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Kings select Acuff Jr. with No. 7 overall pick
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Razorback freshman guard Darius Acuff Jr. was selected in the first round as the 7th overall pick of the 2026 NBA Draft by the Sacramento Kings to become the 48th Razorback drafted in the NBA, the 17th first round pick and 63rd player under John Calipari to be drafted in Cal’s 33 years as a collegiate head coach. Also, with Acuff going seventh overall, Coach Cal now has 30 all-time Lottery picks, passing Mike Krzyzewski for the most by any collegiate coach.
This past season, Acuff starred for the Razorbacks, averaging over 23 points and six assists per game. He set an SEC record with eight weekly and seven freshman of the week honors and one player of the week honor. He also won the SEC player and freshman of the year, was on the All-SEC First Team, All-SEC freshman team, the SEC Tournament MVP, was named a consensus First Team All-American and the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year. He was also a finalist for the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy for National Player of the Year.
Acuff set Arkansas single-season records for most points (845) and most assists (232). His 845 points rank 9th on the SEC single-season list and his 232 assists rank 9th (tied) on the SEC single-season list making him the only player to be on the SEC single-season top lists for points and assists. He joined Pete Maravich as the only players in SEC History to lead the league in scoring and assists in the same season.
Acuff, a Detroit native, was a five-star recruit out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. prior to enrolling at Arkansas for his freshman year.
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Thomas, Brazile selected with back-to-back picks
Arkansas freshman guard Melek Thomas and senior forward Trevon Brazile became the 49th and 50th Razorbacks to be selected in the NBA Draft. The pair went in back-to-back picks in the second round. Thomas was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers at 34th overall and Brazile went to the Denver Nuggets a pick later at 35th overall.
The duo become the 64th and 65th John Calipari-coached players selected in the NBA Draft. They join Acuff to give Arkansas at least three NBA selections in the same draft for the fifth time. The trio join the 2023 class (Anthony Black – 1st, Nick Smith Jr. – 1st, and Jordan Walsh – 2nd), 1992 (Todd Day – 1st, Oliver Miller – 1st, Lee Mayberry -1st, and Isaiah Morris-2nd), 1979 (Sidney Moncrief -1st, Steve Schall-5th, and Marvin Delph – 6th) and 1948 (George Kok – 1st, Melvin McGaha – 3rd, and Alvin Williams – 9th).
Thomas was part of the top freshman scoring freshmen duo with Acuff in Division I in Division I since 2019-20 with 1,424 combined points. If Thomas did not play with Acuff, he would have set the Arkansas record for most points by a freshman with 579. He was named the All-SEC Freshman Team.
Thomas scored 20-plus points nine times including a career-high 30 points in the Razorbacks’ regular season finale against Missouri. He almost repeated his performance against the Tigers in the SEC Tournament Semifinals against Ole Miss, when he dropped 29 points, five assists and five rebounds.
The Pittsburgh native shot an Arkansas-record 48.7% (38-78) from 3-point in SEC games only. He led the team in free throw percentage (84.3%) and steals (57) while ranking second on the team in scoring (15.6 ppg), assists (92) and 3-point percentage (41.6%).
Brazile played four of five of his collegiate seasons at Arkansas, winning SEC Player of the week twice as a Razorback (Dec. 4, 2023, vs Duke and Dec. 15, 2025, vs Texas Tech). He was named to the to the 2026 SEC All-Tournament Team, averaging 14.7 points and 10.0 rebounds with two double-doubles.
Brazile played fantastic basketball to finish the season. Brazile averaged 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds, helping the Razorbacks to a 12-3 record over the final two months of the regular season. During the final four minutes of the SEC Tournament Championship game, scoring eight points in a 12-0 Razorback run, making two 3-pointers and a dunk, while adding a steal, a deflection and a blocked shot.
Brazile broke the 1,000-point barrier for his Razorback career vs Hawai’i in the NCAA Tournament and finished his Arkansas career with 1,029 points (1,195 points for his career). He started 35 of 36 games during his senior season, averaging a career-best 13.0 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds. In addition, he led the team in blocks (58), second in steals (53), and third in three-pointers made (45), shooting 34.1% from range. In the SEC, he ranked 4th in blocked shots (1.61), 4th in defensive rebounds (5.81), 5th in rebounds (7.3), 5th in double-doubles (7), and 11th in steals (1.47).
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After the 2026 NBA Draft:
John Calipari has coached 65 players that have been selected in the NBA Draft which is tied for second with North Carolina’s Dean Smith and is right behind Duke’s Mike Kyrzewski (74) at No. 1. is 65 players selected in the first and second rounds are second all-time to Coach K with 66 players selected.
Coach Cal’s 44 players selected in the first round is second to Coach K, who leads with 46 players selected. After Acuff’s selection at 7th by the Kings in this year’s draft, Calipari has now coached 30 lottery picks, which is the most by a collegiate coach, passing Coach K who has 29.
Calipari has a streak of 19 consecutive seasons with at least one player drafted, which is second to Dean Smith, who had a streak of 23 years in a row. He has had at least three players drafted in a season 12 times.
Arkansas has had 50 players have been selected in the NBA Draft (52 picks as Steve Schall and Marvin Delph were drafted twice). 17 Razorbacks have been selected in the first round.
Arkansas has had 11 players drafted over the last 8 seasons and 16 since 2001. The Hogs have had at least three players drafted in the same season (1948, 1979, 1992, 2023 and 2026).
Following Acuff’s selection, Arkansas has now had eight players become lottery picks. George Kok is the highest Razorback to go in the draft as the 2nd overall pick in 1948 however, Sidney Moncrief is the highest-picked Hog as the fifth overall pick in 1979 in the modern era.
In the lottery era, Anthony Black and Joe Kleine are the highest picks, each were the #6 overall picks. Acuff joins Ron Brewer (1978) and Alvin Robertson (1984) as Razorbacks to be the seventh overall pick.
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