A memorable run to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament changed the narrative for Texas basketball and its first season under head coach Sean Miller. Sure, the Longhorns (21-15, 9-9) endured an up-and-down regular season and suffered a disheartening loss to Ole Miss in the first round of the SEC Tournament.
But Miller says memories are made in March, and Texas fans won’t soon forget a remarkable string of tournament games — the buzzer-beater in a First Four win over North Carolina State, two upsets over higher-seeded teams in BYU and Gonzaga, and a hard-fought loss to powerhouse Purdue in the Sweet 16.
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“I think we certainly overachieved down the stretch,” Miller said. “I think we played, certainly our very, very best. Everybody wants to play well in March, but it’s just not easy. We eventually got there. And I think the best version of this year’s team was the last two weeks.”
Here are the final grades for each Texas player who appeared it at least 20 games in the 2025-26 season.
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Texas guard Tramon Mark (12) celebrates with teammate Nic Codie after making the game winning shot against NC State Wolfpack during the second half of a First Four game in the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament March 17, 2026 at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Texas basketball season gradesDailyn Swain, forward: A
A 6-foot-8, 220-pound wing who followed Miller from Xavier, Dailyn Swain blossomed into one of the league’s top players as well as a possible first-round pick in this year’s NBA draft. The second-team All-SEC selection led the Longhorns in multiple categories: averaging 32.7 minutes, 17.3 points and 7.5 rebounds with 129 total assists and 59 total steals. He shot 54.2% from the floor, including 34.4% from 3-point range. His scoring dropped a tick in the postseason, but that coincided with more team success while he took on more duties on defense and as a facilitator. He still needs to be more careful with the ball, as evident by his team-high 95 turnovers, but Swain delivered elite performances on both ends of the court.
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Matas Vokietaitis, post: A-
The 7-foot sophomore transfer from Florida Atlantic made some youthful mistakes and fouled too much, but Matas Vokietaitis proved himself as one of the top big men in one of the nation’s top leagues. He finished only behind Swain with 15.6 points and 7.1 rebounds in 26 minutes per game while shooting 61.9% from the floor. He also became the focal point of the offense in the postseason and had arguably his best game against BYU in a first-round NCAA Tournament win, as he scored 23 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds. He also draws fouls; Vokietaitis ranks third in the nation with 284 free-throw attempts and can single-handedly put an opponent in foul trouble. Vokietaitis has room for improvement, though, since he shoots just 66.9% from the foul line and averages one personal foul every 7.6 minutes played.
Texas Longhorns center Matas Vokietaitis (8), forward John Clark (9) and guard Tramon Mark (12) head to the locker room after warm-ups ahead of Texas’ 79-77 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, March 26, 2026. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
Tramon Mark, guard: B+
Tramon Mark, a 6-foot-5 senior who just finished his sixth and final year of college, saved his best for last. He averaged 14.0 points on 47.4% shooting for the season. He became the team’s go-to scorer in the postseason as well as a reliable perimeter defender. Mark hit the game-winner in the First Four win over North Carolina State, scored 19 points and had a career-high five blocks in the first-round win over BYU and finished with 29 points in the loss to Purdue, a career high in two seasons with the Longhorns. He had some lulls throughout the season while scoring in single-digits 12 times, but delivered his best games when it mattered the most.
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Chendall Weaver, guard: B
Stats can’t measure the impact of 6-foot-3 Chendall Weaver, the only player in the rotation who’s been at Texas at least three seasons. Weaver averaged 5.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20.9 minutes, but his energy off the bench often changed the tone of a game. He never became efficient from long distance during his time at Texas — he made 21.7% of his 3-pointers this season, a significant drop from his 40.2% rate as a freshman at UT-Arlington — but defense, rebounding and all-out effort made him a valuable part of the rotation while playing in all 36 games.
Jordan Pope, guard: B-
No one will ever question the physical and mental toughness of Jordan Pope, a 6-foot-1 senior who endured a roller-coaster of a season. He played his final collegiate game with a broken foot and still scored a dozen points in the loss to Purdue, and he proved unafraid to take and make some late shots while scoring 17 in the upset win over Gonzaga. But Pope, a natural shooter, did endure his worst shooting year of his career while making just 39.9% from the floor. He also served as Texas’ de facto point guard but averaged only 1.9 assists to go with his 13.9 points a game. The slightly built but scrappy guard also had issues slowing opposing guards, though those defensive issues plagued the team all season before stiffening up in the NCAA Tournament.
Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller looks at the scoreboard in the second half of Texas’ 79-77 loss to the Purdue Boilermakers in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, March 26, 2026. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
Nic Codie, forward: C+
Nic Codie, a 6-foot-8 sophomore from Dallas, started the first three games then fell out of the rotation for much of the season. But he took advantage of extended playing time midway through SEC play after a season-ending knee injury to Lassina Traore and became a valuable part of the rotation. He averaged just 4.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 15.8 minutes a game, but he showed defensive versatility and offensive savvy, especially when he worked a high-low post game with Vokietaitis. A 12-point, four-rebound, three-assist game in a second-round win over BYU hints at his potential.
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Camden Heide, forward: C
The 6-foot-7 junior transfer from Purdue shot a team-best 45.5% from 3-point range, but attempted just 3.1 3-pointer a game while averaging 22.5 minutes and starting all but six games. The Longhorns needed more production from Heide, who averaged 5.9 points and 2.7 rebounds. But they got toughness and intangibles as well as one of the season’s most clutch shots, a late 3-pointer that helped seal the win over Gonzaga in the second round.
Lassina Traore, forward: D+
Like Weaver, Lassina Traore’s impact couldn’t be measured by stats. The 6-foot-9 senior, another Xavier transfer, provided steady interior defense and a physical presence off the bench before suffering a season-ending knee injury Feb. 3 against South Carolina. But the numbers can’t be ignored; he averaged just 3.4 points and 5.1 rebounds in 15.6 minutes a game while shooting 44.9% from the floor before his injury, and he had as many turnovers (22) as buckets this season.
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Simeon Wilcher, guard: D
First, the good news. The 6-foot-4 Simeon Wilcher, a transfer from St. John’s, provided steady defense in 18.6 minutes a game as well as a solid locker-room presence. But he just couldn’t provide much else. After shooting 40.4% from 3-point range in nonconference play and scoring at least 11 points in six of the 13 non-SEC games, Wilcher averaged just 3.5 points the rest of the season. The junior shot a career-low 36.4% from the floor and averaged 1.8 assists compared to 1.3 turnovers a game.
Sean Miller/coaching: A-
It took until March, but Miller finally coaxed out the type of team that seems to win in the postseason while reaching the Sweet 16 for the ninth time in 21 years as a head coach. The Longhorns showed defensive grit in their four NCAA Tournament games while holding each of their tournament opponents — all of whom ranked in the top 40 in the nation in offensive efficiency, by the way — to less than 49% shooting.
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In comparison, the Longhorns couldn’t seem to defend without fouling in the regular season while allowing 11 of the 22 Power Five teams faced in the regular season to shoot at least 49% from the field. And Miller also helped produce arguably the most efficient offense in school history. Texas averaged 82.8 points, the highest since the 1994-95 squad scored 92.9 points. Miller seemed to squeeze the most he could from a thin roster with noticeable flaws, which bodes well for the future.