Texas A&M named a transfer portal 'winner' ahead of HC Bucky McMillan's first season
Texas A&M's basketball program is in great hands with new head coach Bucky McMillan now leading the way, already proving his elite recruiting skills for a program not traditionally seen as a basketball powerhouse, but one that is undoubtedly on the rise after landing nine players from the transfer portal.
Led by last week's exciting news that former Texas Tech/Creighton point guard Pop Isaacs signed with the Aggies, combined with the official return of Indiana star transfer forward Mackenzie Mgbako, who was impressing scouts during his NBA Combine performance last month, McMillan's transfer portal success has garned plenty of praise from several media members, including The Athletic's Tobias Bass, who placed the Aggies among 19 teams.
Advertisement
Last week, respected college basketball analyst Evan Miyakawa also praised McMillan for landing five of his top 100-ranked players, as Mgbako, Isaacs, Rashaun Agee, center Federiko Federiko, and small forward Rylan Griffen are considered immediate contributors who should make an impact as soon as the 2025 season begins.
The fact that McMillan, who inherited a roster completely depleted after Buzz Williams took star forwards Pharrel Payne and Solomon Washington with him to Maryland, left just sophomore Chris McDermott as the only Williams-recruited player on the roster.
With 12 players on the roster, it's expected that McMillan will add three more veterans from the portal to fill out the 15-player threshold, which shouldn't be a difficult task given his success over the past two months.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Cameron on X: @CameronOhnysty.
This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M basketball named a transfer portal 'winner'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
22 minutes ago
- New York Times
Texas Tech shows value of investing in softball, plus colleges can begin paying athletes
The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic's daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Share some revenue today. The Women's College World Series was great theater. Texas beat Texas Tech, 10-4, last night in a decisive third game of the championship series. It was the Longhorns' first title. Nearly as big a highlight came in the semifinals, when Texas Tech ended Oklahoma's four-year championship streak. As this captivating tournament ends, the runners-up raise a compelling point about what should happen next. Advertisement The Red Raiders were onto something this year. Just as Tech boosters have plowed money into football players the past few years, they have rallied around softball of late. The key to Tech's run was NiJaree Canady, the pitcher who came close to throwing every single pitch of the team's postseason run. She started her career at Stanford and was a star there, winning USA Softball Player of the Year in 2024. Tech's people offered her $1 million to leave Palo Alto for Lubbock, and after an intense recruitment (chronicled in detail by The Athletic), she took them up on it. It was a savvy investment, so much so that she has just agreed to another seven figures to stay for next year. Canady has become the face of the sport, even a potential softball version of Caitlin Clark. Tech hadn't made the NCAA tournament since 2019 and was the worst team in the Big 12 as recently as two years ago. With Canady leading the way, Tech went supernova. She got hit around on Friday, allowing five runs in her only inning of work, which raised her season era to … 1.11. That's the kind of pitcher she was this year. There's a roadmap here for athletic directors and donors with the eyes to see it. Softball looks like a sport on the rise, with trendlines going up in WCWS attendance and viewership. Major League Baseball sees enough upside to back a new professional league. Other college athletic departments and their boosters might learn a thing or two from Texas Tech. A million NIL bucks wouldn't even get you a good quarterback in the Big 12, but it got Tech the best player in the country and a College World Series run. Plus, very soon, schools themselves will be able to openly invest in athletes in a new way. Last night (more below), a federal judge approved a settlement that allows schools to share up to $20.5 million next year with their athletes. Big-time athletic departments will spend most of it on football. But seeing how much a softball team can get for so little, why shouldn't an enterprising AD try a different tack? There's a market inefficiency here. Exploit it. Colleges can begin paying athletes Judge Claudia Wilken granted final approval of the House v. NCAA settlement last night, paving the way for schools to pay athletes directly for the first time. The settlement establishes a 10-year revenue sharing model that allows each school to distribute up to roughly $20.5 million in revenue to athletes this season — in addition to any NIL money from boosters. Here's a comprehensive explainer on the widespread ramifications of the settlement, but we'll have much more this week. Advertisement Marchand the hero in Game 2 This Stanley Cup Final is setting up to be an all-timer. The Panthers led 4-3 in the third period last night until 40-year-old Corey Perry sent Game 2 to overtime with 17.8 seconds to play. Florida had chance after chance to bury the Oilers once more in overtime. No dice. Eight minutes into double overtime, with both teams running on fumes, deadline acquisition Brad Marchand scored his second of the night to finally bury Edmonton. We have a 1-1 series heading to Florida. Incredible drama. Alcaraz, Sinner advance to French Open final Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are simply levels better than everyone else at the moment. Alcaraz dropped the first set in his semifinal yesterday, then hit another level and looked well on his way to an easy four-set win before Lorenzo Musetti retired with a leg injury. All Sinner had to do to meet Alcaraz in the final was take down 24-time Grand Slam champ Novak Djokovic. The GOAT played his best tennis of the year and still couldn't take a set off Sinner. Alcaraz and Sinner will meet in a Grand Slam final for the first time tomorrow. Get used to this. More news: The Stars fired coach Pete DeBoer, who led Dallas to the Western Conference final in all three of his seasons at the helm. He dug his own grave. Canada soccer coach Jesse Marsch claimed Vancouver Whitecaps players were 'poisoned' after a significant number of players and staff fell ill in Mexico. An opposing team's spokesperson called Marsch's allegations 'damage control' after Vancouver lost 5-0 in the Concacaf Champions Cup final. Diamondbacks right-hander Corbin Burnes will undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery. A brutal blow. 📺 Tennis: French Open women's singles final 9 a.m. ET on TNT/truTV/Max No. 2 seed Coco Gauff against No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. This'll be good. Gauff would be the first American singles winner at Roland Garros since 2015. With Madison Keys taking the Australian Open, she'd make the U.S. two-for-two in grand slams this year. Sabalenka is the favorite, however. 📺 MLB: Cubs at Tigers 1:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network More on the Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong in tomorrow's Pulse, but for now, here's a nice matinee between the two first-place clubs in the Central divisions. 📺 Horse racing: Belmont Stakes 7:04 p.m. ET on Fox That's the post time, with Fox's main coverage starting three hours earlier. Your field guide is here, with Journalism favored over Sovereignty after they split the first two Triple Crown races. Brian Hamilton relayed the scene from Oklahoma City, where the NBA Finals and Women's College World Series created a sports vortex this week. Our excellent golf writer Brody Miller wrote a book on the Tiger Slam. It's a perfect summer sports read. You should buy it. — Chris Branch Mike Birbiglia's latest stand-up 'The Good Life' has an irreverence for human folly that sharpens its reverence for human existence. (And if you haven't watched 'The Old Man & the Pool,' start with that!) — Hannah Vanbiber The Athletic's weekly sports news quiz. 'Friendship' — A fantastically absurd and fun movie, which is wholly unsurprising when you consider it stars Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd. I saw it last week and certain scenes have been on loop in my head ever since. — Alex Iniguez Cleaning out my freezer (just do it!), then embracing its ability to help reduce food waste and save a little money. — Torrey Hart Two great Weird & Wild pieces from Jayson Stark this week: more mind-blowing Paul Skenes stats, and 10 ways the Rockies are making the wrong kind of history. There's a two-part documentary on Pee-wee Herman/Paul Reubens, called 'Pee-wee as Himself' and it is absolutely brilliant. It's on HBO/Max/whatever they're calling it these days. Highly recommend. — Levi Weaver Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our newser on Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson's injury. Most-read on the website yesterday: The Djokovic-Sinner live blog. Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
USA Today
27 minutes ago
- USA Today
Iowa football QB Mark Gronowski ranks as one of ESPN's top NFL draft prospects
Iowa football QB Mark Gronowski ranks as one of ESPN's top NFL draft prospects Whether it is fair or not, the 2025 Iowa Hawkeyes football season is beginning to look like it is going to see its success rest on the shoulders of the offense once again. A trend that has become commonplace for Iowa with their stout defense, the offense continues to be the biggest question mark. Iowa improved last year and enters the second year with Tim Lester calling plays, which should only continue to see the offense open up more and gain traction. Leading his offense is proven talent Mark Gronowski, a quarterback transfer from South Dakota State. While Mark Gronowski chose to join the Hawkeyes, he had NFL interest last year and could have taken the leap to go pro with a likely chance to make a roster. Despite snubbing the NFL last year, he still finds himself ranked as one of ESPN's top NFL QB draft prospects in the 2026 draft. Mark Gronowski, Iowa Gronowski had a historic career at South Dakota State, leading the Jackrabbits to two national championships and tying for the most-ever wins (49) for an FCS starting quarterback. He flirted with entering the 2025 NFL draft and even got an invite to the combine but decided to go to Iowa, whose offense showed improvement in 2024. The 6-3, 230-pounder is a densely built passer who can also make plays with his legs. - Jordan Reid, ESPN Gronowski's dual-threat ability makes him unique and intriguing to NFL teams, as his speed, arm talent, and rushing ability, paired with his big frame, is a mix that is not often found. If Tim Lester can unlock the same dual-threat ability that Gronowski displayed for the Jackrabbits, where he won two national championships at the FCS level, the Hawkeyes instantly get an upgrade at the quarterback position with arguably their best talent at the spot in the last half-decade. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Riley on X: @rileydonald7
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Future Nebraska quarterback Trae Taylor recruiting top tight end Ahmad Hudson
Future Nebraska quarterback Trae Taylor recruiting top tight end Ahmad Hudson A Nebraska quarterback commit is developing a relationship and actively peer recruiting the top tight end in the class of 2027. Ahmad Hudson teamed up with future Husker Trae Taylor at the Nebraska-sponsored 7 on 7 tournament, Battle of the Boneyard. Hudson measures in at 6 feet 7 inches, 220 pounds, and is the No. 1-ranked tight end in the 2027 class. As a sophomore, he caught 41 passes for 718 yards and six touchdowns. He's also an accomplished basketball player, averaging 21 points and 14 rebounds per game last season. Taylor is the third overall quarterback in the 2027 class and the third overall player in his class from the state of Illinois, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. Last season, he threw for 3,061 yards, 20 touchdowns, and seven interceptions, per statistics from MaxPreps. He also carried the football 41 times for 342 yards and four touchdowns. This isn't the first time Taylor has connected with Hudson. Since committing to Nebraska, the future quarterback has been active in his recruitment of other top players in the 2027 recruiting class. It's good to see a future Husker taking active steps to load the class with as much talent as possible. Scroll below and look at some of the social media postings of Trae Taylor and his peer recruitment of Ahmad Hudson. The meeting Touchdown! Chemistry Now, imagine a sold-out stadium Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.
