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Is Calipari closing in on Razorbacks' big man commitment for class of 2026?

Originally posted on Arkansas Razorbacks on SI
By Kevin McPherson | Last updated Oct 9, 2025 9:34 PM ET

It may be premature to bank on it, but it's not too soon to wonder if John Calipari is close to securing a pledge from a priority 2026 frontline prospect.

Calipari has Arkansas in great shape with more than a handful of 2026 big men, but it's a list that could be thinning which might suggest the Head Hog is close to landing at least one if not two of his top priorities.

For starters, a source told us Arkansas' coaching staff has gone for more than a week without making any contact with the 7-foot Ratliff twins, 4-star prospects Adonis and Darius, of Archbishop Stepinac (NY).

That may not sound like a smoking gun that Calipari and his staff have cooled on the talented duo, but the timing is very odd given the early signing period is just a month away (Nov. 12-19) coupled with how Arkansas had recently fast-tracked their recruitment.

As a reminder, at least four Hog coaches, including Calipari, had been out to Stepinac to see the twins multiple times since early September, and very recently Calipari extended a scholarship offer to each with the next step to be scheduling visits.

As of now, no Arkansas visits have been locked down for the Ratliffs and the staff has been out of touch with them for more than a week.

Combine that with the probability that 2026 Arkansas target Chase Foster (6-8 forward, IMG Academy) is set to announce a commitment soon (likely to be Pitt, according to a source).

A source told us weeks ago Arkansas had finalized a visit date with Foster, but those dates were never announced publicly, and now it appears Calipari and the Hogs have moved on.

So, of the Razorbacks' six priority frontline recruiting targets in the 2026 cycle, three appear to be (at least for now) off the board leaving three others who all along have been higher priorities for Calipari.

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That trio is Arafan Diane (7-1 center, Iowa United Prep, national Top 10, 5-star prospect); Baba Oladotun (6-10 combo forward, Blake High School, Silver Springs, Md., national Top 10, 5-star prospect); and Miikka Murrinen (6-10 combo forward, Finland native, national Top 10, 5-star prospect).

Could Calipari be in a lead position with any of those three, or a couple of them, at this time and thus poised to land a commitment?

Diane took his official visit to Arkansas over the weekend of Sept. 19-21. He's also visited Kentucky and Virginia with upcoming visits planned to Indiana and then Houston to close out the month.

Houston has been the perceived leader for months with Arkansas running a close second.

Oladotun is slated to take an official visit to Arkansas the weekend of Oct. 24-26, which coincides with the Razorbacks' charity exhibition home game against Cincinnati (Friday, Oct. 24) as well as the football Hogs' home game against Auburn (Saturday, Oct. 25).

He's planning to visit Kentucky the weekend of Oct. 17-19, which is exactly a week prior to his OV to Arkansas.

Oladotun was previously the No. 1-ranked player in the class of 2027 before re-classifying to 2026 in the summer.

He has already visited Virginia Tech (where his father, Ibrahim Oladotun played in the 1990s), his home-state school Maryland, and Georgetown.

Muurinen seems the least likely of the trio to be making a college decision in the near future, if ever.

He recently opted to sign a professional deal overseas instead of returning to the United States to play his high school senior season, but it's unclear when he'll first be eligible for the NBA Draft (2026 or 2027?).

Muurinen visited Arkansas in September 2024 after visits to Michigan and Utah, and he told one of our sources that his Arkansas visit was the best out of the three.

But that was more than a year ago, and since then Muurinen included Arkansas and Michigan (but not Utah) among his Top 7 schools that was announced a couple of months ago.

Calipari got off to a fast start in his 2026 recruiting haul by earning two top-shelf commitments from a couple of dynamic wings: 5-star JaShawn "JJ" Andrews and 4-star Abdou Toure.

Andrews (6-6, Little Rock Christian Academy) was the first off the board with his Arkansas commitment in mid-May, followed by Toure (6-5, Notre Dame High School in West Haven, Conn.) who just pledged to the Razorbacks on Oct. 3.