LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KAIT/KARK) – As many recognized Memorial Day all across the country, the Arkansas Veterans Affairs hosted its own ceremony in Central Arkansas.

Dozens of families gathered on Monday to honor their loved ones who died while protecting the country.

Director of Veterans Services Gina Chandler told our content partner KARK that moments like this remind people that freedom isn’t free, and each headstone represents someone who paid the price.

“It’s those that remember the true meaning of Memorial Day to remember those that have served,” Chandler said.

Over 50 gold medal families were honored at the ceremony.

You can read more about this story by going to KARK’s website.

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New Arkansas coach John Calipari landed Kentucky transfer D.J. Wagner from the transfer portal Sunday. Wagner is the sixth Kentucky player or committed player to follow Calipari to Arkansas this offseason.

The Wagner family has deep ties to Calipari as D.J.’s father, Dajuan Wagner, played for Calipari when he was the coach at Memphis.

Calipari has landed serval high-profile commitments this offseason, including former Florida Atlantic star Johnell Davis and Tennessee forward Jonas Aidoo. Davis, who ranks as the No. 1 player in the CBS Sports Transfer Rankings, was the 2023-24 AAC co-Player of the Year. Aidoo is one the best 2024 transfers in college basketball and was one of the best defensive players in the country at his position. 

Last month, Arkansas landed a commitment from four-star wing Billy Richmond, who previously signed his National Letter of Intent to play for Calipari at Kentucky.

Richmond is the third member of Kentucky’s star-studded 2024 recruiting class to follow Calipari to Arkansas. Four-star forward Karter Knox was the first to flip his commitment to Arkansas to play for Calipari. The Knox family has ties to Calipari, as his older brother, Kevin Knox ll, played for him at Kentucky during the 2017-18 season. 

Calipari’s second high school commitment of the offseason came from another former player from his recruiting class at Kentucky. Calipari landed four-star guard Boogie Fland shortly on Thursday. The first commitment of the Calipari era at Arkansas was another familiar face in Zvonimir Ivišić, who played at Kentucky last season.

There is still plenty of work for Calipari and his staff to do to form a complete roster ahead of the season that starts in less than seven months, but after making the biggest splash of the offseason earlier this month to replace former coach Eric Musselman with one of the prominent figures in the sport, the Razorbacks are off to a strong start.

CBS Sports is tracking the status of the Arkansas roster and recruiting class in real time. Here’s where every current Arkansas player and commitment currently stand.

Arkansas newcomers

Zvonimir Ivišić (Transfer from Kentucky)

GP: 15 | GS: 0 | PPG: 5.5 | RPG: 3.3

While Ivišić didn’t play a ton during his freshman season, he made an impact when he played. Hours after he was ruled eligible by the NCAA on Jan. 20, Ivišić recorded 13 points, five rebounds, and a pair of assists in his collegiate debut. Days after Ivišić entered the transfer portal, he announced he would follow Calipari and had committed to Arkansas. He should see a larger role in Year 2.

Jonas Aidoo (Transfer from Tennessee)

GP: 36 | GS: 36 | PPG: 11.4 | RPG: 7.3

Aidoo is one of the more underrated players in the country because he can play the four or the five and defend both positions at a high level. Aidoo was one of the top-shot blockers in the SEC last season (1.8 bpg.) Aidoo should be in line to be a Day 1 starter for Calipari after he started all 36 games this past season for the Volunteers.

Johnell Davis (Transfer from FAU)

GP: 34 | GS: 34 | PPG: 18.2 | RPG: 6.3

Davis was one of the best mid-major players in the country last season. After spending four seasons at FAU, Davis entered the transfer portal and simultaneously declared for the 2024 NBA Draft. Davis will go through the draft process this month before making a final decision. If he does indeed return to college, it would be a massive boost for the Razorbacks.

Adou Thiero (Transfer from Arkansas) 

GP: 25 | GS: 19 | PPG: 7.2 | RPG: 5 

Thiero entered his name into the transfer portal last month and was the No. 77 player available in David Cobb’s transfer portal rankings. Thiero saw a larger role during his second season in Lexington, making 19 starts and 25 appearances while averaging career-highs in almost every statistical category. 

D.J. Wagner (Transfer from Kentucky) 

GP: 29 | GS: 28 | PPG: 9.9 | RPG: 1.9

As CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander reported, Wagner opted for a reunion with his old coach after taking visits to Arkansas and USC. Norlander also reported that Wagner “flirted with the idea of playing at Oregon and Florida.” Wagner was one of the top recruits in the country from the 2023 cycle and will spend his sophomore season in Fayetteville.

Arkansas players not expected to return

Tramon Mark (Committed to Texas)

GP: 31 | GS: 28 | PPG: 16.2 | RPG: 4.3

Mark will be at his third school in three years after transferring into the program from Houston last offseason. The 6-foot-6 guard is coming off the best season of his career and posted a career-high in points. Mark committed to Texas to continue his college career.

Khalif Battle (In transfer portal)

GP: 32 | GS: 13 | PPG: 14.8 | RPG: 3.3

Battle started his career at Butler during the 2019-20 campaign before transferring to Temple. Battle spent three seasons with Temple before spending his only season with the Razorbacks. Battle’s next and final stop of his college career will be his fourth school. He entered the transfer portal earlier this month.

Makhi Mitchell (Out of eligibility)

GP: 33 | GS: 5 | PPG: 8.6 | RPG: 4.6

Mitchell averaged 8.6 points and started five games for Arkansas this past season. Before his arrival in Fayetteville, Arkansas, he had stops at Maryland and Rhode Island. 

Trevon Brazile (Declared for NBA Draft/entered transfer portal)

GP: 26 | GS: 23 | PPG: 8.6 | RPG: 5.9

Brazile declared for the 2024 NBA Draft after averaging 8.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game. Brazile started his career at Missouri before transferring to Arkansas ahead of the 2022-23 season. Brazlie entered the transfer portal hours before the deadline.

Keyon Menifield Jr. (In transfer portal)

GP: 14 | GS: 4 | PPG: 7.9 | RPG: 2.1

Menifield started 21 games during his freshman season at Washington before transferring to Arkansas. He started four games and appeared in 14 total games. He will be looking for his third school in three years.

Jalen Graham (Out of eligibility)

GP: 21 | GS: 5 | PPG: 7.6 | RPG: 3.0

After spending the first three years of his career at Arizona State, Graham transferred to Arkansas. He averaged 7.6 points in his final college season.

El Ellis (Out of eligibility)

GP: 31 | GS: 22 | PPG: 6.5 | RPG: 2.0

The former Louisville guard averaged 17.7 points and 4.4 assists during the 2022-23 campaign. He started 22 games in his final college season at Arkansas and averaged a career-low 6.5 points per game.

Davonte Davis (In transfer portal)

GP: 30 | GS: 23 | PPG: 5.9 | RPG: 3.4

The former three-star prospect committed to Arkansas in the 2020 recruiting cycle and spent the last four seasons with the program. The highlight of his Arkansas career was a 25-point outburst in a win over Kansas in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

Jeremiah Davenport (Out of eligibility)

GP: 31 | GS: 8 | PPG: 5.0 | RPG: 1.8

Davenport spent the first four seasons of his college career at Cincinnati before transferring to Arkansas last offseason. He appeared in 31 games and averaged 5.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.9 assists.

Layden Blocker (In transfer portal)

GP: 27 | GS: 5 | PPG: 3.7 | RPG: 1.6

The former four-star prospect from the 2023 recruiting cycle averaged 3.7 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 1.0 assists during his freshman season in Fayetteville. Blocker entered the transfer portal last month.

Chandler Lawson (Out of eligibility)

GP: 33 | GS: 27 | PPG: 3.7 | RPG: 3.1

Lawson was a four-star prospect in the 2019 recruiting cycle and had stops at Oregon and Memphis before spending his final college season with Arkansas. Lawson started 27 games and made 33 total appearances.

Joseph Pinion (In transfer portal)

GP: 19 | GS: 1 | PPG: 2.4 | RPG: 0.6

Pinion entered the transfer portal after appearing in 19 games this past season with Arkansas. He made 26 appearances during the 2022-23 campaign.

Baye Fall (In transfer portal)

GP: 9 | GS: 0 | PPG: 0.8 | RPG: 1.3

Fall entered the transfer portal after making nine appearances this past season. Fall was the No. 29 overall player in the 2023 recruiting cycle by 247Sports.

Denijay Harris (In transfer portal)

GP: 11 | GS: 1 | PPG: 0.6 | RPG: 0.8

Harris entered the transfer portal after appearing in 11 games this past season. He spent the three years before that at Southern Miss.

Arkansas recruits no longer committed

No. 45 Isaiah Elohim (Committed to USC)

The former Arkansas signee requested a release from his National Letter of Intent shortly after Musselman took the job at USC. Elohim committed to USC on Monday.

No. 72 Jalen Shelley

Like Elohim, Shelley de-committed from Arkansas shortly after the coaching change. Shelley committed to the Razorbacks out of high school over Louisville, Alabama, Creighton, Houston, and more. He is expected to have plenty of suitors for his services because he is one of the top uncommitted players on the board.

Arkansas’ incoming recruiting class

Kentucky finished with a top-five recruiting class every cycle since 247Sports started tracking team rankings in 2010 under Calipari. The Wildcats landed the No. 1 recruiting class in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2020, and 2023 under his watch. But in an era when age and experience rule the day in college basketball, relying so heavily on one-and-done prospects began to hurt Kentucky in recent seasons. Kentucky’s 2024 recruiting star-studded class ranked only behind Duke in the team rankings. Most of Calipari’s previous commits at Kentucky are expected to at least give Arkansas a look before deciding where they will play next season. 

Here is a look at Arkansas’ roster and incoming recruiting class with 247Sports rankings.

No. 20 Karter Knox (Previously committed to Kentucky)

Knox committed to Kentucky on March 9 over Louisville, USF, and a return to Overtime Elite. He was the highest-ranked high school player on the board available after former Indiana signee Liam McNeeley requested a release from his NLI. Knox’s brother, Kobe, is a current player at USF. Former Kentucky assistant coach Kenny Payne, now on Calipari’s staff at Arkansas, helped recruit Kevin to Kentucky and attempted to recruit Karter to Louisville before his firing. 

No. 22 Billy Richmond (Previously committed to Kentucky)

Richmond committed to Kentucky on Dec. 21 over Alabama, LSU, and Memphis but decommitted on April 16. The Richmond family has deep ties to Calipari. Richmond’s father, who is also named Billy Richmond, played for Calipari at Memphis from 2002 to 2004. Richmond is considered an athletic lefty wing with the chance to make an immediate impact when he steps onto campus this fall at Arkansas.

No. 26 Boogie Fland (Previously committed to Kentucky)

The McDonald’s All-American is one of the best combo guards in the country and ranked only behind Rutgers signee Dylan Harper for the top player at the position. Fland originally committed to Kentucky over Alabama, UConn, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, and St. John’s. Fland followed Calipari to Arkansas and will play for the Razorbacks this season.

After being sent to 25 homes in just four years, an Arkansas foster child has found his forever home.

Cassie and Bradley Kissinger joined “America’s Newsroom” with their newly adopted son, Luke, 11. 

“I know that this is going to be forever… I never thought that forever was a thing anymore,” he said.

According to the U.S. Administration for Children & Families, 53,700 children were adopted in 2022; 368,500 children were in foster care that same year. The amount of children in foster care has been steadily declining over the previous four years. 

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Cassie said she grew up in a family of fostered and adopted children. This inspired her to adopt a child of her own. When she discovered Luke through his Project Zero video, she “immediately knew that he was ours.” Project Zero is an Arkansas organization that helps waiting children find families. 

After the years in foster care, Luke said he was “shocked” he found his forever home. 

Bradley said they had “no doubt since day one” that Luke would fit into the family. The couple also has a 14-year-old girl and another 11-year-old boy. 

“They’re one of the best brothers and sisters I’ve ever had,” Luke said.

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Luke’s parents’ advice to those looking to foster a child or adopt is, “just go for it.” She said it’s not an easy road to be a foster parent, but it’s even harder for the children. She stresses that children need a stable and loving home as they walk through life. 

The More Than Enough dashboard allows users to discover the foster care situation in their local community. It provides information on children in each county awaiting adoption, children in foster care placement and more. 

Everyone should have a family by their side when they go through life, get married and have their own families, Cassie said. No one should do it alone. 

Cassie Kissinger works for The C.A.L.L. in Arkansas, which aims to recruit foster and adoptive families. Similar organizations exist in states around the U.S. 

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Since it’s been a while since he played a sport, Luke said he’s excited about playing football this summer with his new family.