Texas A&M rebuilds after losing coach, key players

Texas A&M Aggies (23-11, 11-7 SEC)

This Aggies team will look nothing like the one from last year after multiple players exhausted their eligibility before many more left in the transfer portal after coach Buzz Williams departed for Maryland after six seasons. Bucky McMillan, who has been Samford’s coach since 2020, took over and put together a whole new team this spring. This leaves Texas A&M expected to be one of the worst teams in the SEC after reaching the NCAA Tournament for the last three seasons.

Players to watch

Mackenzie Mgbako (junior F, 6-9, 12.2 ppg). Mgbako, a McDonald’s All-American and consensus five-star recruit, comes to Texas A&M after two seasons at Indiana. There he averaged 12.2 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists while making 64 of 65 starts.

Pop Isaacs (junior G, 6-2, 16.3 ppg). Isaacs joins the Aggies after spending two seasons at Texas Tech and last season at Creighton. Last season he averaged 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists in eight games before having season-ending hip surgery.

Marcus Hill (senior G, 6-3, 11.5 ppg). Hill comes to Texas A&M after spending one season at Bowling Green and two at N.C. State. Last season he led the Wolfpack by averaging 11.5 points a game, ranked third on the team with 49 assists and fourth with 120 rebounds.

Departures and arrivals

The Aggies lost last year’s leading scorer Wade Taylor IV and top rebounder Andersson Garcia and starter Henry Coleman after all three exhausted their eligibility. Williams took point guard Andre Mills and forwards Pharrel Payne and Solomon Washington with him to Maryland, leaving McMillan to basically start from scratch.

Texas A&M added big man Federiko Federiko, who played two seasons at Pittsburgh before spending last season at Texas Tech, where the 6-11 player averaged 5.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 35 games.

The Aggies will also have transfer Rashaun Agee this season after a judge recently granted a temporary injunction granting him immediate eligibility for a fifth season. Agee played for New Mexico State and Bowling Green before averaging 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds for USC last season.

Top games

The Aggies open the season at home against Northwestern State on Nov. 3. They begin SEC play at home against LSU on Jan. 3 and visit No. 20 Auburn on Jan. 6. They have a tough stretch where they visit No. 15 Alabama on Feb. 4 before hosting No. 3 Florida on Feb. 7. They’ll visit 14th-ranked Arkansas on Feb. 26 before hosting No. 9 Kentucky on March 3.

Facts and figures

The 42-year-old McMillan went 99-52 in five seasons at Samford where he was named Southern Conference Coach of the Year in each of the last three seasons. Before Samford McMillan was a high school coach. … The Aggies have won at least 21 games in each of the last four seasons. … Texas A&M lost in the second round of the tournament in both of the last two seasons.

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