Brad Calipari joins Arkansas staff: John Calipari's son will work in on-court player development role

The elder Calipari will bring his son along as he dives into his next head coaching role with the Razorbacks

By Kyle Boone May 24, 2024 at 9:03 am ET• 1 min read

The Arkansas men's basketball program doubled its number of Caliparis on the coaching staff Thursday with the hiring of John Calipari's son, Brad Calipari, the school announced. Brad will serve as an assistant coach in the role of director of on-court player development under his father.

Brad previously played under his father as a walk-on at Kentucky before finishing out his final years of eligibility at Detroit Mercy. He dove into coaching following the end of his college career, first at Kentucky as a graduate assistant with John before stints at Long Island and Vanderbilt working in player development. The younger Calipari had the same role at Vanderbilt but moves to Arkansas with a fresh title as an assistant coach.

Excited to officially welcome @bradcalipari to the staff! (Yes, that Calipari)

He comes to Fayetteville after two seasons working in player development at Vanderbilt and Long Island. pic.twitter.com/8NjQBSCiL8

— Arkansas Razorbacks Men’s Basketball 🐗 (@RazorbackMBB) May 23, 2024

John left Kentucky in a seismic move earlier this offseason to join SEC foe Arkansas following several disappointing early NCAA Tournament exits in Lexington. The move came with him effectively importing the UK operation to Fayetteville as he brought with him Chin Coleman and Chuck Martin along with a huge chunk of UK's signing class.