(Credit for Photo: Photo Courtesy of Eakin Howard, Eakin Howard, Imagn Images, Caption for Photo: March 26, 2026; San Jose, CA, USA; Arkansas Razorbacks guard Meleek Thomas (1) goes to the basket against Arizona Wildcats forward Ivan Kharchenkov (8) during the second half during a Sweet Sixteen game of the West Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at SAP Center.)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Fayetteville, AR) Former Lincoln Park standout basketball player and five-star recruit Meleek Thomas declared for the 2026 NBA Draft in a post on Instagram yesterday after spending his freshman season at the University of Arkansas. Thomas averaged 15.6 points per game, while shooting 43% from the field and 41% from the three-point line his first season with the Razorbacks. The 2026 NBA Draft will take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on June 23rd and June 24th. As Thomas enters the draft, he is most likely to be a late first-round or early second-round selection after the most recent mock drafts. If he is selected in the first round, Thomas would become the third player in the Beaver Valley to be drafted in the opening round, joining Monaca graduate Brad Davis, who was drafted 15th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1977, and OLSH graduate and current Denver Nuggets small forward Cameron Johnson, who was selected 11th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves before he later joined the Phoenix Suns via trade. If Thomas is selected in this year’s draft, he would become the second consecutive Beaver Valley player drafted to an NBA team after Quaker Valley alum Adou Thiero was selected by the Brooklyn Nets and was subsequently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the 2025 NBA draft at 36th overall. Moon Township native John Calipari also coached both Thomas and Thiero in college during his current stint as the head coach of the University of Arkansas. Thomas was ranked as one of the top high school prospects in the country when he played for Lincoln Park and helped the team capture back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA titles during his sophomore and junior seasons. He will maintain his collegiate eligibility if he undeclares for the draft by May 27th, 2026.