Sean Miller estimates 20 to 25 teams have spent $20+ million on their rosters

Last season, Kentucky had the most expensive roster in college basketball, worth a reported $22 million, almost double what other top programs in the sport spent. Now, in year two of the House Settlement, $20 million rosters might be becoming the new normal among high-major programs.

In an interview with Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68, Texas coach Sean Miller estimated that 20 to 25 programs have spent $20 million or more on their rosters this offseason. He didn’t give specifics on how much the Longhorns spent, but said that he believes it was enough to stay competitive in the SEC and beyond.

“I pay close attention to the SEC, and I think we competed at a very high level,” Miller said. “The University of Texas is investing in our basketball program to allow us to compete for the top prize. I think we’re in the company of about seven or eight [programs] where guys are really along the same lines as us. I don’t know. Educated guess? Sometimes you don’t have all the information, how many with $20 [million]? I would say 20-25.”

Who is among those 20 to 25 teams? When you factor in retention, Florida and Duke have to be at the top, with Illinois not far behind. In terms of pure portal spending, Louisville, Tennessee, Indiana, and Miami (FL) have certainly done well. If you expand it to high school recruiting, Louisville just got a commitment from five-star center Obinna Ekezie Jr., who will reclassify to 2026. Tennessee landed Wake Forest transfer guard Juke Harris today, another offensive weapon in a very deep portal class that also includes Terrence Hill Jr. (VCU) and Jalan Haralson (Notre Dame).

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What about Kentucky, just recently the outlier in the sport when it comes to spending? Keeping Malachi Moreno wasn’t cheap. He is the best of the returning players, followed by Kam Williams, Trent Noah, and a wildcard in Braydon Hawthorne. The Cats currently have two Top 50 transfer portal commits, Alex Wilkins (No. 30) and Zoom Diallo (No. 34), to go along with Justin McBride (No. 212) and Jerone Morton (No. 433). Senegalese forward Ousimane N’Diaye is an intriguing addition from overseas. We know Mark Pope is still searching for a backup center, traveling to Israel last week to watch Marcio Santos.

Kentucky set aside plenty of money for Tyran Stokes, just for Stokes to commit to Kansas. That leaves some money for more depth in the frontcourt and potentially one more big swing in the form of Milan Momcilovic, Allen Graves, or Tounde Yessoufou, who are all testing the NBA Draft waters. We probably won’t know their decisions until after the NBA Draft Combine.

Last season is proof that the most expensive roster in college basketball isn’t always the best. Mark Pope’s work may not be done just yet, but hopefully, he’s using year two as a lesson for year three, and the reasons for the pieces match the resources.