{"id":197140,"date":"2026-05-24T22:49:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T02:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=197140"},"modified":"2026-05-24T22:51:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T02:51:05","slug":"arkansas-adds-to-top-rated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/05\/24\/arkansas-adds-to-top-rated\/","title":{"rendered":"Arkansas Adds To No. 1 Rated 2026 Class With Commitment From 7-Footer, Still Waiting Word On 3 Players"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/coaches\/calipjo99c.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Calipari<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/tag\/ncaa-tournament\/\" target=\"_self\">Arkansas Razorbacks<\/a> strike again. Calipari secured his fifth commitment from the 2026 class with <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/rivals\/maper-maker-178207\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Maper Maker<\/a> announcing his commitment to the Razorbacks on Sunday afternoon via Instagram.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYvEkwCTR4Y\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" data-instgrm-version=\"14\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\">\n<div style=\"padding: 16px;\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYvEkwCTR4Y\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\"background: #FFFFFF; line-height: 0; padding: 0 0; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; width: 100%;\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> <\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 19% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;\"><svg width=\"50px\" height=\"50px\" viewbox=\"0 0 60 60\" version=\"1.1\" xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" xmlns:xlink=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xlink\"><g stroke=\"none\" stroke-width=\"1\" fill=\"none\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\"><g transform=\"translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)\" fill=\"#000000\"><g><path d=\"M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631\"><\/path><\/g><\/g><\/g><\/svg><\/div>\n<div style=\"padding-top: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;\">View this post on Instagram<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"padding: 12.5% 0;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;\">\n<div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin-left: auto;\">\n<div style=\"width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;\">\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DYvEkwCTR4Y\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading\" style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A post shared by Maper Maker (@maper.maker)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>Arkansas Adds to Top Rated 2026 Recruiting Class<\/h2>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"BREAKING: Maper Maker Commits To Arkansas!\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EPhp5BnZ97U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Maker burst onto the recruiting scene at the Pangos <span>All-American Camp in 2024. Despite being rated as a consensus four-star recruit in 2025, the 7-foot Australian chose to attend AUNZ Prep back in Australia this past season, per<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/rivals\/news\/arkansas-lands-commitment-from-australian-prep-prospect-maper-maker\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Keegan Pope of On3<\/a>. He held offers from Arizona State and Oregon coming out of high school.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Maker returned to the US with AUNZ Prep earlier this year to play in a three-day showcase in Mesa (AZ). Maker was impressive throughout the tournament, tossing in 35 points in a win over Arizona Compass.\u00a0 He visited the Fayetteville (Ark.) campus a couple of weekends ago, ultimately choosing the Razorbacks over Syracuse and Memphis.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Maker<span> has a smooth and fluid frame,&#8221;<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.on3.com\/rivals\/news\/pangos-all-american-camp-overall-top-performers-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Rivals analyst Jaime Shaw<\/a> said about Maker. &#8220;He carries great length, and he moves effortlessly around the court. On multiple occasions, he would push the break and finish at the rim. He is a solid rebounder and a good rim protector. &#8220;<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBMF81aB6F\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3500px; aspect-ratio: 3500\/2330;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<h3>Razorbacks 2026 Recruiting Class<\/h3>\n<p>Maker joins a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/04\/27\/fabulous-finish-four-star-forward-chooses-sec-program-why-what-does-it-mean\/\" target=\"_self\">superb Razorbaks 2026 recruiting class<\/a>, which is ranked No. 1 by ESPN and On3.\u00a0 Their 2026 class features five-star recruits Jordan Smith Jr. and Abdou Toure, along with high-level four-star recruits JJ Andrews and Finland&#8217;s <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/international\/players\/miikka-muurinen-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Miikka Muurinen<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span>&#8220;A top-ranked Calipari recruiting class shouldn&#8217;t surprise anyone, per <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/mens-college-basketball\/story\/_\/id\/46535988\/boys-high-school-basketball-recruiting-class-rankings-2026\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ESPN&#8217;s Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi<\/a>. &#8220;He finished with the No. 3 class in 2025, his first full cycle at Arkansas, after consistently competing near the top at Kentucky and Memphis. And with the late-April addition of Muurinen, the Razorbacks will finish the cycle at No. 1.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But beating out Duke for Smith in February is the headline for this Razorbacks class,&#8221; the duo continued. &#8220;Smith is the best guard in the 2026 class, and he can play either backcourt position. He&#8217;s a winner and has proved that on the AAU, high school, and international circuits.<\/p>\n<p>While Smith Jr., Toure, Murrinen, and Andrews are projected to play a big role for the Razorbacks this upcoming season, Maker is considered more of a long-term prospect. Furman transfer <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/cooper-bowser-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Cooper Bowser<\/a>, 7-1 redshirt freshman <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/paulo-semedo-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paulo Semedo<\/a>, Murrinen, and perhaps sophomore<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/isaiah-sealy-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Isaiah Sealy<\/a> are ahead of Maker on the depth chart.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, Arkansas has 11 commitments for 2026-27. The Razorbacks know they won&#8217;t have Darius Acuff Jr., as he is expected to be a high-lottery NBA draft pick. However, they are awaiting decisions on three players.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBjcHVL42e\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3500px; aspect-ratio: 3500\/2586;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<h3>Arkansas Adds to Top Rated Class, Waiting for Official Decisions From Richmond and Thomas<\/h3>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/billy-richmond-iii-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Billy Richmond III<\/a> and <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/meleek-thomas-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Meleek Thomas<\/a> are two of the players whom the Razorbacks are waiting to hear from. Both players are currently mulling whether to stay in the 2026 draft. Richmond, who showed improvement in year two, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/05\/15\/2026-nba-draft-combine-prospects\/\" target=\"_self\">is expected to return to the Razorbacks <\/a>for his junior campaign. Meanwhile, Thomas <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/04\/15\/meleek-thomas-nba-draft\/\" target=\"_self\">projects to remain in the draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ScottTe79668615\/status\/2057849900717494485\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Field of 68&#8217;s Jeff Goodman<\/a>, nine of the 10 NBA executives that he spoke to believe that Thomas should stay in the draft.<\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/malique-ewin-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Malique Ewin<\/a> is the other player who has a decision to make. Ewin is in the transfer portal as he awaits the NCAA&#8217;s decision on whether to grant him an extra year of eligibility. But he may return to the Razorbacks if he gets a waiver. If he does return, the 6-11 center expects to have a major role in the frontcourt.<\/p>\n<p>Ewin started his career at Ole Miss in 2022 and then spent a season at South Plains College (JUCO). He returned to Division I in 2024-25 at Florida State before transferring to Arkansas last season.<\/p>\n<p><span>&#8220;While the door hasn\u2019t completely slammed shut, the Arkansas basketball staff is not currently expecting the Georgia native back in 2026-27, according to a source,&#8221;<a  href=\"https:\/\/www.bestofarkansassports.com\/arkansas-basketball-malique-ewin-quest-left-turn-portal\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Andrew Hutchinson of Best of Arkansas Sports<\/a> said. &#8220;After spending his entire college career in the South, that may be about to change, as it\u2019s believed he\u2019ll land at a Big Ten school if his waiver is approved.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Photo credit: USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks strike again. Calipari secured his fifth commitment from the 2026 class with Maper Maker announcing his commitment to the Razorbacks on Sunday afternoon via Instagram. View this post on Instagram &nbsp; A post shared by Maper Maker (@maper.maker) Arkansas Adds to Top Rated 2026 Recruiting Class Maker burst onto [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3146,"featured_media":197154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,773,2,3],"tags":[779,3772,50379,887,50464],"class_list":["post-197140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-college-basketball","category-featured","category-news","tag-arkansas-razorbacks","tag-college-basketball-recruiting","tag-darius-acuff","tag-john-calipari","tag-meleek-thomas"],"modified_by":"Daniel Benjamin, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=197140"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197140\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":197159,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/197140\/revisions\/197159"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=197140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=197140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=197140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}