In the day and a half since the NCAA transfer portal opening in the wake of the national championship game, things have been quiet on the Forty Acres for the Texas Longhorns beyond the expected announcement that junior wing Dailyn Swain is declaring for the 2026 NBA Draft.
So far, of the eight players with remaining eligibility, none have announced their intentions for the 2026-27 season — the Longhorns have not suffered any departures to the portal, nor have any players indicated their plans to return,
even though sophomore forward Nic Codie mentioned the potential return of several players after the Sweet 16 loss to Purdue.
The biggest decision will come from sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis, one of the team’s breakout stars along with Swain. Last week, Vokietaitis told the Houston Chronicle that he was unsure about whether he’ll return for a second season at Texas.
The other players with remaining eligibility are Codie, starting junior forward Cam Heide, backup junior point guard Simeon Wilcher, reserve freshman forward Declan Duru, two front court players who redshirted — forward John Clark and Lewis Obiorah — and redshirt freshman guard Anthon McDermott, who only played in seven games.
The value of players like Duru, who only played six minutes, and Clark and Obiorah are difficult to assess. Are they on a developmental trajectory that head coach Sean Miller and his staff are excited about? Or were they just additions made the full out last year’s roster?
With Swain’s declaration and seven players exhausting their eligibility, including two rostered walk ons, and four signees in the 2026 recruiting class — anticipated contributors in guards Austin Goosby and Bo Odgen and two developmental signees in guard Joe Sterling and center Coleman Elkins, Texas currently has four roster spots open with the three biggest needs at point guard, wing, and forward, preferably a forward with better size and defensive ability than Heide but who could also space the floor next to Vokietaitis if the Longhorns can convince the big Lithuanian to return.
At point guard, Texas lacked a primary playmaker with Jordan Pope often looking for his own shot, so the expectation is that Miller will look for a floor general who can make his teammates better, but that also depends on whether the Longhorns staff believes that Goosby, the nation’s No. 4 combo guard, can fill that role well enough to pursue a score-first guard like Pope to pair with the consensus five-star prospect.
Depending on how Miller wants to construct his roster, he could replace the walk ons with similar players or developmental types who could eventually emerge as contributors with the other need a bench guard to replace the energy and athleticism of Chendall Weaver.
In the early part of the portal process, the Longhornswill be in contact with a number of potential targets as the staff works to establish their priorities and set up visits.
Two potential targets emerging early for Texas are Colorado transfer guard Isaiah Johnson and Utah transfer forward Keanu Dawes.
A 6’1 California product, Johnson broke the freshman scoring record for the Buffaloes in averaging 16.9 points per game and shooting 37.8 percent from three-point range. As the No. 8 player overall in the 247Sports transfer rankings, Johnson is one of the most coveted players in the portal, but with an 18.6 assist rate, he profiles more like Pope than a true point guard.
Dawes has ties to the state — he’s from Houston and spent his freshman season at Rice before transferring to Utah for two years, emerging into an impact player for the Utes by averaging 12.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game last season. The 6’9, 225-pounder is ranked as the No. 39 player and the No. 10 power forward in the portal.
Texas is also in contact with sophomore Radford transfer guard Del Jones, sophomore VCU transfer guard Terrence Hill Jr., and junior James Madison transfer forward Justin McBride. Jones and Hill are both better primary playmakers than Johnson with Hill ranking as the No. 14 overall player in the portal.
