One of the top prospects in the 2025 recruiting class is no longer considering John Calipari and Arkansas. Will Riley, a composite 5-star forward and the No. 21 player in the country, made a major change to his top five list and replaced the Razorbacks with Illinois.
This past weekend, Riley wrapped up an official visit with Brad Underwood and the Fighting Illini, which was enough to leapfrog the Hogs after including them in his original list back on April 24. The rest of Riley’s top five — Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky and the NBL’s New Zealand Breakers — remained unchanged.
Riley was originally offered a scholarship by former Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman. At Kentucky, Calipari and staff had already been heavily recruiting Riley, so there wasn’t significant ground to made up after the coaching changes in April.
One important detail of Riley’s recruitment could provide some context behind Monday’s news. Former Kentucky assistant, Orlando Antigua, is now at Illinois on Underwood’s coaching staff. Antigua served as Calipari’s top assistant with the Wildcats last season and has a strong relationship with Riley from recruiting him while in Lexington.
While the Razorbacks may not be in the running for Riley, they are very involved with other top 2025 recruits. Here’s a closer look at three names in next year’s class to keep an eye on moving forward.
Darius Acuff Jr. | 6-3, 180, CG | 5-star, #4 OVR, #1 PG
Razorback fans should be familiar with Acuff after the talented guard took an official visit to Arkansas just two weekends ago after a scholarship offer in mid-April. Acuff is the top point guard prospect in the 2025 class, and currently turning heads on the EYBL 17U circuit, averaging 24.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game on 49/36/88 shooting splits this spring.
The Detroit native’s offer list includes most top programs in the country, but Acuff recently stated he didn’t plan on taking anymore visits following trips to Kansas and Arkansas over the last two months. The Razorbacks and Jayhawks are said to be the two favorites in his recruitment after Michigan, his home-state program, and Kentucky have both lost ground of late.
AJ Dybantsa | 6-9, 200, SF | 5-star, #1 OVR, #1 SF
The consensus No. 1 prospect in the 2025 recruiting class is continuing to turn heads on the grassroots circuits as his recruitment heats up. Dybantsa had a decent showing at the fourth Nike EYBL session in Kansas City this past weekend, including knocking down a buzzer-beating three to secure the win on Friday.
Dybantsa is currently the fourth-leading scorer on the EYBL circuit, averaging 22.5 points to go along with 6.2 rebounds. He’s being pursued by almost every major program in the country, but Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky and North Carolina are said to be most-heavily involved right now. Calipari and the Razorbacks extended an offer to Dybantsa in mid-April and have been making a strong push since.
“I got an offer about a week ago, not even. Cal reached out, Chin [Coleman] reached out and I got an offer,” Dybantsa told 247 Sports National Basketball Director Eric Bossi recently. “He said same ‘brand, different location.’ He said they’re going to keep coaching the same way, keep doing things the same way but it’s just a different location.”
Meleek Thomas | 6-4, 175, CG | 5-star, #9 OVR, #1 CG
Thomas was a major target for Calipari at Kentucky and that interest level hasn’t changed with his move to Arkansas. Arguably the best scorer in the 2025 class, Thomas is a consensus 5-star prospect and rated the No. 6 overall player, according to the industry-generated Composite Rankings.
This past weekend at the Kansas City EYBL session, Thomas averaged 21.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.8 steals across five games. His scoring efficiency wasn’t what it has been of late, as he shot 32 of 77 (41.5%) from the floor and 11 of 39 (28.2%) from distance. But his offensive output remained consistent while he produced in other areas of the game.
Calipari and Arkansas are serious contenders in the recruitment of Thomas after offering him a scholarship on April 19. The Midland (Pa.) native is set to take an official visit to Fayetteville on June 25-27. The Razorbacks are battling Auburn, Connecticut, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Miami and a host of others, but they remain in a very good spot for Thomas.
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