John Calipari and the Arkansas Razorbacks are coming off a strong 2025-26 men’s college basketball season. Arkansas ended the season 28-9, finishing No. 2 in SEC conference play (13-5) behind the Florida Gators (17-3). Star freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. was Calipari’s top general all year, averaging 23.5 points per game, 3.1 rebounds and 6.4 assists while shooting 44.0% from behind the arc.
The Razorbacks had a respectable run during March Madness, making it to the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Arkansas’ season came to an end after losing to Tommy Lloyd and his No. 1-seeded Arizona Wildcats, 109-88.
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With senior forward Trevon Brazile (13.0 points per game) graduating, Acuff Jr. appearing likely to enter the 2026 NBA Draft and Arkansas’ other star freshman, Meleek Thomas (15.6 points per game), already declaring early for the draft, Calipari will be without his three top scorers from last season.
Malique Ewin is a forward who was fifth on the team in scoring (9.8 points per game) last season. The Berkmar High School graduate originally committed to the Ole Miss Rebels, arriving as a top-100 recruit by 247Sports Composite rankings in the 2022 class. After spending one season in Oxford, the 6-foot-10 forward transferred to South Plains Community College, spending a season in Levelland, Texas.
Ewin leveraged his No. 1 junior college player ranking by 247Sports into a stint with the Florida State Seminoles. The big man spent 2024-25 playing in Tallahassee before joining Calipari and his Razorbacks. Ewin shot an efficient 59.7% from the field, secured 5.7 rebounds and swatted 1.1 blocks in 21.0 minutes per game in Fayetteville.
On Tuesday, On3’s Joe Tipton reported that the three-time Naismith College Coach of the Year Award winner will be without Ewin next year, as he is entering the 2026 NCAA men’s college basketball transfer portal. He enters the portal with a “do not contact” tag, implying that he has already found his home for the 2026-27 men’s college basketball season.
“Arkansas big man Malique Ewin is entering the @TransferPortal,” Tipton wrote on Instagram. “With a ‘do not contact’ tag, he told @On3. The 6-10 senior averaged 9.8 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 1.1 BPG this season. He will need a waiver to gain an additional year of eligibility.”
The Razorbacks will have to retool for the 2026-27 season if they wish to recreate similar success from last year.
