Texas A&M basketball picked up a talented player in the transfer portal amid a hectic offseason. Former head coach Buzz Williams is off to Maryland, with Bucky McMillan taking over the vacancy. The 41-year-old is coming off a successful tenure at Samford and is scrambling to rebuild a roster that is losing all of its key contributors from the past season. The Aggies recently finished a successful season that saw the team earn a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and lose to Michigan in the second round.
It might take a few years before Texas A&M basketball reaches that level again, but McMillan is certainly on the right track with this latest addition. According to National Basketball Recruiting Analyst for 247Sports Dushawn London, Indiana transfer Mackenzie Mgbako has committed to the Aggies. The 20-year-old averaged 12.2 points and 4.6 rebounds this past season. Mgbako has two years of eligibility remaining.
So far, the Aggies have added three players through the transfer portal. McMillan certainly has his work cut out for him over these next few months, but based on his track record, he deserves the benefit of the doubt. The Birmingham, Alabama native was a phenomenally successful head coach on the high school level before being named to the same position at Samford in 2020.
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The Bulldogs subsequently had one of their best stretches in school history, posting four consecutive seasons in which they won more than 20 games. The highlight of this stretch was in 2024 when they made the NCAA Tournament for the third time ever. During this time, McMillan was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year during his last three years in Homewood, Alabama.
Overall, however, it won't be easy for the Aggies to regain their standing in the SEC. The conference is coming off its greatest season ever, and several programs at the top have no plans of slowing down. It's an arms race in this conference, but Mackenzie Mgbako's commitment overall is a very positive step in the right direction for Texas A&M basketball and a sign that McMillan knows what he's doing already.
