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Sports Illustrated’s Men’s College Basketball Preseason Top 25: No. 14 Arkansas

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Sports Illustrated’s Men’s College Basketball Preseason Top 25: No. 14 Arkansas


Through Oct. 31, Sports Illustrated will count down its preseason college basketball Top 25 with overviews of each team. Here are the full rankings so far.

John Calipari’s first year at Arkansas started slow but ended with a bang, beating Bill Self and Rick Pitino in the span of three days to make a run to the second weekend before losing a heartbreaker to Texas Tech in the Sweet 16. For a transition year, it’s hard to argue with the results, even if the route to get there was bumpier than expected. 

This year’s Arkansas roster, Calipari’s first with a full offseason to recruit, looks a lot more complete. There’s potential one-and-done talent here, but this isn’t like his Kentucky teams with a new roster every year. In fact, Arkansas returns a higher percentage of its minutes played than anyone in the SEC, with three starters and a fourth key rotation cog back. 

D.J. Wagner hasn’t had the college career many expected given his recruiting pedigree, but he’s a proven starting-caliber option in the backcourt who took steps forward as a sophomore. Trevon Brazile had an uneven start to his season but was at his best when Arkansas was making its run in March. He scored in double figures in seven out of his final nine games, shot 39% from three in that stretch and brought some serious edge on the boards. Karter Knox also finished strong, with 15 points in the win over St. John’s and 20 against Texas Tech. The former five-star looks like a prototypical sophomore breakout guy. 

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The talent injection around that trio is real. Is it enough to get Calipari back competing for national championships? 

PG: Darius Acuff
SG: D.J. Wagner
SF: Karter Knox
PF: Trevon Brazile
C: Malique Ewin
Key Reserves: G Meleek Thomas, W Billy Richmond, C Nick Pringle

Darius Acuff during a high school basketball game.

John Calipari has been recruiting Darius Acuff (5) since Cal was at Kentucky. / David Rodriguez Munoz / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Calipari has long coveted Darius Acuff, a Michigan native who Calipari started recruiting when he was at Kentucky. Acuff is an absolute bucket-getter, and while he’s less shifty than Rob Dillingham was, it’s easy to envision a similar role for him in college. Expect to see the ball in his hands more this season, sliding Wagner off the ball. 

Wagner’s minutes could also get pushed by Meleek Thomas, another five-star who has earned a reputation for being one of the most competitive players in the class. He’s a dynamic off-the-dribble scorer and shotmaker, though that style can sometimes lend itself to inefficiency. Finding shots for all of Acuff, Wagner, Thomas, Knox and Billy Richmond will be a challenge. 

Up front, Calipari added a pair of experienced centers from the portal. Malique Ewin didn’t get a lot of attention playing for a bad Florida State team, but he was quietly one of the most productive bigs in the ACC. He’s a highly effective passer, which should add an interesting element to this Razorback offense. Nick Pringle is a proven SEC big from his time at Alabama and South Carolina. He’s not a huge threat offensively, but he’s a big body who’s effective on the boards and can finish around the rim. That platoon should be a huge upgrade from a physicality standpoint from Jonas Aidoo and Zvonimir Ivisic a year ago. 

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For as much firepower as this Arkansas backcourt has, it features almost exclusively guys who need the ball in their hands to have success. Can players like Acuff and Thomas who’ve spent their entire careers being the best player on their teams all the sudden adapt and defer at times? Even their projected starting center, Ewin, is a guy who commands touches. There’s a real fear here that perhaps the whole might not be as good as the sum of the parts. 

This is the most continuity a Calipari team has had since the 2015 Kentucky squad that went 38–1. No one should be expecting that from Arkansas this year, but it’s not unrealistic to expect the Razorbacks to seriously contend at the top of the SEC. At his best, perhaps Calipari’s top attribute was his ability to get players who all believed they were the best player to buy into a team concept. If he can do that with this ball-dominant backcourt, the Hogs should be back in the second weekend … and could maybe go even further than that this March. 

More College Basketball on Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI’s new college sports podcast, Others Receiving Votes, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.



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Arkansas

Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs now available in Apple Wallet

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Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs now available in Apple Wallet


Arkansans can now present their driver’s licenses and state identification cards on mobile devices using Apple Wallet, state finance officials announced Wednesday.

The Department of Finance and Administration said Arkansans can use Apple Wallet to present their license or ID in person, online and in apps at select organizations, including at more than 250 Transportation Security



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Your Arkansas Driver’s License Can Now Live on Your iPhone

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Your Arkansas Driver’s License Can Now Live on Your iPhone


IDEMIA Public Security North America and the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration’s Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles have launched Arkansas driver’s licenses and state IDs in Apple Wallet, allowing residents to securely store and use their credentials on an iPhone or Apple Watch.

The new feature gives Arkansans the ability to present their identification at participating businesses and venues, at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints in more than 250 airports, and online or within apps when age or identity verification is required.

The launch builds on Arkansas’ ongoing efforts to expand digital identification options. In March 2025, the state introduced the Arkansas Mobile ID app, and officials say adding IDs to Apple Wallet offers residents another secure and convenient way to access their credentials.

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“We’re proud to build on our partnership with the Arkansas DFA’s Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles, expanding on the launch of the Arkansas Mobile ID app in March 2025. The launch of ID in Apple Wallet in the state provides Arkansas residents a new, secure way to store and present their digital credentials, with transparency and control over how their information is shared at the forefront,” said Rob Gardner, CEO, IDEMIA Civil Identity.

To add an Arkansas driver’s license or state ID to Apple Wallet, users can tap the plus sign at the top of the Wallet app on their iPhone, select “Driver’s License or State ID,” and follow the verification process.

Officials say privacy and security were central considerations in the rollout. Information stored in Apple Wallet is encrypted on a user’s device, and users control when and how their information is shared. When presenting an ID, only the information necessary to verify age or identity is provided.

Apple and the Arkansas Division of Driver Services and Motor Vehicles also do not receive information about when or where residents use their digital IDs.

The technology is also designed to make verification easier for businesses. Participating businesses can use IDEMIA’s Mobile ID Verify app to accept and verify mobile IDs directly from an iPhone without requiring customers to hand over their devices or use additional hardware.

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The launch marks another step toward broader adoption of digital credentials in Arkansas, giving residents a secure alternative to carrying a physical driver’s license or state ID while maintaining control over their personal information.

For information on the launch of IDs in Apple Wallet in Arkansas, click here.

READ ALSO: Adam O’Neal Stepping into Chancellor Role at UA-EACC



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Arkansas gymnatics coach Chris Brooks completes staff with hiring of Zan Jones | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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Arkansas gymnatics coach Chris Brooks completes staff with hiring of Zan Jones | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette


New Arkansas gymnastics coach Chris Brooks announced Monday the hiring of Zan Jones to complete his first staff, as well as the promotion of assistants Kyla Ross and Catelyn Branson.

Brooks succeeded his wife, Jordyn Wieber, on April 28 after Wieber stepped down.

Jones joins the Razorback after two seasons as an assistant coach at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. The Pioneers won back-to-back Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics National Invitational Championship titles in 2025 and 2026 with Jones on staff. He has been named a Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association Division II assistant coach of the year three times, including this spring.

Jones also earned Midwest Independent Conference assistant coach of the year in both of his seasons at Texas Woman’s.

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Jones served as the Pioneers’ primary vault and uneven bars coach, and the team set a program record of 49.35 on the bars in March.

An Alabama alumnus, Jones served as a student manager for the Crimson Tide gymnastics team. He served a year at Talladega (Ala.) College in its inaugural season of gymnastics and spent time as a recreational and team coach at Trussville (Ala.) Academy of Gymnastics.

Brooks also promoted both Ross and Branson to the title of associate head coach. Ross, a former UCLA gymnast and Olympic gold medalist as part of Team USA in 2012, started at Arkansas as a volunteer assistant in 2022. Ross helped Arkansas produce program records on the balance beam in back-to-back years before taking over the vault squad, which set a program high 49.675 in 2026. 

The Razorbacks ranked as high as No. 2 on the vault last season and were never lower than No. 7. Senior transfer Morgan Price landed the first 10 in school history on the vault in February.

Branson returned to the Arkansas staff ahead of the 2025 season, helping lead the floor squad. In that time, Branson has led the Gymbacks to two of their top five best floor scores ever and Arkansas has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the country on floor in the last two seasons. In 2026, over 60% of the team’s scores on floor were 9.85 or better.

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Branson served as Lindenwood’s head coach from 2022-24, where she was named 2024 Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association South Central Region Coach of the Year and the Midwest Independent Conference Coach of the Year. She led the Lions to their second consecutive and fifth overall USAG national championship and seventh MIC title in 2024.

Branson had a prior stint at Arkansas from 2020 to 2022, in which time the Gymbacks ranked as high as third on beam and second on floor.



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