Insider names 5-star EYBL phenom under Dan Hurley, Nate Oats, John Calipari, and Mark Pope’s Class of 2025 watch radar

At the recent EYBL event in Indianapolis, shooting guard Meleek Thomas, a standout high school basketball talent, was under intense scrutiny by top college coaches.

UConn's Danny Hurley, Alabama's Nate Oats, Baylor's Scott Drew, Kentucky's Mark Pope, and Arkansas' John Calipari were all closely monitoring 2025 Five-Star Plus+ shooting guard Meleek Thomas. Insider Joe Tipton noted their presence, highlighting Thomas’s rising profile among elite programs.

Thomas, a standout from Pittsburgh, has already visited several top schools, including Pitt, Auburn, Penn State, and Kentucky. His recruitment journey has been notable for its breadth, underscoring his status as a coveted prospect.

After his recent visit to John Calipari' Arkansas, Thomas shared:

"He[Calipari] told me he has been recruiting me for as long as he has for a reason. He says he wants me with him no matter where he is, and now it’s Arkansas."

Meleek Thomas received an offer from Ole Miss on April 19, 2024, and officially visited Kentucky on February 2, 2024, and Auburn on January 12, 2024.

Additionally, the progress of 2025 four-star wing Hudson Greer and four-star guard Dorian Jones attracted attention from coaches like Duke's Jon Scheyer and Ohio State's Jake Diebler. This event underscored the fierce competition among top programs to secure premier talent for the Class of 2025.

---

Meleek Thomas: Staying grounded amid recruitment journey

Meleek Thomas, an elite player in the Class of 2025, is navigating his recruitment with humility and gratitude.

“Stay grounded and stay humbled and act like I have a major goal I got to get to,” Thomas told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “I just got to keep striving for it and stay humble.”

A standout from Lincoln Park High School in Midland, Pennsylvania, Thomas has been heavily pursued by his hometown team, the Pitt Panthers.

“It’s been good ever since I’ve been getting recruited by them,” Thomas said. “They want to keep in touch a lot and they have been in touch a lot since they started recruiting me. If I wanted to be home, they just let me know it’s home.”

Meleek Thomas plans an official visit to Oakland in the coming weeks. The top-12 schools from where he received his offers include Kansas State, Indiana, Kansas, Duke, Auburn, Tennessee, UConn, Michigan, Miami, and Villanova. Kentucky, where Thomas visited on February 2, remains a dream destination.

“I’ve been watching them since a kid,” he said. “You watch all the future NBA players, [Devin] Booker, De’Aaron Fox, so to go in and see that history, it was a great experience and environment.”

With 1,750 career points, Meleek Thomas averaged a double-double in his junior year: 23.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 3.3 steals per game. He also led his team to back-to-back WPIAL and PIAA Class 4A titles and was named Trib 4A Co-Player of the Year.