After entering the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the West Region, John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks made it all the way to the Sweet 16. However, their run would end there, as they lost to the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats 109-88. It's their second straight year losing in the Sweet 16.
After falling short of a national championship, the Razorbacks are looking to build up this offseason. Since taking over as head coach, Calipari has continued to leverage the transfer portal. During his first offseason with Arkansas, he brought in five players via the portal. Three came from his former team, the Kentucky Wildcats.
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Among that group was guard D.J. Wagner. Coming out of high school in the 2023 cycle, he was a five-star recruit and the No. 7 player in the nation, per Rivals Industry Rankings. He chose Calipari and Kentucky over the Memphis Tigers, Temple Owls, Louisville Cardinals and Villanova Wildcats.
Following his freshman year with Kentucky, he transferred to Arkansas, following Calipari. After two years in Fayetteville, his time with the Razorbacks is over. On Monday, On3 reported that Wagner is set to enter the transfer portal, which opens on Tuesday. He will have one more year of eligibility.
After starting 36 games during the 2024-25 season, he saw a dip in playing time this year. Playing in 35 games with 19 starts, he averaged 7.4 points, 2.4 assists and 1.6 rebounds per game, all of which were career lows. He also shot 42.9% from the field and 34.6% from beyond the three-point line.
While Wagner lost some playing time, he was still an effective piece in helping Arkansas make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. He is also the second player the Razorbacks are set to lose through the portal, joining forward Karter Knox.
