Former Top Recruit D.J. Wagner Transfers From Kentucky to Arkansas, Following John Calipari

The guard averaged 9.9 points and 3.3 assists per game in his freshman year for the Wildcats.

D.J. Wagner / Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

One of the nation's former top recruits is following his former head coach via the transfer portal. On Sunday, Richard Davenport of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported D.J. Wagner was heading to Arkansas from Kentucky hot on the heels of John Calipari.

The news makes Wagner the sixth former Kentucky player or prospect to join the Razorbacks after the Calipari hire.

Wagner entered the transfer portal in April after his freshman season, during which he averaged 9.9 points and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 40.5% from the field. As a high schooler he was heralded as one of the best prospects in the country and entered college ranked No. 4 on ESPN's Top 100 list.

The son of Dajuan Wagner, the 6-foot-4 combo guard showed glimpses of why he was so hyped during the 2023-'24 season. There were dashes of an electric scoring ability and his athleticism was obvious. But the consistency never came as the season went on and Wagner ended up with subpar stats on what was ultimately a subpar Wildcats squad.

Wagner will now attempt to rebuild his NBA stock at Arkansas under Calipari once more. He's been marked as a future lottery pick for years at this point, but Wagner's freshman season called that into serious question. Not a lot went right for anyone at Kentucky last year, admittedly, so perhaps a change of scenery is just what Wagner needs.

He'll get it now. It's a new era in Fayetteville.