Texas A&M basketball has finally filled their last roster spot, and it's come in a form that very few Aggie fans would have expected. Bucky McMillan is a coach that has always been on the cutting edge of the sport in many ways, so Aggie fans should have known that he'd take full advantage of the recent court ruling that gave an extra year of eligibility to players from the high school class of 2022— but the player he zeroed in on was not who any Aggie fans expected.
Former Texas guard Jordan Pope announced yesterday that he would be returning to college and coming to Texas A&M, shocking fans around the Lone Star State. Many of these players that were coming back entered the transfer portal rather than returning to their previous teams, but it's very seldom to see a player cross to the other side of such a bitter rivalry (though the Aggies already have one such player in Jamie Vinson).
— jordan pope 💕 (@jpope0) August 17, 2026
Pope's announcement sent shockwaves through both the Texas and Texas A&M fanbases, but it's a huge positive for Bucky Ball. Pope's style of play— fast-paced with some deadeye accuracy from beyond the arc— is perfectly suited to McMillan's system, so the Longhorns will no doubt regret letting him get down to College Station sooner rather than later.
Texas A&M adds former Texas guard Jordan Pope in late transfer portal move
Pope ended last season recording 13.1 points per game, 2.1 rebounds per game, and shooting 37.2% from beyond the arc. He attempted 6.4 three-pointers per game last year, by far his highest of his career, but that 37.2 3P% was his best single season of his career— an encouraging sign for a guy who will no doubt be tasked with taking lots of them in Bucky's system.
Another encouraging sign for Texas A&M fans? Pope has shot over 87% from the free throw line in two of his four collegiate seasons and has a career free throw percentage of 85.8%. Texas A&M fans remember all too well from the Buzz Williams era just how important it is to have reliable free throw shooters on the floor in clutch games, and McMillan just got another guy to add to the roster who can be just that.
Texas fans are definitely hurt by this loss, already attempting to downplay the way that this helps the Aggies and hurts the Horns, just like you'd expect. But to look at Pope's mentions on X or the comment section of his Instagram post, you see much more well-wishing and sorrow that he's gone as opposed to this sort of retroactive discounting of his impact.
To look at it this way, though, adding a guy who played significant minutes for a major-conference team that went to the Sweet 16 as your last man on the roster can be nothing but a huge win for Bucky McMillan. This is looking to be a much more well-rounded team than Bucky put on the court last year, and the huge success he found with that group should only be improved upon in this upcoming season.
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