The Arkansas basketball program has received its first commitment in the class of 2025, as five-star point guard Darius Acuff Jr. announced his pledge to the Razorbacks on Friday.
A 6-foot-2, 170-pound Michigan native, Acuff is ranked as the No. 9 overall prospect in his class and is viewed as a potential one-and-done prospect once he makes it to campus. He chose the Hoop Hogs over Kansas and Michigan, and also held offers from Alabama, UConn, Houston, Kentucky, Ohio State, St John's and more.
As a member of the FIBA U18 Team representing the United States, Acuff started all six games and collected MVP and All-Star Five honors after averaging a team-high 17.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG and 4.0 APG in 24.2 MPG.
Acuff's best outing came in the final against Argentina, when he recorded 26 points, six rebounds and nine assists.
The five-star also played in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) Peach Jam Invitational to conclude the circuit season. He averaged 20.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field, 42.9 percent from three and 80.8 percent from the free throw line.
Following Acuff's commitment, Arkansas has signed at least one five-star prospect in three of its last four high school classes. Nick Smith Jr., Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh were all part of the 2022 class, while head coach John Calipari flipped 2024 five-star Boogie Fland away from Kentucky.
Prior to Arkansas' unbelievable recruiting stretch, the Hogs only managed to lock down three five-star recruits (Olu Famutimi, BJ Young and Bobby Portis) since Rivals started tracking recruiting in 2002. That doesn't include Al Jefferson, who committed to Arkansas but went straight to the NBA out of high school.
Arkansas is still in play for a number of the best recruits in the 2025 class, many of which are ranked in the top 15 nationally. Be sure to follow along at The Trough premium message board for updates on all the offseason action.
