With the departure of Buzz Williams to Maryland, many thought that this was the end of an era for Texas A&M basketball. They weren't wrong, many of his players were seniors or graduates, and it led Buzz to ultimately leave College Station to start another project.
The hiring of Bucky McMillan has been anything but disappointing. Some of the more recognizable faces in college basketball have already put their trust in McMillan, but that didn't stop ESPN's Joe Lunardi to make his first impression with McMillan's squad for the upcoming season. It's one that Aggie fans unfortunately know far too well.
Lunardi has 2025-26 Texas A&M basketball team as a first team out
Aggie fans shouldn't be upset for two reasons. One, Lunardi (or anyone for that matter) never could've guessed that Texas A&M would've been projected as a No. 2 seed at any point last season, but they were. The defensive mentality that Buzz Williams built was for real, and they ended up still surprising. Two, this is Bucky's first season as an Aggie head coach, he'll need to prove that he can work with what he's built.
Texas A&M is Joe Lunardi’s First Team Out in his way too early 2026 Bracketology.
— Luke Evangelist (@lukeevangelist_) May 20, 2025
You can’t say he doesn’t have a sense of humor 🤣 pic.twitter.com/yNyZPCF9G1
It didn't take long for fans to start reacting to Lunardi's prediction. Some were pointing out the historic shocking upset that went against Texas A&M softball.
Being the first team out next year would actually be incredibly on brand. It would be an objectively positive first season result but still feel very annoying. "Simultaneously good but also frustrating" is our core brand of baksetball.
— Aubrey Bloom (@aubreybloom) May 20, 2025
It's just like Texas A&M sports this way at times. After all, they haven't completed the mission when it seemed like the odds were in their favor. Just ask Jim Schlossnagle and Trisha Ford. Bucky embraces this, and once he gets a full squad, Aggie basketball has a chance to make a bunch of noise this upcoming season.
If the Aggies end as the first team out, it will be a definite disappointment, no doubt. But that will also mean Bucky is ahead of schedule, which he has appeared to be thus far in his tenure in many ways already.