New Texas A&M basketball coach Bucky McMillan has his work cut out for him heading into his first season with the Fightin’ Farmers.
McMillan will be fighting an uphill battle, as the Aggies are returning zero percent of their scoring contributors, per Jon Rothstein on X.
SEC returning scoring by percentage:
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 21, 2025
Arkansas 45%
Missouri 44.1%
Florida 40.6%
Alabama 34.9%
Vanderbilt 34.3%
Kentucky 33.2%
Mississippi State 32%
Texas 31.9%
Georgia 26.3%
Tennessee 18.4%
Ole Miss 17.2%
Auburn 15.9%
Oklahoma 10%
LSU 9.8%
South Carolina 8.6%
Texas A&M 0%
A&M, who had a solid core group of players who had been with the program for seemingly forever, faced a mass exodus after then-coach Buzz Williams left Aggieland for Maryland. Point guard Wade Taylor IV averaged 15.7 points last season and has since graduated. Forwards Pharrell Payne and Solomon Washington accounted for 15.1 combined points per game last season, and have since followed Williams to Maryland. Every major contributor from the 2024-25 squad has either transferred or graduated.
The Aggies’ position on the list heading into last season is the inverse of this offseason’s. The team held 82.5 percent of its returning scoring, which was to be expected with the continuity of Williams’ tenure in Aggieland.
What stands out about last year’s list is the Kentucky Wildcats. After losing head coach John Calipari, the Wildcats were in a similar situation as the Aggies. With no returning production, Mitch Barnhart led Kentucky to a 24-12 record and a Sweet Sixteen appearance, something McMillan will be looking to emulate.
Considering he had one player on the roster when he arrived, McMillan has done an impressive job building a roster from the ashes. He poached Mackenzie Mgbako from the NBA Draft, landed a freakish big man from Texas Tech, and flipped star guard Pop Isaacs, among other key pieces.
“We brought in 12 players on recruiting visits,” McMillan said at the Dallas A&M Club Coach’s Night. “All 12 committed.”
The 12th Man will get a chance to see their new-look basketball team and learn “Bucky-Ball” first-hand this fall.
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