In his first day on the job with Arkansas basketball, Hall of Fame head coach John Calipari told his new fan base that he doesn’t use social media.
On Thursday, Calipari caused an internet fervor by announcing the return of three Razorbacks on his personal ‘X’ account.
D.J. Wagner, Trevon Brazile and Billy Richmond III will all return to school for the 2025-26 season, sending personal messages announcing their decisions.
“I just met with the team, and there is a team this year,” Calipari said. “So let me go over some of the roster. What we’re doing, who’s going to be here. We’re not quite finished, but I’m feeling really good about this group.”
From there, all of the returnees, freshmen and transfer portal signees appeared in the video, one-by-one saying “I’m all in.”
Calipari then said he agreed with Karter Knox’s decision to test the NBA draft process. The true freshman announced that intention earlier in the day.
Wagner struggled to find a defined role through the first two months of the season, ceding point guard duties to freshman Boogie Fland.
But a thumb injury to Fland forced Wagner to become the full-time floor general, and the move unlocked the Razorbacks. Arkansas went 11-7 in its final 18 games and rallied to make the NCAA tournament. Wagner finished the season averaging 11.2 points, 3.6 assists and 2.7 rebounds on 40.1% shooting.
Wagner was exceptional down the stretch. He was a capable scorer near the rim and provided clutch moments both in the postseason and as the Hogs built their tournament résumé. He scored a season-high 24 points in the regular-season finale against Mississippi State. In the reunion victory over Kentucky, Wagner had 17 points and eight assists.
Brazile finished the season averaging 6.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, but those stats don’t accurately describe the 6-foot-10 forward’s impact on the Hogs’ late-season turnaround.
Across the final nine games of the season, Brazile averaged 11.3 points and 9.1 rebounds while shooting 40% on 3-pointers. He had double-doubles in key wins over Vanderbilt and Mississippi State to secure the Hogs’ spot in the NCAA Tournament. Once there, he scored 11 points and snagged 12 rebounds in a first-round win against Kansas.
Richmond did a little bit of everything in his first season of college basketball. He was the Hogs’ backup point guard throughout most of the season and provided plenty of highlight-worthy dunks in transition. He was also a capable defender, and Richmond finished the year averaging 5.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game on 52.3% shooting.
Jackson Fuller covers Arkansas football, basketball and baseball for the Southwest Times Record, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at jfuller@gannett.com or follow him @jacksonfuller16 on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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