Texas A&M men's basketball will remain under Bucky McMillan's leadership after an agreement on an extension between the school and its head coach.
Bucky McMillan led Texas A&M to an upset win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last week as the 10-seed Aggies defeated 7-seed Saint Mary's.
That success, along with a 21-win regular season, is enough to keep the Texas A&M men's basketball program under his leadership moving forward.
ESPN reports that the university has reached an agreement in principle with the head coach on a new contract, which includes an extension and a market adjustment to his salary.
The first-year man finished the regular season 21-11 and 11-7 in SEC play despite many odds stacked against him.
McMillan arrived in College Station last spring with almost nothing in place and had to build an entire roster through the transfer portal just to get the program on the floor.
That alone made this season unusual. Losing former Indiana forward Mackenzie Mgbako early only added to the challenge, forcing Texas A&M to lean even harder into a smaller, guard-driven identity built around perimeter shooting, pace, and relentless defensive pressure.
As A&M opened conference play 7-1, McMillan began getting mentions in coach of the year conversations, even ESPN naming him one of 12 candidates in the running.
McMillan could still be in the running for the award, but for now, the more pressing duty is his transition into the offseason. Players such as Rashaun Agee, Rylan Griffen, Jacari Lane, Ali Dibba and Federiko Federiko could all be in search of new homes, but the Aggies could also make just as much recruiting noise as it did a year ago to repeat the 2025-26 successes.
With this new contract as a foundation, the Aggies program is headed in the right direction after such an impressive turnaround.
But perhaps the one thing more impressive is McMillan's own journey to get to this level of college basketball.
McMillan was a state championship-winning high school coach from 2008 to 2020 in Mountain Brook, Alabama. His jump into the college ranks at Samford yielded unprecedented success right away, winning three straight SoCon Coach of the Year honors.
"Could Bucky Ball translate to the SEC? The answer has been a resounding yes so far," wrote ESPN's Jeff Borzello midway through the season. "… He's brought his distinctive brand of basketball — fast-paced, lots of 3-pointers, suffocating pressure defense — with him."
And now it's here to stay.