April 28, 2026, 11:54 a.m. CT
Last season, Texas A&M head coach Bucky McMillan‘s team had two critical flaws: a lack of size and athleticism. Adding Loyola Marymount transfer forward Jalen Shelley addresses both areas in one swift motion.
A 4-star recruit and RSCI top-70 recruit in the class of 2024, Shelley began his collegiate career at USC, where he was teammates with future Aggie center Rashaun Agee. After receiving little playing time on an underwhelming Trojan team, Shelley transferred down to LMU for his sophomore season.
Shelley had a breakout season for the Lions in 2025-26, averaging 13.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.3 steals/blocks and starting all 25 games at small forward before falling to a season-ending injury in February. He was widely considered a candidate to return to the high-major level, and indeed, he did this summer by transferring to Texas A&M.
When asked about the newest Aggie, one scout reported that Shelley’s “length and athleticism jump off the page,” which translates into an effective downhill scoring game. Against top-100 competition, Shelley converted a stunning 68.1% of his rim attempts, ranking among the best 180 forwards in the country, while taking just under half of his shots at the rim.
Still against top-100 competition, he generated over 30% of his points on rim attacks (89th percentile), finishing at a truly elite 68.1% FG% (96th percentile). With McMillan’s emphasis on spacing and shooting elsewhere on the court, Shelley should have ample opportunity to get downhill and attack the rim.
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When he’s not getting downhill, Shelley has a versatile game. He is a strong rebounder for the SF position, with his 19.5% defensive rebounding rate ranking in the top-200 among forwards. While he was an offense-first player at LMU, Shelley finished with the 14th-best block percentage in the WCC and flashed defensive upside at USC with a 4-block game against Purdue. Perhaps Shelley can use his length and athleticism to be a threat on both ends of the floor in a smaller offensive role alongside PJ Haggerty and Bryson Warren.
Shelley projects to start at the small forward position, creating a presumed starting five of Warren, Haggerty, Shelley, Mackenzie Mgbako, and Zach Clemence. With Warren and Haggerty shouldering the offensive load and Clemence playing as a stretch five, Shelley and Mgbako will bring a strong interior presence and physicality to a Texas A&M squad that sorely lacked both last season.
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