Thomas and Brazile Answer NBA Draft Call in Back-to-Back Picks

FAYETTEVILLE – Arkansas freshman Melek Thomas and senior Trevon Brazile became the 49th and 50th Razorbacks to be selected in the NBA Draft as the pair went in back-to-back picks in the second round. Thomas was picked by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the 34th overall selection and Brazile went to the Denver Nuggets as the 35th overall pick.

They are the 64th and 65th John Calipari-coached players selected in the NBA Draft. They join first-round pick Darius Acuff Jr. to give Arkansas at least NBA selections in the same draft for the fifth time, joining Razorback classes in 2023 (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 scoring freshmen duo (with Acuff) in Division I since 2019-20 with 1,424 combined points. In fact, had Thomas not played with Acuff, he would have set the school record for most points by a freshman with 579. Thomas was tabbed first team NABC All-Southeast District and was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.

Thomas scored 20-plus points nine times including a career-high 30 points in the Hogs’ regular-season finale win at Missouri. He was 10-of-23 from the field, making 5-of-6 from 3-point range, and was 5-of-6 at the line with seven rebounds. He just missed his second 30-point game, getting 29 in the SEC semifinal versus Ole Miss, adding five rebounds and five assists.

The Pittsburgh product shot an Arkansas-record 48.7% (38-78) from 3-point in SEC games only. He was 1 of 3 Razorbacks to play in all 37 games with 21 starts with the 37 games played being a record by a Razorback freshman. 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%). For all games, ranked among the SEC leaders in FG attempts (8th, 467), FG made (10th, 203), steals (10th, 1.54), 3PT attempts (13th, 176), 13th 3PT made (2.22), FG pct (17th, 43.5%) and scoring (18th, 15.6).

Brazile was a two-time SEC Player of the Week (Dec. 4, 2023, vs Duke and Dec. 15, 2025, vs Texas Tech), was named to the 2026 SEC All-Tournament Team, averaging 14.7 points and 10.0 rebounds with two double-doubles, and was tabbed 2026 SEC Defensive Player of the Year by HoopsHD.com. The Springfield, Mo., native is the only Razorback to have 40 3-pointers (45); 40 blocked shots (58) and 40 steals (53) in the same season. In addition, Brazile is one of just two Razorbacks to have 50 steals (53), 50 blocks (58) and 50 assists (56) in the same season.

Brazile closed the season playing his best basketball. Over the final two months and the Razorbacks posting a 12-3 record, he averaged 13.8 points and 8.3 rebounds. Perhaps his best career performance came in the SEC Championship game, which could very well be the best final four minutes in SEC Championship game history. With Arkansas up 2 inside 4 minutes to play, Brazile scored 8 points in a 12-0 Razorback run, with a pair of 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 UA career with 1,029 points (1,195 points for his collegiate career). He played in 36 games with 35 starts in 2025-26, averaging a career-best 13.0 points and a team-best 7.3 rebounds. He also led the team in blocked shots (58) and was second in steals (53) and third in 3’s made (45), shooting 34.1% from deep. 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).

NBA DRAFT NOTES

COACH CAL
65 players have been selected in the NBA Draft
^ currently ties for the 2nd-most by a coach … Mike Krzyzewski is 1st (74) and Cal ties Dean Smith for 2nd (65)
^ His 65 players selected in the 1st and 2nd Rds are 2nd all-time … Coach K leads with 66
44 players selected in the 1st Rd
^ 44 1st rounders are 2nd all time … Coach K leads with 46
30 Lottery Picks
^ the most by a collegiate coach, passing Coach K (29)
Streak of 19 consecutive seasons with at least one player drafted
^ Streak is 2nd all time .. Dean Smith leads with 23
^ Best active streak
^ The only coach to ever have a streak of 19 consecutive years having at least one player taken in the 1st or 2nd rounds
Has had at least 3 players drafted in a season 12 times
^ a record 6 players drafted in 2012
^ a record 5 1st rounders in 2010

ARKANSAS
• 50 players have been selected in the NBA Draft (52 picks as Steve Schall and Marvin Delph were drafted twice)
• 17 players selected in the 1st Rd
• Arkansas has had 11 players drafted over the last 8 seasons and 16 since 2001
• Arkansas has had at least 3 players drafted in the same season 5x (2026, 2023, 1992, 1979, 1948)
^ In 1992, 4 players were among the top 37 picks
^ In 2023, 3 players were among the top 38 picks
• Since the lottery started in 1986, Arkansas has had 8 players be Lottery Picks
• George Kok is the highest Razorback to go in the draft as the 2nd overall pick in 1948
• In the modern era, Sidney Moncrief is the highest-picked Hog as the #5 overall pick in 1979
• 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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