It's way too early for way-too-early polls, but the experts agree big things are in store for Sean Miller

Way-too-early polls can be a blessing and a curse. The men’s college basketball season won’t start for another six months, and while the transfer portal has closed (the 48-business hour lag-time does remain), many teams have put together high-quality rosters for the 2026-27 season. One of those teams is Texas.

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The Longhorns currently boast the No. 11 transfer portal class in On3’s rankings and have already signed a four-man 2026 class ranked No. 14 by Rivals. Plus, Texas retained Matas Vokietaitis, John Clark, and Anthon McDermott throughout the window with none ever entering their names into the transfer portal. While Lewis Obiorah has not made an official announcement either way, he appears destined to return for his redshirt freshman season in burnt orange.

Sean Miller‘s roster retention and building strategies have been viewed favorably by several outlets that publish way-too-early rankings. Those same outlets provide regular updates to their rankings, and Texas is a top-10 team in several.

The Field of 68 labeled Texas as the No. 10 team in its way-too-early top-25 posted earlier this morning. The Longhorns lag behind only one other SEC team in No. 1 Florida. Other SEC teams in the rankings include No. 14 Arkansas, No. 17 Tennessee, and No. 18 Alabama.

🚨 @TheFieldOf68 WAY-TOO-EARLY TOP 25 🚨
⁰Who’s too high? Who’s too low? 🤔⬇️ pic.twitter.com/D47YdUiRTm

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) April 22, 2026

CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, who updates his Rothstein 45 on a daily basis, has Texas as the No. 9 team in the nation. Again, the only SEC team the Longhorns lag behind are the No. 1 Florida Gators, though the No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks are nipping at Bevo’s heels.

Is there room for Texas to move up? That would only occur if forward Dailyn Swain elected to return for his senior season. Thought to be a first-round prospect, Swain declared for the NBA Draft but left himself the opportunity to return for the 2026-27 season. He will participate in the 2026 NBA Draft Combine from May 10-17 in Chicago. His deadline to withdraw from the draft is 4 p.m. Central on June 13.

The Longhorns have not started a season in the top-10 of the AP Poll since 2021, when Chris Beard‘s first team at Texas began the year No. 5. That team would make it to the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament and finish ranked No. 25.

In his first season in Austin, Miller’s team reached the Sweet 16 and finished ranked No. 22 in the AP Poll, the program’s first ranked finish since the 2022-23 season.

The roster at a glance

Confirmed coming back (3)

• C Matas Vokietaitis: 15.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 0.6 apg
• G Anthon McDermott: 0.9 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 0.3 apg
• F John Clark

Eligible to return (2)

• F Dailyn Swain: 17.3 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 3.6 apg – Declared for NBA draft
• C Lewis Obiorah

Added via the portal (4)

• F David Punch, TCU: 14.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.0 apg
• G Isaiah Johnson, Colorado: 16.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 3.0 apg
• G Amari Evans, Tennessee: 4.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.8 apg
• F Elyjah Freeman, Auburn: 9.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 1.2 apg

The 2026 class (4)

• W Austin Goosby: No. 58 per Rivals
• F Bo Ogden: No. 45 per Rivals
• G Joe Sterling: No. 138 per Rivals
• C Coleman Elkins: Unranked

Out of eligibility (6)

• G Tramon Mark: 14.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.8 apg
• G Jordan Pope: 13.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.9 apg
• G Chendall Weaver: 5.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.1 apg
• F Lassina Traore: 3.4 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 0.6 apg
• F Cole Bott (Walk-on): 0.5 ppg, 0.2 rpg, 0.2 apg
• G Brandon Taylor (Walk-on): 0.8 ppg, 0.5 rpg, 0.0 apg

Entered portal (4)

• G Camden Heide: 5.9 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 0.7 apg
• G Simeon Wilcher: 5.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 1.7 apg
• F Nic Codie: 4.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 0.8 apg
• F Declan Duru: 1.3 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.0 apg