas, BYU, UConn, Louisville, Ohio State, Kentucky, North Carolina and Kansas.

The 6-foot-8, 200 pound wing is the younger brother Chris, who signed with Ohio State as a member of the 2026 class. Their father is the late Chris Henry, Sr., who played for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Arizona Compass Prep forward DeMarcus Henry (15) against Spire Institute (OH) during the HoopHall West Tournament at Skyline High School. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Henry was offered by the Razorbacks in May following a 25-point breakout performance in Nike EYBL Session II play in Memphis. A standout at Compass Prep in Chandler, Ariz., he averaged over 16 points, 13 rebounds, three blocks, two assists, and one steal per game as a junior.

"My recruiting journey is going great," Henry said. "I've prayed for it, so I'm just grateful to have that problem, but yeah, right now I have 29 offers, and be able to be in the position, like I'm just so grateful, so grateful. I never thought I would able to just pick out of the schools like I dreamed of going to.

"I just want to say thank you to all the schools that recruited me. Having just one offer was a dream of mine, and just to be able to go to college for basketball, it's just a great opportunity. I just want to say thank you [coaches] for just believing in my talents, and just like believing that I can play at your schools. But I've just got to do what I've got to do which is just narrow it down. But I'm just very grateful for you [coaches] for always reaching out to me and letting me know how you think I'll fit at your schools."

Other programs to offer Henry were Gonzaga, Stanford, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Washington, Vanderbilt, USC, Oklahoma State, LSU, Oregon and many more.

Henry has seen his stock rise over the spring and summer, which includes a standout performance at the NBPA Top-100 Camp where he earned first team honors after leading the event with 20 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game.

He was also a member of Team USA 18U squad that finished the tournament with a silver medal.

A consensus top five prospect, Henry currently ranks No. 5 nationally, No. 1 among small forwards and No. 2 among Arizona recruits, according to Rivals Industry Comparison.

The Razorbacks have offered a total of 11 prospects in the 2027 class along with Henry, a list that also includes overall No. 1 prospect Marcus Spears, Jr., No. 2 Beckham Black, No. 3 CJ Rosser, No. 7 Lewis Uvwo, No. 8 King Gibson, No. 21 Davion Thompson (Arkansas commit), No. 27 Anderson Diaz (Alabama commit), No. 32 Devin Cleveland, No. 42 Tyrone Jamison, and No. 55 Caleb Ourigou.

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