Texas A&M landed its second portal commit of the cycle Thursday. Cade Phillips brings size, defense and SEC experience to a program still hunting in an active offseason.
Texas A&M continued building its transfer portal class Thursday when Tennessee forward Cade Phillips announced his commitment to the Aggies on Instagram. Phillips becomes the second portal addition for head coach Bucky McMillan, joining Kansas State guard PJ Haggerty, who arrived last week as the sixth-ranked portal player in the country after averaging 23.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game for the Wildcats last season.
Phillips brings something entirely different to College Station. Where Haggerty fills the offensive void, the 6-foot-9 junior from Jacksonville, Ala. addresses a frontcourt need with size, athleticism and defensive presence. He took visits to Alabama, TCU and Texas A&M before choosing the Aggies, giving McMillan a physical interior player who spent three seasons competing in one of the most physical conferences in the country.
The profile on Phillips is straightforward. He is not a perimeter threat and does not build his game around scoring. Across 61 career games at Tennessee, he averaged 3.7 points and 3.1 rebounds while shooting 63.5 percent from the floor. His value comes from what he does without the ball, specifically around the rim. He is an aggressive interior presence who plays above the rim, crashes the glass relentlessly and uses his length to make himself a factor defensively.
His most recent season was derailed almost immediately. A shoulder injury that originally surfaced during his sophomore year was reinjured over the summer, and he underwent surgery in December after gutting through 10 games. In that limited sample, he averaged 3.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in under 17 minutes per night while shooting 65.4 percent from the floor. He ranked among the team leaders in offensive rebounds and finished fifth on the roster in total blocks despite playing in less than a quarter of the season.
With Phillips now in the fold, Texas A&M's portal class has climbed to 18th in the country. The backcourt depth still needs attention after guards Ruben Dominguez, Pop Isaacs and Josh Holloway all exited the program through the portal, leaving McMillan short on experienced guard options behind Haggerty. A reliable backup big man remains on the wish list as well, as the Aggies look to build depth around Mackenzie Mgbako and Zach Clemence in the frontcourt. The portal does not close until April 21, and McMillan has shown no signs of slowing down.