PJ Haggerty Lands Jerry West Award Watch List Spot Before Aggies Debut

Texas A&M hasn’t opened its basketball season yet, but PJ Haggerty has already offered a compelling introduction: 28 points against SMU and another national honor before his first regular-season appearance.

The Aggies newcomer was named Tuesday to the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year preseason watch list, joining 19 other candidates for the award recognizing Division I’s top shooting guard.

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For Texas A&M, the selection reinforces what Haggerty’s scoring history and exhibition performance suggest. The Aggies have added a guard capable of carrying a substantial offensive workload.

Haggerty averaged 23.4 points at Kansas State last season, ranking fourth nationally and second in the Big 12. He started all 31 games he played, contributing 5.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per outing.

His scoring wasn’t limited to steady production. The 6-4, 195-pound guard reached 30 points five times, including a season-high 37 against Mississippi State.

Sunday’s exhibition supplied an early look at how that ability could translate in Aggieland. Haggerty scored 28 points and added four assists and four steals, although SMU prevailed 94-88 at Moody Coliseum.

The individual performance was encouraging. The team’s execution remained a work in progress.

“We were way better on offense the second half, moving the ball and making half-second decisions,” coach Bucky McMillan said afterward.

McMillan also identified fouling as a problem, giving the Aggies a clear correction to make before games begin counting.

Haggerty’s arrival provides an experienced scoring option as those adjustments continue. He’d already earned preseason All-SEC third-team recognition from the media before Tuesday’s watch-list announcement.

He’s familiar with the Jerry West award conversation, too.

At Memphis in 2024-25, Haggerty finished among the award’s five finalists while earning American Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors.

He averaged 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.8 steals, shooting 47.6 percent from the field.

The Tigers won the AAC regular-season and tournament championships and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Haggerty earned second-team All-America recognition from the Associated Press, USBWA and Sporting News, along with third-team honors from the NABC.

His college journey also includes Tulsa and a redshirt season at TCU, giving him experience across several programs before reaching Texas A&M.

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Now the challenge is converting that resume into production for the Aggies.

Texas A&M opens against Alabama State on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at Reed Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT, when Haggerty’s promising preseason finally becomes a regular-season assignment.