By JAMES MADDEN
Arkansas star guard Meleek Thomas will remain in the 2026 NBA Draft and will forgo his remaining eligibility to play for the Razorbacks, the DraftExpress first announced on Thursday.
According to Tankathon, Thomas is a projected late first-round pick, with the Dallas Mavericks projected to select the Arkansas product.
A 6-foot-5 guard from Pittsburgh, Thomas originally declared for the 2026 NBA Draft right after the season.
During his freshman year, Thomas averaged 15.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, while shooting 41.6% from three-point range.
The deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft was Wednesday night, but with Thomas remaining the only player left without making an official announcement, it was announced early Thursday morning that he’ll remain in the draft.
With Arkansas seeing three of its players enter the draft this year, just one will now return, as Billy Richmond III announced his intentions to play for the Razorbacks next season.
Aside from Richmond, Arkansas is also bringing in elite high school talents in Jordan Smith Jr., Abdou Toure, JJ Andrews and Miikka Muurinen, who will look to fill the void left by Thomas as he was one of the nation’s top scorers this season.
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