NCAA Basketball: Baylor rises, Kentucky falls in latest 2023-24 WTE power rankings
By Joey Loose
17. Texas A&M
Buzz Williams took over this program back in 2019 and had a few slow seasons out of the gate. Fast forward four seasons, and this Texas A&M team finally looks like a potential contender, even in the tough SEC. These Aggies already proved it last season, finishing an astounding 15-3 in conference play and returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years.
The most important news is that Texas A&M returns their top two leading scorers, getting guards Tyrece Radford and Wade Taylor IV back for another year in College Station. Starting forwards Henry Coleman and Julius Marble also return, leaving the Aggies just a single starter to replace in the lineup. They’re leaning heavily on returning stars, though Texas A&M did nab Eli Lawrence from Middle Tennessee and Jace Carter from UIC, with hope that they’ll both be important pieces.
Lineups that return four of their five starters, including the top-scoring threats, tend to have higher expectations and it’s no different here. Texas A&M has been on an upward trajectory since Williams was hired and this certainly looks like a year they make a name for themselves. The Aggies made a pair of Sweet Sixteen’s less than a decade ago and might just have the talent to repeat that feat; if not better.