Texas basketball enjoyed a remarkable debut season under coach Sean Miller with a darkhorse dash from the First Four to the Sweet 16.
That thrilling run in the NCAA Tournament only set up a scintillating offseason. Miller reeled in a five-player transfer class that ranked fifth in 247Sports’ team portal rankings. Better yet for Longhorns fans, he inked a six-player freshman class ranked fourth in the country bolstered by the recent signing of five-star recruit Marcus Spears Jr.
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How much will all the moves help on the court when the season tips off? We’ll find out in November. But for now, let’s review all the roster moves for Texas.
MORE: Texas Longhorns SEC men’s schedule includes matchups vs A&M, Florida, Oklahoma basketball
Texas Longhorns center Matas Vokietaitis (8) is called in the starting lineup ahead of Texas’ 79-77 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, March 26, 2026.
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman
Who left, who’s back from Texas’ 2025-26 roster?
Texas lost plenty of production from last season, when the Longhorns went 21-15 and 9-9 in SEC play. Four starters left via graduation or the portal, and only one player with at least 100 minutes returns. Here are the scholarship players who left and stayed at Texas.
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Texas basketball departures
Dailyn Swain: The 15th overall pick by the Chicago Bulls in last month’s draft, the 6-foot-6 wing led the Longhorns in scoring (17.3 ppg), rebounding (7.5), assists (129) and steals (59).
Jordan Pope: The 6-1 point guard averaged 13.1 points and totaled 68 assists, but ran out of eligibility and is trying to land a spot overseas or in the NBA Summer League.
Tramon Mark: The 6-5 combo guard used up his eligibility after averaging 14.0 points with 66 total assists and is exploring professional options.
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Chendall Weaver: The 6-3 guard averaged 5.8 points and 4.1 rebounds and is part of a group of NCAA athletes seeking a fifth season of eligibility, but it won’t likely be at Texas if the lawsuit proceeds.
Camden Heide: After one season at Texas when he averaged 5.9 points and 2.7 rebounds, the 6-foot-7 forward transferred to South Carolina.
Simeon Wilcher: After one season at Texas (5.6 points, 62 assists), the 6-foot-4 guard transferred to Seton Hall in his native New Jersey.
Nic Codie: After two seasons at Texas, the 6-foot-8 forward transferred to SMU in his native Dallas after putting up 4.1 rebounds and 3.1 rebounds a game.
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Lassina Traore: The injury-plagued 6-10 forward averaged 3.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in his one season at Texas before running out of eligibility.
Declan Duru Jr.: The 6-8 forward from Germany who played just 83 minutes in his one season with Texas transferred to UC-Santa Barbara.
Texas basketball returning players
Matas Vokietaitis: The 7-foot junior post from Lithuania enjoyed a strong debut season with Texas, averaging 15.6 points on 61.9% shooting to go with 7.1 rebounds.
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John Clark: A 6-9, 240-pound forward from Houston and a four-star prep recruit, he redshirted his freshman season in 2025-26 after recovering from some lingering injuries in high school
Lewis Obiorah: The 7-foot-1 post from England redshirted last season after arriving in Austin with only three years of basketball experience.
Five-star guard Austin Goosby, walks the sideline ahead of the Texas Longhorns game against San José State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
Who joined the Longhorns’ 2026-27 roster?
After losing the bulk of last season’s production, Texas rebuilt by signing five players in the portal and signing another six freshmen. Here are the new players for the Longhorns, and the arriving freshmen have five years of eligibility following the NCAA’s decision in June to extend eligibility by one year.
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Texas basketball transfer arrivals
Elyjah Freeman: The 6-8 forward from Auburn averaged 9.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 26.9 minutes while starting 21 games last season and has three remaining years of eligibility.
David Punch: The 6-7, 245-pound All-Big 12 power forward from TCU averaged 14.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.0 blocks last season and has three remaining years of eligibility.
Amari Evans: The defensive-minded 6-5 guard from Tennessee served as the Vols’ sixth man last season while averaging 4.1 points and 3.2 rebounds in 14.4 minutes and has four remaining years of eligibility.
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Isaiah Johnson: The 6-1 point guard from Colorado with four remaining years of eligibility led Colorado in scoring with 16.9 points on 48.6% shooting from the field and 37.8% from 3-point range to go with 3.0 assists.
Mikey Lewis: The 6-3 guard from St. Mary’s, a prolific outside shooter, averaged 13.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists a year ago and has three remaining years of eligibility.
Texas basketball recruiting arrivals
Austin Goosby: The five-star recruit and the state’s No. 2 player in his class, the 6-foot-5 wing is considered one of the most versatile players in his class on both ends of the court.
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Bo Ogden: A 6-5 guard and son of Texas general manager Chris Ogden, the Westlake graduate and four-star recruit earned the American-Statesman’s Central Texas player of the year award after averaging 22.0 points and 7.5 rebounds while hitting 40% from 3-point range and leading the Chaps to a state title game.
Marcus Spears Jr.: The 6-9, 210-pound power forward was rated as the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2027 class before reclassifying to 2026 after averaged 20.9 points and 8.7 rebounds for Dynamic Prep this past season.
Joe Sterling: A 6-4 guard from California with four recruiting stars is considered one of the top 3-point shooters in the class.
Coleman Elkins: The 6-10 forward and Austin native without any recruiting stars averaged 15.0 points and 7.6 rebounds a game for St. Andrew’s in the 2024-25 season before playing for Blair Academy in New Jersey this past season.
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Mantas Laurencikas: The 19-year-old Lithuanian, a 6-2 guard without any recruiting stars, averaged 13.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 27.2 minutes a game for AS Monaco Basket in the top-tier French league this past season.
TCU forward David Punch reacts in the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026 in Greenville, South Carolina.
Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images
Texas basketball projected starting lineup and rotation in 2026-27
Starters
Matas Vokietaitis: The big man should serve as the centerpiece of an inside-outside offense considering his offensive development and willingness to pass.
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David Punch: The physical power forward should take some pressure off Vokietaitis in the paint and doesn’t need to the ball to be productive.
Elyjah Freeman: The wing seems like a natural replacement for Swain even without a developed offensive game, especially on the defensive end.
Austin Goosby: The polished freshman immediately upgrades the defense and does enough of the little things to fit in with his veteran teammates.
Isaiah Johnson: The point guard showed off his scoring pop a year ago and should only get better with more experience and more surrounding talent.
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Rotational players
Amari Evans: Like he did at Tennessee, the rugged wing should serve as a bolt of defensive energy off the bench.
Mikey Lewis: The veteran guard may be the best shooter on the team and should serve as the top scoring option off the bench.
Marcus Spears Jr.: The youngest player on the team may need time to develop, but the power forward has too much talent not to find regular minutes.
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Bo Ogden: The freshman boasts hoops savvy beyond his years, and his ability to stretch the floor should get him immediate minutes.
Mantas Laurencikas: The guard may technically be a freshman, but he’s been running point against grown men in Europe and could provide almost a veteran, calming presence off the bench.
Question marks
John Clark: The power forward has enjoyed a strong offseason by all accounts but hasn’t played much basketball over the past two seasons because of injuries.
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Lewis Obiorah: The tallest player on the team can’t redshirt again, so he’ll have to make an impact of some sort this season in order to justify his scholarship.
Redshirt candidates
Joe Sterling: No team can ever have too much shooting, but Sterling has lots of backcourt talent in front of him.
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Coleman Elkins: A late bloomer with intriguing size and skills, he’ll likely develop while drawing a redshirt.