No. 2-Ranked Recruit in Arkansas Commits to UALR, Joins Loaded Little Rock Squad with Big 2025 Hopes

The Benton High star continues to wear the maroon and white, this time at the college level for the UALR Trojans

Benton's Terrion Burgess, the No. 2 ranked boys high school basketball recruit in Arkansas has committed to Arkansas Little Rock. / Tommy Land

Terrion Burgess announced that he was committing to the University of Arkansas-Little Rock (UALR) in an Instagram post uploaded yesterday evening. The 6-9 power forward from Benton had been notably holding out on committing to a school much longer than some of the other players in the class of 2025. Still, the Trojans had reportedly been a front-runner for Burgess since March, according to an article by Andrew Hutchinson with Best of Arkansas Sports.

Burgess was ranked as the #166 overall player in the class of 2025 by 247Sports as well as the #2 player in Arkansas, one spot ahead of Bryant's Kellen Robinson, who is also committed to UALR. Burgess was a 3-star prospect according to 247Sports, holding multiple high-level offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, and Texas A&M, among others.

This past season, Burgess averaged over 20 points per game while leading the Benton Panthers to the 5A state championship, eventually walking away with the title over Maumelle.

The state champion joins a Trojan squad that looks to have another successful season.

The Trojans have Reloaded

UALR went 19-14 in 2024-25, picking up 12 victories in conference play. The Trojans did make it into the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, defeating Tennessee-Martin in the quarterfinals before losing to 1st-place Southeast Missouri State the next day. Despite the early-season exit, as well as the overbearing relevance of the transfer portal, Little Rock brings back a competitive roster for the 2025-26 season.

Jonathan Lawson, who led the Trojans in scoring at 15.4 points per game and earned 1st team All-OVC, is returning, along with the OVC Defensive Player of the Year, Tuongthach Gatkek. KK Robinson, UALR's leading scorer during the 2023-24 season, did not play last season due to an injury, but he is reportedly returning, teaming up with his brother, Kellen.

In addition to Little Rock's freshman commits, the team has landed some solid players through the transfer portal, including Braxton Bayless (7.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists per game at Western Kentucky in 2024-25). They also added Little Rock native and Parkview High School alum Cameron Wallace, who averaged 20.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game at Holmes Community College in Goodman, Mississippi, last season.