Johnell Davis is withdrawing from the upcoming NBA Draft, according to a Wednesday afternoon report from ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
The decision means Davis, who starred at Florida Atlantic the last two seasons, will play for Arkansas and head coach John Calipari in 2024-25. The deadline for entrants to pull out of the draft is Wednesday night.
One of the top players to come available in the transfer portal this spring, Davis committed to and signed with Arkansas on May 1. He is one of five transfer additions — joining Jonas Aidoo, Zvonimir Ivisic, Adou Thiero, DJ Wagner — for the Razorbacks this offseason.
More from Natty State Sports: What to expect from FAU transfer Johnell Davis
“The biggest X-factor [in the SEC] is probably Nelly Davis,” Field of 68 college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman said May 23 on The Field of 68: After Dark. “He’ll be the biggest X-factor. Can he be that guy for Arkansas? Like, can he be that dude that you can count on to be efficient? How does he deal with being coached by Cal?”
Davis was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2023-24 after a stellar season in which he averaged 18.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He shot 48.3% from the field, 41.4% on 58 made three-pointers and an efficient 85.7% at the foul line.
In 2022-23, Davis earned Conference USA first-team and Sixth Man of the Year honors while averaging 13.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game for an FAU team that made a run to the Final Four.
Davis averaged 15.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 5 NCAA Tournament games, including a 29-point, 12-rebound double-double in a Round of 32 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson.
In his four-year career at Florida Atlantic, Davis scored 1,431 points and grabbed 621 rebounds.
Curtis Wilkerson contributed to this story