12. Texas A&M Aggies
This past season saw Texas A&M reach the NCAA Tournament for a fourth year in a row, but this was their first trip and first win under head coach Bucky McMillan. After his brilliant work at Samford, McMillan accepted and lived up to the initial challenge in College Station. His Aggies were far from the top dogs in the SEC and shed a lot of that talent leaving quite the holes for McMillan and company to fill here.
There’s no more Rashaun Agee or Rylan Griffen or a number of other Aggies, but the addition of PJ Haggerty should fill a few of those holes on the offensive end. A major presence everywhere he’s been, Haggerty just put up 23.4 points per game at Kansas State and should become one of the Big 12’s top scorers. He’s unquestionably the crowned jewel of this transfer class but let’s not act like he’s the only new piece of the puzzle.
Former LSU freshman Jalen Reece comes with high expectations while both Tyshawn Archie and Jalen Shelley were double-digit scorers at McNeese State and Loyola Marymount respectively. All three will have roles to play, with Shelley one of two new forwards added to the roster. The other is former Tennessee piece Cade Phillips who could have much more run in his senior season. Lastly, Lukas Walls joins from Radford and could be an intriguing backcourt depth piece.
Those five additions we just referenced all have different skill sets and potential but obviously the strength of this class lies in Haggerty. We’re not saying that Texas A&M’s season rests in his hands, but it’s hard to ignore that some of Haggerty’s previous teams haven’t lived up to expectations despite his monstrous scoring figures. Many things have to keep going right to be competitive in this SEC and you can bet that McMillan is going to make sure that it’s not just Haggerty scoring and drawing headlines.
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