How will Calipari taking the job at Arkansas affect the incoming freshman class?

How will Calipari moving to Arkansas affect Texas A&M basketball?

John Calipari, who has been at the helm of the Kentucky Basketball program for the past 15 years, has announced via his Twitter he will not be returning to Lexington next year.

It is rumored that Calipari is the favorite to become the next head coach at Arkansas after Eric Musselman took over the USC program. Calipari had the second best recruiting class for 2024, and it'll be interesting to see what all of those recruits decide to do. Will they follow Cal? Will they re-open their recruitment? Will they stay at Kentucky?

This could also mean that the Aggies could target some of those players that might re-open their recruitment. According to 247Sports, the Wildcats have the #2 recruiting class for 2024. Let's take a look at each one of them.

Incoming Freshmen:

Somto Cyril
Position: Center
Height: 6'10
Previous Stop: Overtime Elite
Cyril has signed his National Letter of Intent, but if a player wishes, they may ask for a release from their NLI. While Cyril had a lot of interest in other SEC schools prior to his commitment to Kentucky, Texas A&M basketball was not one of them. I can't imagine where Buzz targets Cyril, but you never know. As of today, Cyril is still headed to Kentucky.

Travis Perry
Position: Point Guard
Height: 6'2
Previous Stop: Lyon County High School
Perry is another guy who has already signed his NLI. The Kentucky native commited to Kentucky last year. He won the State Championship and was awarded the Tournament MVP his senior year. He also had interest from other SEC schools prior, but again A&M was not one of them. Personally, I think Perry stays commited to Kentucky.

Karter Knox
Position: Small Forward
Height: 6'5
Previous Stop: Overtime Elite
Big news for Knox is that he just decommited to Kentucky after news broke out that Calipari will be heading to Arkansas. Interestingly enough, Arkansas was one of the schools that was interested in him prior. I see him following Cal to Fayetteville.

Boogie Fland
Position: Point Guard
Height: 6'2
Previous Stop: Archbishop Stepinac
Fland made his commitment to Kentucky back in October of 2023. He was the #1 ranked point guard and had interest for a number of big time schools—again, A&M not being one of them. As of now, he has made no announcement regarding his plans to ask for a release from his NLI, so it'll be interesting to see what happens. I think it is possible he goes elsewhere.

Billy Richmond
Position: Shooting Guard
Height: 6'5
Previous Stop: Camden
Richmond has not yet signed his NLI, but verbally commited to Kentucky back in December of 2023. His final four schools were Memphis, Alabama, and LSU. I think it is possible we see a decommitment for Richmond, but we'll have to wait and see.

Jayden Quaintance
Position: Center
Height: 6'9
Previous Stop: Word of God Christian Academy
Quaintance has signed his letter of intent and I think it is definitely possible we see him follow Cal. He is one of the most sought-after centers, and has a lot of potential. I'd be surprised if Cal didn't take him.

While it is possible we see some of these guys ask for a release of their NLI, I think the chances are slim that the Aggies acquire any of them if they do. Texas A&M weren't any of the schools that had shown interest to them prior to their commitment to Kentucky, so I don't them changing anything now.

What I will say however, they could target some of the Wildcats in the portal. Those include Aaron Bradshaw, Joey Hart, and Adou Thiero. It is likely they also go with Cal, but we will have to see. If I also had to guess, those three guys probably won't be the only Cats in the portal.