It has been a busy offseason on the Forty Acres for the Texas basketball program and new head coach Sean Miller. Texas athletic director Chris del Conte didn't waste much time early this offseason this past spring to find the new direction for the men's basketball program in Austin, hiring Miller away from the Xavier Musketeers just a few days after both team's run in the NCAA Tournament ended.
Right after the Longhorns hired Miller to be the next head coach to replace former head coach Rodney Terry earlier this offseason, the new coaching staff got done to work to rebuild the roster to compete in the SEC for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
Miller and the Longhorns added multiple proven players who can immediately impact the starting five and the core part of the rotation coming off the bench in the spring portal window earlier this offseason. Texas brought in five new players from the spring transfer portal, including former Xavier junior forward Dailyn Swain and St. John's junior combo guard Simeon Wilcher.
The Longhorns also got a boost of young talent and potential going into the future for the program with the signing of multiple blue-chip recruits in the 2025 class, highlighted by high-four-star power forward John Clark.
The goal for Miller and the Longhorns this upcoming season is to show progress and make the NCAA Tournament in the SEC in the 2025-26 campaign in the conference.
Projected Starters
Jordan Pope, G (Senior)
Multiple players for the Longhorns had eligibility remaining that Miller and the new Texas coaching staff were able to convince to return for another season on the Forty Acres at the Moody Center. Senior guard Jordan Pope was one of the critical players for the Longhorns that Miller convinced to return to Texas for another season.
Pope brings valuable starting experience, scoring, facilitating, and stability to the Longhorns' projected starting five in the backcourt unit for this upcoming season in the SEC. For the third straight season, Pope scored in double figures and shot over 35 percent from beyond the arc for Texas.
Chendall Weaver, G (Senior)
There are a few ways Miller and the Longhorns can build out the starting backcourt unit for the upcoming 2025-26 campaign for the guards. If the Longhorns want more of a defensive boost and potential outside shooting from beyond the arc, starting senior Chendall Weaver at the two or the three three makes a lot of sense for Texas this upcoming season.
Weaver is a defensive spark plug for the Longhorns, averaging around a steal per game for Texas in each of the past two seasons. On the offensive end, Weaver's athleticism and explosiveness driving to the rim should make him a good fit in Miller's system on that end of the floor and getting out and running down the floor in transition.
Tramon Mark, G (Senior)
Another incredibly important player Miller and his staff convinced to return to Texas for another season in college basketball is senior guard Tramon Mark. The former Arkansas and Houston transfer gives the Longhorns a reliable double-digit points-per-game scorer in the starting backcourt for this upcoming season.
Mark can be a critical secondary scorer and off-ball creator from the elbow and beyond the arc for Miller and the Longhorns in the SEC. He scored in double figures against Quad 1 and 2 opponents for the Longhorns last season and averaged over a dozen points per game in the SEC Tournament and the postseason for Texas this past year.
It's noteworthy that Mark is currently working his way back from a reported offseason shoulder surgery, and he is cleared to compete in non-contact practice drills for the Longhorns going into the fall and training camp.
Dailyn Swain, F (Junior)
Third-year former transfer forward from Xavier, Swain, followed Miller from the Musketeers to Texas earlier this offseason in the spring portal window. Swain brings an NBA-level skill set and physical tools for the Longhorns in the SEC.
The type of raw talent and length and physical tools Swain brings will be a huge part of the Longhorns' starting frontcourt this upcoming season. He averaged over 15 points per game in the postseason for the Musketeers this past spring in the Big East Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, including 11 points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals in Xavier's play-in win over the Longhorns.
Matas Vokietaitis, C (Sophomore)
It was a major priority for Miller and the new Texas coaching staff to upgrade the frontcourt rotation at the center position earlier this offseason in the spring transfer portal window. Texas wanted to bring in more length, rebounding, rim protection, and floor spacing to round out the starting five projected going into the SEC for the upcoming 2025-26 season.
Bigs like Swain and former Florida Atlantic Owls freshman center transfer and seven-footer Matas Vokietaitis gave the Longhorns two next-level talents with great length to fill out the projected starting frontcourt very formidably for the upcoming season in the SEC.
Vokietaitis was an excellent frontcourt scorer and an improving rim protector for FAU during his true freshman campaign last season in the American for the Owls. After averaging double-digit scoring and over five rebounds per game for the Owls, Vokietaitis won American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year for the 2024-25 season.
He scored in double figures with multiple offensive rebounds and multiple blocks in three wins for the Owls this past season.
Key Reserves
Simeon Wilcher, G (Junior)
After Wilcher scored in double figures twice against Miller and Xavier in the Big East this past season, the new Texas head coach got to personally see what the former St. John's junior transfer guard can bring to the Longhorns in the backcourt unit.
Wilcher will be a key depth guard who can score the basketball and get to the rim effectively as a primary or secondary playmaker and distributor on the offensive end.
Lassina Traore, PF/C (Senior)
Two-time All-Big West big man and Long Beach State senior transfer Lassina Traore can play minutes at the five for the Longhorns, either in the starting five or coming off the bench for the frontcourt this coming season in the SEC.
Camden Heide, F (Junior)
Former sophomore Purdue transfer wing Camden Heide will bring much-needed experience and versatility to Texas's core part of the rotation, coming off the bench at the three or the four. Heide averaged five points per game and four rebounds for Purdue in the Big Ten last season, including scoring in double figures in the starting five for the Boilermakers in three games that resulted in wins.
Schedule Outlook
Texas will face multiple top-25-caliber and potential Quad 1 and 2 teams in the non-conference schedule this upcoming season, including the Arizona State Sun Devils from the Big 12 in the Maui Invitational Tournament this fall. The Longhorns face the Virginia Cavaliers in a marquee matchup in Austin at the Moody Center in early December in the ACC-SEC Challenge.
The back end of a home-and-home series against the UConn Huskies also highlights the non-conference schedule on the road on Dec. 12. Texas begins SEC play on Jan. 3 at the Moody Center against Mississippi State.
Miller and the Longhorns begin the upcoming regular season in the 2025-26 campaign against head coach Jon Scheyer and the Duke Blue Devils in the Dick Vitale Invitational in Charlotte on Nov. 4.
Texas basketball outlook
Fans in Austin have plenty of reasons for optimism heading into the future in the SEC. Texas has made it to the NCAA Tournament every year so far in the 2020s decade.
With high-profile recruiting and a roster built with a touted combination of returning experience in the backcourt and length and rebounding in the frontcourt, Texas has the makings of a very competitive team in the SEC and a single-digit seed for the NCAA Tournament this postseason.