Bucky Ball returns to College Station for Year Two of the Bucky McMillan era. Can Texas A&M basketball build on a Round of 32 appearance?
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Texas A&M basketball.
The thought entering the SEC basketball season last year, as evidenced by a 13th-place projected finish in the conference in the preseason media poll, was that it would take some time to build up Texas A&M after the departure of head coach Buzz Williams to Maryland. Instead, new coach Bucky McMillan mirrored the finish of the past two seasons in College Station by taking the Aggies to the Round of 32 again.
A few players return from that squad, notably Mackenzie Mgbako and Zach Clemence, both of whom should see plenty of playing time this year. But the transfer portal also brings in riches as much as it thins rosters, and McMillan brought in some talent from the portal this offseason.
Texas A&M basketball’s starting roster will likely include four transfers, in fact, with intra-conference transfers Jalen Reece (LSU) and Jordan Pope (Texas) manning the point and shooting guard roles, respectively. Kansas State transfer and talented scorer PJ Haggerty will start on the wing, while returnee Mackenzie Mgbako will likely draw the start at the four.
We potentially have a position battle brewing at center between Tennessee transfer Cade Phillips and returnee Zach Clemence. Phillips is built in the more traditional center archetype, while Clemence can stretch the floor and find space on the perimeter if needed. We’ll assume that Phillips starts the season at the five, but it wouldn’t be a surprise is Clemence is on the floor for the opening tip against Alabama State.
McNeese transfer Tyshawn Archie is a qualified scorer and ball distributor who could end up playing a pivotal sixth man role for the Aggies this season. His 90.0 FT% shows signs of an elite shooter. Other backups in the backcourt include four-star freshman Neiko Mundey and Radford transfer Lukas Walls. While both will be coming off the bench, it would be shocking if they didn’t see regular playing time.
Loyola Marymount transfer Jalen Shelley, returnee Jamie Vinson, and freshman Josh Irving will all see time as reserves in the frontcourt. In all, McMillan did a good job of reloading the Texas A&M basketball roster this offseason, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them in the NCAA tournament again. However, let it be known that the SEC is arguably a top-two conference in college basketball, and that no team is safe from a conference losing streak derailing a season. Oklahoma found that out last year.
Head coach: Bucky McMillan (7th season overall, 2nd at Texas A&M)
2025-26 record: 22-12 (11-7)
2026 postseason finish: Lost in Round of 32 of NCAA tournament to Houston
Notable departures:
- Rashaun Agee (14.6 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.4 APG)
- Rylan Griffen (11.2 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 2.5 APG)
- Marcus Hill (10.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.6 APG)
- Rubén Dominguez (10.2 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.4 APG)
- Pop Isaacs (9.8 PPG, 2.6 APG, 2.5 RPG)
- Jacari Lane (6.1 PPG, 3.0 APG, 1.7 RPG)
- Ali Dibba (5.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 0.8 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. Oklahoma State (Nov. 12)
- at TCU (Nov. 19)
- vs. Xavier (Nov. 25) – Battle 4 Atlantis
- vs. Marquette (Nov. 27) – Battle 4 Atlantis
- vs. Stanford (Dec. 2)
- vs. Florida State (Dec. 12) – Houston
Projected Rotation
PG: Jalen Reece (6-0, 185, So.)
2025-26 stats: 5.8 PPG, 3.6 APG, 1.8 RPG, 0.9 SPG (LSU)
SG: Jordan Pope (6-1, 180, Gr.)
2025-26 stats: 13.1 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 1.9 RPG, 37.2 3P%, 84.0 FT% (Texas)
SF: PJ Haggerty (6-4, 195, Gr.)
2025-26 stats: 23.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.8 APG, 35.1 3P%, 1.2 SPG (Kansas State)
PF: Mackenzie Mgbako (6-9, 225, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 10.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 1.3 APG, 7 GP
C: Cade Phillips (6-9, 225, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 3.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 0.4 APG, 10 GP (Tennessee)
6: Tyshawn Archie (6-1, 175, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 14.3 PPG, 2.9 APG, 1.9 RPG, 1.7 SPG, 36.9 3P%, 90.0 FT% (McNeese)
7: Zach Clemence (6-11, 230, Gr.)
2025-26 stats: 6.9 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 0.9 APG, 40.0 3P%
8: Neiko Mundey (6-3, 195, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 82 ranked recruit
9: Jalen Shelley (6-9, 215, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 13.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.7 APG (Loyola Marymount)
10: Lukas Walls (6-5, 203, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 7.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 1.1 APG, 1.1 SPG, 45.5 3P% (Radford)
11: Jamie Vinson (6-11, 250, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 3.5 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.4 APG, 0.6 BPG, 6.7 MPG
12: Josh Irving (6-11, 215, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 107 ranked recruit
Texas A&M basketball team MVP: PJ Haggerty
Haggerty was one of D-I’s leaders in points per game last season with Kansas State, and has now averaged at least 20 PPG in his past three seasons. He’s a bit of a journeyman, as Texas A&M is Haggerty’s fifth school that he’s played at in his collegiate career. His best game last year for the Wildcats came in a win against Mississippi State in which he set almost set a career high with 37 points, collected seven rebounds, and added eight assists.
While Haggerty is primarily known as a scorer, he’s no one-trick pony. In fact, in his career, he’s totaled 20 games of 8+ rebounds and 17 games with 6+ assists. Take a look at his accolades, as well: a 2024-25 consensus All-American, 2024-25 AAC Player of the Year, 2x All-AAC, 2025 All-AAC Tournament, 2023-24 AAC All-Freshman, 2023-24 AAC Rookie of the Year, and 2024-25 AAC Tournament MVP. This is a guy that’s going to affect the outcome of a basketball game and someone that will fit right into the SEC.
Texas A&M basketball make-or-break player: Jordan Pope
Pope has been granted an extra year of eligibility, which is huge for this Aggies squad. He also only has to move about two hours down the road, having transferred from UT-Austin. With the Longhorns last season, he averaged a team-low 7.0% turnover rate while adding 1.9 APG. Having a starting guard that can be careful with the ball is a plus in the Bucky Ball system, and Pope will likely see plenty of minutes at the two-spot.
Texas A&M basketball didn’t *need* Pope to get an extra year, as Tyshawn Archie likely would’ve been just fine starting for the Aggies, but having Pope able to start with Archie as a legitimate threat first off the bench is a big plus for this team’s depth and should make a difference when it matters in March.
Key statistic: Assists per game
Last year, Texas A&M basketball ranked 15th out of 365 D-I teams with an average of 17.8 APG. Seven different players saw action in at least 30 games and contributed at least 1.4 APG, led by Jacari Lane with an even three assists per contest. However, all seven of those players are no longer on the team’s roster. If the Aggies want to keep up those numbers, it’ll have to be with new personnel.
With Jalen Reece at point guard sporting a 25.5% assist rate last season, which would’ve ranked just below Lane’s team-high rate of 25.6%, assists from the point guard position seems to be taken care of. However, when it comes to the frontcourt, there’s not of lot of proven ball-sharing ability. If Texas A&M basketball is going to reach the 17.8 APG mark again this season, it will have to come out of the backcourt. At the least, however, we expect the Aggies to hit at least 15.0 assists per contest.
Texas A&M basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 8th in the Big 12
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearance