The Texas Longhorns Men's Basketball team is ranked No. 7 in The AP Preseason Top 25. Texas is also No. 7 in the Coaches Poll. This is UT's highest preseason ranking in five years. It's only the eight time the Longhorns have started the season ranked in the top 10 and just the second time since the Rick Barnes era.
Texas coach Sean Miller welcomes one starter and 11 newcomers to a team that made it to the Sweet 16 of last season's NCAA Tournament. Junior center Matas Vokietaitis is back from last year's March Madness run. The Lithuania shined in the tournament.
The Longhorns added five transfers to the roster this season. Sophomore guard Amari Evens (Tennessee), junior guard/forward Elyjah Freeman (Auburn), sophomore guard Isaiah Johnson (Colorado),
junior guard Mikey Lewis (Saint Mary's) and junior forward David Punch (TCU) have all joined Miller's squad.
The preseason AP Top 25 is here!
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) October 19, 2026
Who’s ranked too high or too low heading into the season? pic.twitter.com/G4eX6mrV9K
UT also has six freshman joining the mix, including No. 1 2027 basketball recruit Marcus Spears Jr. The son of former Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman and current ESPN analyst Marcus Spears has reclassified to the 2026 recruiting class and 17-year-old will join the team for this season.
Texas has the the No. 4 recruiting class nationally, according to 247 Sports. Guards Austin Goosby and Bo Ogden were also highly ranked recruits.
The Horns opens the season at home against Chicago State on Monday, Nov. 2. Tipoff is at 8 p.m. Central at Moody Center. The game will be televised by SEC Network.
For the first time in 20 years, the Florida Gators lead the USA TODAY Sports preseason men's college basketball poll.
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) October 19, 2026
See where your favorite team landed. ➡️ https://t.co/GT8xyzWA0R pic.twitter.com/aQfqDuiQkV
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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Texas Men's Basketball starts season in Top 10 in preseason polls
