Texas A&M's Tyrece Radford (23) goes for a layup during the first round game between Texas A&M and Nebraska in the 2024 NCAA Tournament at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday, March 22, 2024. Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Texas A&M in Top-5 for 4-Star Playmaker

Originally posted on Texas A&M Aggies on SI
By DJ Burton | Last updated Aug 16, 2025 12:40 PM ET

The state of the Texas A&M basketball program was up in the air shortly after Buzz Williams, then-coach, announced his departure from the institution on April 1.

The team was experiencing a mass exodus of senior talent, including the Aggies’ all-time leading scorer. In addition to the graduating class, the superstar talent left over in Pharrel Payne and Solomon Washington announced they would follow Williams to Maryland.

When coach Bucky McMillan was handed the keys to the Aggie basketball program, he had to build a roster from scratch. To do so, he relied on the help of upperclassmen from programs all over the country he acquired through the transfer portal. While the transfer portal additions did solve the immediate problem, McMillan would be in the same spot in two years unless he can bring in some high school talent to perpetuate his program. To ensure the longevity he wants, McMillan has set his sights on four-star standout Dakari Spear.

High Schoolers on Texas A&M’s Radar

Spear is a 6-foot-4 2026 shooting guard out of The Colony High School in The Colony, Texas. He is ranked as the 56th player nationally, the seventh-best shooting guard and the sixth-best player in Texas. In his junior year, he averaged 23 points per game and seven rebounds while shooting 55 percent from the field.

“I’m a three-level scorer,” Spear told On3 in a previous interview. “I am a 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 combo guard, so I can get to my spots and score at each level, whether it’s catch-and-shoot, mid-range shooting over my defenders, or getting downhill.”

Spears’ fearless ability to shoot the ball and create plays fits perfectly in McMillan’s “Bucky Ball” scheme. To land the guard, A&M will have to beat out Syracuse, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech.

On top of Spears, the Aggies are targeting four-star wing Trent Perry, who is set to visit A&M this season. Perry helped lead the Link Academy Lions to a 23-8 record and a Nike EYBL Scholastic championship during the 2025 season. McMillan and his staff are engaged in an intense recruiting battle with Buzz Williams and Maryland to land Perry.

McMillan also has a visit scheduled with Bryson Howard, a 6’5”, 200-pound small forward hailing from Heritage High School in Frisco, Texas. His father, Josh Howard, played in the NBA for ten years after getting drafted 29th in the 2003 NBA draft and even earned an All-Star nod in 2007.

If the Aggies can land two of their three major high school recruits, their future will be set up pretty well.

This article first appeared on Texas A&M Aggies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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