Texas Men's Basketball Slides Into ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25 Rankings

The Texas Longhorns are entering the second full season under head coach Rodney Terry.

Matt Galatzan | Jul 1, 2024

Mar 21, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Rodney Terry calls to his team in the first half of the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

In this story:

Texas Longhorns

Texas Longhorns men’s basketball has finalized its roster this offseason with a flurry of talented transfers and a strong freshman class.

Still, as the Longhorns enter the SEC, there’s still some uncertainty about how it all will come together, but ESPN is leaning on the side of optimism.

The site released its latest installment of Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings and had Texas included for the first time this offseason following the signing of Kansas State transfer forward Arthur Kaluma.

The Longhorns slide in at No. 22 in a rankings list that features a whopping nine SEC teams, including Alabama (No. 2), Auburn (No. 11), Texas A&M (No. 12), Tennessee (No. 13), Arkansas (No. 14), Ole Miss (No. 20), Florida (No. 21) and Kentucky (No. 23).

Here’s what ESPN had to say about Texas:

"Texas has been bouncing in and out of the Way-Too-Early Top 25 for much of the spring, but Kansas State transfer Arthur Kaluma committing in late June secured the Longhorns their latest spot in the rankings. Rodney Terry has loaded his roster with talented scorers, led by Jordan Pope (Oregon State), Tramon Mark (Arkansas), Kaluma and top-five recruit Tre Johnson. Jayson Kent (Indiana State) and Kadin Shedrick will anchor the defense.”

Many fans expect the Longhorns to have an easier time in the SEC after dealing with the rough-and-tough Big 12 over the years, but if these rankings hold up, Texas will be in for a challenge week in and week out despite reloading the roster.

Texas begins the regular season against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Las Vegas for the Hall of Fame Series on Monday, Nov. 4

Published Jul 1, 2024

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.