Arkansas tipped off the 2025–26 college basketball season with real momentum under Hall of Fame coach John Calipari, but the results never quite matched the hype.
The Razorbacks stayed competitive in the SEC and made a respectable NCAA Tournament run, finishing 28–9 before falling in the Sweet 16, but the team never emerged as a true contender.
Injuries, constant lineup shuffles, and inconsistent guard play defined key stretches of the season, and junior D. J. Wagner was right in the middle of it.
Wagner, a former No. 1 overall recruit and one of the most recognizable names in the 2023 class, had a disappointing year. He appeared in 35 games (19 starts), but averaged just 7.4 points and 2.4 assists in 23.6 minutes per game.
His efficiency improved, especially from three, jumping from 30.4% to 34.6%, but his role shrank in a crowded backcourt alongside consensus All-American Darius Acuff Jr. and fellow five-star talents Maleek Thomas and Billy Richmond III.
By season’s end, Wagner looked more like a complementary piece than the offensive engine many expected when he first arrived in college basketball.
Wagner was a McDonald’s All-American Game co-MVP in 2023 and one of the most coveted guards in the country before committing to Kentucky and later following Calipari to Arkansas.
And now, he’s moving on to his third different program in four years.
In a major transfer portal move, Wagner has committed to Maryland, giving the Terrapins their fifth addition and immediately raising the program’s ceiling heading into the 2026–27 season.
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Maryland endured a brutal reset in 2025–26, finishing just 12–21 (4–16 Big Ten) in Buzz Williams’ first season following a near-total roster overhaul.
Nearly every key contributor from the previous Sweet 16 team was gone, leaving Maryland heavily reliant on new faces and struggling to find consistency.
That explains why the program has been so aggressive in the portal.
Maryland has now added five key transfers in Wagner (Arkansas), Robert Jennings (Oklahoma State), Bishop Boswell (Tennessee), Tomislav Buljan (New Mexico), and Maban Jabriel (Queens).
Buljan, a double-double forward, brings interior physicality after averaging 13.1 points and 10.3 rebounds as a freshman, while Boswell and Wagner directly address last year’s biggest issue: playmaking and perimeter creation.
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That’s five transfers, five rotation-level players, and a clear attempt to overhaul the roster in a single cycle.
The early returns are already notable, with Maryland climbing into the top 10 of 247Sports’ transfer portal rankings.
If Wagner stabilizes the backcourt, this group has the pieces to flip Maryland from a rebuild into a Big Ten sleeper in 2026–27.
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