Calipari, Razorbacks staff free to hit road to see prospects starting today

Look for Arkansas coaches to criss-cross continental 48 states to visit recruits and won't be wasting any time

New Arkansas Razorback offer JJ Andrews from Little Rock Christian drives in the lane in the Class 4A state championship game in March at Hot Springs against the Farmington Cardinals. | Tommy Land-HighSchoolonSI.com

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas coach John Calipari has been ready and set, now it's time to go!

That's because the start of the NCAA's "recruiting period" is today (Wednesday, Sept. 3), and it runs through April 30, 2026, with only a few days sprinkled in within that same time span that will count as "dead periods" (a.k.a non on- or off-campus visits or in-person contacts).

So starting now, it's time to get off campus and hit the road to see recruits at their high schools, at high school practices, and during in-home visits.

Calipari was in Memphis on Tuesday to promote the upcoming Arkansas-at-Memphis charity exhibition game in late October, and Memphis was as good a launching pad as any for the Head Hogs' road recruiting trek that officially begins today.

Where does coaching staff start going immediately

A combination of multiple sources told us to look for Calipari to venture out to see Arkansas' 2026 priority targets JaShawn "JJ" Andrews, Jordan Smith, Jr., Baba Oladotun, Caleb Holt, Arafan Diane, Tay Kinney, Brandon McCoy, Jr., Abdou Toure, Cole Cloer, and Chase Foster at some point this week and into early next week. 

All 10 of those prospects have either visited Arkansas (Andrews and Holt) or plan to visit Arkansas in the coming days and weeks.

A couple of sources indicated Calipari would likely start with east coast destinations on Wednesday, which would mean likely stops to see the aforementioned Smith, Oladotun, Holt, Cloer, Foster, Kinney, and Toure.

Diane's guardian, Alex Victor, on Tuesday told us that the Razorbacks coaching staff currently has plans to travel to Iowa United Prep to See Diane on "either Sunday (Sept. 7) or Monday (Sept. 8)."

Diane is among several Razorbacks recruiting targets located in the midwest United States, while McCoy is one example of several Arkansas prospects who play on the west coast. McCoy will play at Sierra Canyon in the Los Angeles, Calif., area this season.

Another source told us that Calipari is likely to do an in-home visit this week with Andrews (6-6 wing, Little Rock Christian Academy, national No. 4, 5-star prospect), who visited Arkansas in December 2024, committed to Calipari and the Razorbacks in mid-May 2025, was honored as the 2024-25 Gatorade Arkansas High School Player of the Year, was named MVP of Nike EYBL Peach Jam in late July, is a two-time Peach Jam champions, and is a two-time 4A state champion in Arkansas.

As a reminder, visit plans, whether that's coaches going on the road or prospects coming in for official or unofficial on-campus visits, are subject to change and frequently do change.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach John Calipari during NCAA Tournament West Regional Practice at Chase Center. | Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

Here's what Arkansas' current on-campus prospect-visit-dates list looks like:

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

• Sept. 19-21 Arafan Diane (7-0 center, Iowa United Prep, native of Guinea, national No. 6, 5-star prospect)

• Sept. 19-21 Jordan Smith, Jr. (6-2 combo guard, Fairfax, Va., national No. 2, 5-star prospect)

• Sept. 26-28 Tay Kinney (6-2 guard, Overtime Elite, native of Newport, Ky., national No. 12, 5-star prospect) 

• Oct. 3-5 Cole Cloer (6-7 small forward / wing, native of Hillsborough, N.C., national Top 25 prospect)

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

• Dates TBA (confirmed already finalized) Abdou Toure (6-6 wing, Notre Dame high school in West Haven, Conn., national No. 20, 5-star prospect)

• Dates TBD (may already be finalized) Brandon McCoy, Jr. (6-5 guard, Sierra Canyon in Los Angeles, national Top 5, 5-star prospect)

• Dates TBD (may already be finalized) Chase Foster (6-8 forward, Baltimore, Md., national No. 38, 4-star prospect)