After making an unexpected run to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 in March, No. 7 Texas has heightened expectations with a strong offseason recruiting haul that turned spectacular when five-star recruit Marcus Spears Jr. joined in July.
Coach Sean Miller will have an intimidating front line led by 7-foot center Matas Vokietaitis — the Longhorns’ only returning starter — and the 6-9 Spears, who was considered the No. 1 recruit in Class of 2027 until he reclassified and enrolled in school.
The Longhorns unveil their new group in the regular-season opener against Chicago State on Monday in Austin, Texas, following an uninspired 87-74 exhibition loss to No. 13 St. John’s on Oct. 25 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Miller considers his second Texas team a work in progress.
“We’re going to get better,” Miller said. “We’re never going to be the best that we can be in November, December. We don’t return five starters.
“I do think our ceiling, and where we can end up, will be in a far better place than we are here.”
Transfers Isaiah Johnson, David Punch, Amari Evans and Mikey Lewis and highly regarded freshmen Austin Goosby and Bo Ogden are among the other talented newcomers.
The focus, however, will be on Spears, whose father played for LSU’s 2003 national championship football team before a nine-year NFL career that led to becoming an NFL analyst for ESPN. Spears Jr.’s mother, Aiysha, played basketball at LSU before becoming the seventh overall pick in the 2003 WNBA Draft.
“He reminds me of a player that I coached at Arizona: Aaron Gordon,” Miller said. “Marcus shares his maturity, his work ethic, his talent. He has an unselfish nature about him that you don’t often see in people as talented athletically as he is.”
The Longhorns, who finished 21-15 with a 79-77 loss to Purdue in the Sweet 16, have their highest preseason ranking since they entered 2021-22 at No. 5.
Vokietaitis averaged 15.6 points and 7.1 rebounds with 33 blocked shots in 36 games last season. Johnson led Colorado in scoring (16.9 ppg) while shooting 37.8% from 3-point range. Goosby, a 6-5 guard out of Dynamic Prep in Texas, was the No. 18 recruit in the country per 247Sports. On Tuesday, he was among the 20 players placed on the Jerry West Award preseason watch list.
Junior forward Punch averaged 14.1 points and 6.8 rebounds at TCU in 2025-26. Lewis (13.9 points at Saint Mary’s) suffered a broken fifth metatarsal in his right foot in preseason practice and is not expected to return until December, Miller said.
The Longhorns averaged a meager 12.4 assists per game and ranked 228th in KenPom adjusted tempo a year ago, but Miller expects this group to change that.
“We want to play faster,” Miller said. “That’s in our team’s best interest. But I also hope we can remain efficient — free-throw attempts, inside shots, taking good, quality shots, taking care of the ball.”
Chicago State, 7-25 in the Northeast Conference a year ago, returns one starter in 6-foot guard Malek Robinson (a league-high 1.8 steals per game) and is bolstered by the addition of 6-4 wing Foday Sheriff.
Sheriff averaged 16.2 points and 9.7 rebounds at NAIA William Penn University last season, where he was the Heart of America Conference player of the year and a second-team All-American.
“Of course, opening night against Texas, having the opportunity to have our players play on a national stage … I’m just grateful for the opportunity to coach on this level,” Chicago State coach Landon Bussie said. “Really think we have a chance to have a good season.”
Incoming junior guard Mike Price, a Chicago native, averaged 6.5 points last season at Cal State Bakersfield, and senior guard Armari Carraway averaged 6.7 points at Charleston Southern.
“We’re going to win this year,” Robinson said.
The Cougars, who’ll play 13 of their 15 non-conference games on the road, were picked to finish eighth in the nine-team NEC in the preseason coaches’ poll.