All Hogs

Calipari has more than one path to load up on 5-star commitments for class


Arkansas off to great start with pledges from two athletic, top-shelf wings
Kevin McPherson|
Razorbacks coach John Calipari at his introduction to the fans and media at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark.
Razorbacks coach John Calipari at his introduction to the fans and media at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Ark. | Craven Whitlow-allHOGS Images

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Arkansas Razorbacks

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Since coming to Arkansas, John Calipari has consistently talked about taking no more than four high school prospects during any given recruiting cycle.

It's part of his 4-4-2 plan (four freshmen, four retention pieces, and two transfer-portal additions) as part of an annual true two-deep, 10-player roster.

But if you've been tuning into my HogvilleNET YouTube live segments spanning the last couple of months, you'll recall my repeated contention that Calipari just might expand the high school part of that equation to five additions during the current 2026 recruiting cycle.

That theory was born of source information provided to us back in August with the idea that if certain "dominoes fall the right way," Calipari could greenlight a handful of incoming freshmen from the 2026 class.

It was backed up on Tuesday when in an article published by On3 Sports that one of Calipari's coveted 2026 5-star prospects, Caleb Holt, opened up about the Head Hog's recruiting pitch to him.

"Coach Cal flew down last week, came down to see me (on Sept. 27)," Holt was quoted in the article as saying. "Right after they came to see me, they flew down to my dad to meet with him. Coach Cal's been on it.

"You know, he wants me, Smitty (2026 5-star guard Jordan Smith, Jr.), and (2026 5-star guard) Brandon McCoy to come there (Arkansas) and be the dynamic three."

All three of those players have recently taken official visits to Arkansas.

In the event all three pledge to Calipari and the Hogs, it would lift Arkansas' 2026 recruiting class to a total of five commitments.

That's because Calipari got off to a fast start by already earning two top-shelf commitments from a couple of 2026 dynamic wings: 5-star JaShawn "JJ" Andrews and 4-star Abdou Toure.

Andrews (6-foot-6, Little Rock Christian Academy) was the first off the board with his Arkansas commitment in mid-May, followed by Toure (6-foot-5, Notre Dame High School in West Haven, Conn.) who just pledged to the Razorbacks on Oct. 3.

There are also 2026 5-star frontline recruits for whom Calipari and Arkansas remain in hot pursuit of to hopefully win over in the end: Arafan Diane (visited Arkansas weekend of Sept. 19-21), Baba Oladotun (visiting Arkansas Oct. 24-26), and Miikka Muurinen (visited Arkansas in September 2024).

There is a pathway, whether cobbling together three more backcourt or frontline players or some combination of both, for Calipari to get to a five-player high school class in this recruiting cycle.

He could also decide to limit the class to the "three or four" recruits that he's so frequently discussed since coming to Arkansas.

Calipari continues to pursue versatile combo forward from Maryland

As mentioned above, Calipari continues to prioritize 2026 Baba Oladotun  (6-foot-10 combo forward, Blake High School in Silver Springs, Md., national Top 10, 5-star prospect), who for now is the last of seven known Arkansas visitors this fall.

He's scheduled to take an official visit to Arkansas the weekend of Oct. 24-26, which coincides with the Razorbacks' charity exhibition home game against Cincinatti (Friday, Oct. 24) as well as the football Hogs' home game against Auburn (Saturday, Oct. 25).

Oladotun is also planning to visit Kentucky, likely prior to his OV to Arkansas.

Calipari along with associate head coach Chin Coleman have traveled at least twice since Sept. 3 to see Oladotun in his home state of Maryland.

Calipari and other Arkansas coaching staff members were courtside in the spring and summer to watch Oladotun compete on the Nike EYBL circuit.

Oladotun was previously the No. 1-ranked player in the class of 2027 before re-classifying to 2026 in the summer.

He has already visited Virginia Tech (where his father, Ibrahim Oladotun played in the 1990s), his home-state school Maryland, and Georgetown.

Arkansas' on-campus prospect visit dates

• Aug. 29-31 was the recent visit date for 2026 Caleb Holt (6-5 guard, Prolific Prep, native of Huntsville, Ala., national No. 2, 5-star prospect)

• Sept. 5-7 was the recent visit date for 2026 Brandon McCoy, Jr. (6-5 guard, Sierra Canyon in Los Angeles, national Top 5, 5-star prospect)

• Sept. 12-14 was the recent visit date for 2026 HOG COMMITMENT Abdou Toure (6-5 wing, Notre Dame high school in West Haven, Conn., national No. 20, 5-star prospect)

• Sept. 17-18 was the recent visit date for 2026 Tay Kinney (6-2 guard, Overtime Elite, native of Newport, Ky., national No. 12, 5-star prospect), who later committed to Kansas on Sept. 28

• Sept. 19-21 was the recent visit date for 2026 Arafan Diane (7-0 center, Iowa United Prep, native of Guinea, national No. 6, 5-star prospect)

• Sept. 19-21 was the recent visit date for 2026 Jordan Smith, Jr. (6-2 combo guard, Fairfax, Va., national No. 2, 5-star prospect)

• Sept. 24-26 UNOFFICIAL VISIT for 2028 Anthony Spratt., Jr. (6-6 wing, Benton, Ark.)

• Oct. 24-26 Baba Oladotun (6-10 combo forward, Silver Springs, Md., national Top 10, 5-star prospect)

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Kevin McPherson
KEVIN MCPHERSON

Analyst, reporter, and columnist for nearly 40 years in Arkansas, he has covered everything Arkansas basketball and recruiting (football, too). His primary focus has been the Razorbacks. His articles, columns, daily podcasts, and weekly television and radio segments drill down on the Razorbacks and more!

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