As Arkansas head coach John Calipari rounded out his roster, he looked towards avenues that had not been pursued at the University of Arkansas. One such avenue was the Division II path, in which Calipari landed junior guard Melo Sanchez from Hawaii Pacific. Sanchez is expected to be on scholarship as a member of the roster for the upcoming season.

With thousands of players in the transfer portal, the move to bring in a player from a lower division is a risky one in terms of productivity, but also has paid off at other programs.

Most recently in the SEC, Auburn added Chad Baker-Mazara from the junior college ranks at Northwest Florida State. Baker-Mazara averaged 10.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.2 points on an NCAA Tournament team for the Tigers last year.

Can Sanchez — a 6-foot-4, 185-pound guard — have that sort of an impact for the Razorbacks in 2024-25?