While Arkansas and Kentucky currently find themselves at opposites ends of the SEC men’s basketball hierarchy, both the Razorbacks and Wildcats are right next to each other in another important ranking.

The class of 2025 high school basketball team recruiting leaderboard.

Arkansas — which owns a 12-8 overall record and a 1-6 mark in SEC games this season — ranks fourth in the 2025 recruiting rankings, according to the 247Sports Composite.

John Calipari may be struggling to put together on-court results this season in Fayetteville, but the ex-Kentucky coach is still recruiting the high school ranks at an elite level.

Kentucky — which is 15-5 overall and 4-3 in conference games this season — ranks fifth on the team recruiting leaderboard.

Plenty of questions swirled during the summer about Mark Pope’s ability to recruit anywhere near the level Calipari established in Lexington. So far, so good on that front.

Both the Arkansas and Kentucky programs have three signees in the 2025 class, and both will bring in five-star talent later this year. The Hogs and Wildcats also both have at least one McDonald’s All-American as part of their respective 2025 recruiting groups.

Here’s a look at how high school basketball recruiting has gone over the last few months for Calipari at Arkansas and Pope at Kentucky.

John Calipari continues to recruit five-star players to Arkansas

During his 15-season run at Kentucky, Calipari set the gold standard for high school basketball recruiting. The 46 McDonald’s All-Americans that signed with Kentucky out of high school during this time period — including two players that Calipari had lined up as part of his 2024 UK recruiting class — were the most of any school. Calipari’s “one-and-done” recruiting style made UK the go-to destination for elite college prospects.

Starting with the 2009 recruiting class, 75 of 81 (92.6%) total true freshman players who came to Kentucky were four- or five-star recruits. (This group includes two players — Enes Freedom, formerly known as Enes Kanter, and Shaedon Sharpe — who never played for the Cats).

It’s clear that Calipari plans to stick with this formula at Arkansas.

Calipari’s first Arkansas team this season includes four freshmen who were listed in the 247Sports Composite’s final ranking of class of 2024 prospects. The group includes five-star recruits Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond, and three-star prospect Casmir Chavis.

Fland, Knox and Richmond were all UK commits or signees before Calipari left the program.

For 2025, Calipari has three signees who all rank highly across the major recruiting services. The top-ranked future Razorback is shooting guard Meleek Thomas, who is the No. 9 player in the 2025 class. Arkansas will also be bringing in point guard Darius Acuff Jr., the No. 11 player in the class, and small forward Isaiah Sealy, an in-state recruit who ranks as the No. 73 prospect.

Both Acuff and Thomas were UK recruiting targets when Calipari was in Lexington, and both players were named McDonald’s All-Americans this week.

All together, the trio of Thomas, Acuff and Sealy form the fourth-best high school recruiting class in the country for the 2025 recruiting group. Only Duke, Houston and two-time defending national champion UConn rank above the Hogs.

Mark Pope lands McDonald’s All-American in first recruiting class

Right below Arkansas on the class of 2025 high school team recruiting rankings is Kentucky, with its trio of signees.

The Wildcats have a pair of five-star prospects in the fold, 6-foot-4 guard Jasper Johnson and 6-11 center Malachi Moreno, as well as four-star guard Acaden Lewis, who stands 6-2.

Moreno — an in-state recruit from Georgetown’s Great Crossing High School — was named a McDonald’s All-American =this week. He’s only the 16th player from the commonwealth to earn the Burger Boy distinction since the game began in 1977.

Johnson — a former star at Woodford County High School and the son of former Harrodsburg, UK and NFL football player Dennis Johnson — is considered to be one of the biggest omissions from this year’s group of McDonald’s All-Americans. Johnson is closing his prep career at the Overtime Elite program in Atlanta.

Lewis is from Washington D.C., and he represents the first high school prospect that Pope successfully recruited to UK without any previous connections to the commonwealth. Lewis committed to UK over a group of final schools that also included Duke and UConn, with Pope’s personal recruiting approach being a major factor in his decision.

Johnson is the highest ranked of Kentucky’s three signees, according to the 247Sports Composite. Johnson is ranked as the No. 18 recruit in the 2025 class. Moreno is the No. 26 prospect. Lewis is the No. 30 recruit.

Moreno is the lowest ranked five-star prospect in the 2025 class.

Individually, each of these players represents the biggest high school recruiting victory of Pope’s college head coaching career.

During the nine seasons Pope spent coaching Utah Valley and BYU, the top-ranked recruit he landed was current UK freshman guard Collin Chandler, who finished as the No. 37 prospect in the 2022 class before taking a two-year mission trip.

Nate Ament is still being recruited by both Arkansas and Kentucky

The Hogs and Wildcats may not be done with their 2025 high school recruiting classes yet, either.

Both schools are still in contention to land five-star power forward Nate Ament, who is the highest-ranked prospect in the 2025 class yet to commit. The 6-9 Ament is the No. 4 recruit in the 2025 class.

He’s working with a top-11 list of schools that includes, in full: Alabama, Arkansas, BYU, Duke, Georgetown, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Notre Dame, Tennessee and Texas.

Ament has yet to take a recruiting visit to either Arkansas or Kentucky, but he visited Tennessee on Tuesday night and watched the Wildcats score an upset win over the Volunteers in Knoxville.

How much is Mark Pope making this season? What about Calipari? Contract details for both.

It’s a free country, but there is no rational reason for UK fans to boo John Calipari

Here’s what Kentucky basketball must do to spoil John Calipari’s return to Rupp Arena

Is Adou Thiero entering ‘enemy territory’ in return to Rupp? It’s not the way he sees it

Rick Pitino asks Kentucky basketball fans to give John Calipari a standing ovation

Before an awkward night in Rupp Arena, Mark Pope offers his thoughts on John Calipari

How has Zvonimir Ivisic been at Arkansas? Checking in with Big Z before Rupp Arena return.

Mark Pope provides injury updates for UK basketball after an upset win at Tennessee

How Kentucky cobbled together its biggest win so far. ‘A contribution from everybody’

Five things you need to know from No. 12 Kentucky’s gutty 78-73 win at No. 8 Tennessee

McDonald’s All-Americans named for 2025. Which UK men’s basketball recruit was honored?

Malachi Moreno is a McDonald’s All-American. What’s the history of honorees from Kentucky?