The first domino in the 2025 recruiting cycle fell on Friday when five-star point guard Darius Acuff Jr. announced his commitment to Arkansas during a ceremony broadcast on the 247Sports YouTube channel. Acuff chose John Calipari and the Razorbacks over fellow finalists Kansas and Michigan.
A product of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, Acuff ranks as the No. 4 overall player and the top-ranked point guard in the 2025 cycle, per 247Sports. His commitment to Arkansas marks a monumental recruiting win for the program; he is the second highest-ranked player to commit to Arkansas in the 247Sports era behind Nick Smith Jr. — the No. 1 overall player from the 2022 recruiting class.
Acuff’s pledge marks Calipari’s first high school commitment at his new stomping grounds that wasn’t previously committed to Kentucky. Arkansas signed four-stars Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond — all of whom were previously committed to Kentucky before Calipari took the vacant job in Fayetteville — to finish with the third-ranked recruiting class in the 2024 cycle behind Duke and Rutgers.
Acuff took an official visit to Kentucky last October when Calipari was still running the ship in Lexington and took official visits to all three finalists this past spring before making a final decision.
Calipari, Bill Self and Dusty May — the coaches of the three finalists — got one final look at Acuff during the Nike Peach Jam earlier this month in Augusta, Georgia. Arkansas emerged as the favorite in the days leading up to his commitment, receiving two crystal balls for Acuff 24 hours before the announcement official.
