ESPN: a top target for Arkansas basketball.

A top prospect for Arkansas basketball in the 2025 recruiting class declared on Tuesday that he will be transferring to play his final season on the varsity team.

In the 2025 recruiting class, a top target for Arkansas basketball coach John Calipari is in the process of moving. Meleek Thomas, a five-star prospect and the cycle’s sixth-best composite player overall, said on Tuesday that he will play his senior year of high school basketball with Overtime Elite (OTE).

The guard, who weighs 175 pounds and is 6-4, used to play for Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, Pennsylvania, which is close to Pittsburgh. Jonathan Givony of ESPN reports that Thomas is relocating so he may concentrate more on basketball and his college recruitment.

“Where I’m from, I accomplished everything I needed to,” Thomas said to ESPN. “We took home consecutive state titles. It’s time to be in front of the people you need to be in front of: GMs, scouts, NBA staff. At OTE, your name is made public. Everything they do is global in scope. I would like to see more broadcasts.”

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Thomas would be the second player to select the Hogs following his tenure at Overtime Elite if Arkansas were to sign him. Karter Knox, a freshman forward for the Razorbacks who committed to Arkansas in April, is the first.

Thomas revealed the official dates of his upcoming visits to Arkansas and UConn last week. The Razorbacks and Coach Calipari will host the Pennsylvania native on June 25–27. The gifted young guard has already had one visit with Calipari during the Hall of Fame coach’s tenure at Kentucky, but this will be his first trip to Fayetteville.

Since his days in Lexington, Calipari has made Thomas a top priority, and the coach’s relocation to Arkansas hasn’t affected his degree of interest. Thomas formally stated that the Razorbacks extended a scholarship offer to him on April 19 and that he has been in constant communication with the coaching staff ever since.

The official visit date simply serves to further validate Calipari’s and Arkansas’ status as competitive candidates for Thomas’ recruitment. The Razorbacks are playing a lot of other teams in addition to Auburn, Connecticut, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, and Miami. In addition, he has paid unofficial visits to Villanova, Penn State, and Pittsburgh.

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