Ranking the Contenders: Five-star Meleek Thomas
One of the most versatile guards and celebrated prospects in the 2025 Rivals150, Meleek Thomas says he intends to make an early fall decision. Officially, Thomas is still considering a healthy handful of programs, but his options do not stand on level footing at this late stage in the process.
Today, Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy cuts through the smoke and ranks the actual contenders to land Thomas in order of how likely each is to secure his letter of intent.
Related: Ranking the contenders for five-star Darius Acuff Jr.
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1. UCONN
The Huskies have been in the thick of the race to land Thomas for some time. Still, Arkansas was said to be either level with or slightly ahead of UConn until Thomas visited Storrs in June. Things seemed to shift quickly in the wake of that trip, however, as buzz surrounding a possible commitment emerged.
Thomas has been on record saying he’d like to make his college decision before the start of his senior season and, a couple weeks back, said he intends to finalize his decision “sometime in August or early September.”
The way things are trending, UConn fans should hope for a commitment to arrive sooner than later, as the Huskies seem to have pulled into the lead down the stretch.
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2. ARKANSAS
The Razorbacks shot to the top of Thomas’ list after the program’s hiring of John Calipari back in April but never fully pulled away from the pack. These days, Arkansas looks more likely to land Darius Acuff, a fellow five-star, than it does to land Thomas, who seems to be becoming enamored with defending champion UConn.
The chance of Calipari landing both touted guards is slim to say the least. Stranger things have happened, sure, but it seems like dominoes are falling, and the tea leaves suggest Acuff, not Thomas, will eventually drop down in Fayetteville.
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3. AUBURN
Auburn seemed to have some serious juice in the early stages of Thomas' recruitment. The five-star visited campus last fall and there was a short time where interest between Thomas and Bruce Pearl's coaching staff burned bright. The flame seems to have dimmed in recent months, however, as UConn and Arkansas have separated themselves from the pack.
It’s impossible to rule Pearl and company out completely, but it would shock everyone involved significantly if the Tigers were the pick on decision day.
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4. PITT
Pitt dumped a ton of time and resources into the early stages of Thomas’ recruitment and looked to have a puncher’s chance for the better part of the process. Things seemed to be slowly slipping away from the Panthers starting early this year, however. The death blow may have been dealt shortly before the Pittsburgh-born Thomas announced his intention to leave the Steel City in order to play for the Atlanta-based Overtime Elite League this season.
Thomas is familiar with the hometown school and has a strong relationship with the Pitt coaching staff, but he seems extremely unlikely to choose the Panthers at this juncture.