When it comes to the college basketball recruiting race, the Texas A&M Aggies and head coach Bucky McMillan landed a major recruit on Thursday with the commitment of big man Josh Irving from the class of 2026, as per Brandon Jenkins of 247 Sports. The Aggies beat out other top Division 1 programs in Louisville and Kentucky to secure Irving’s commitment.

As told to Jenkins, Irving cited his goal of playing in the NBA as a major reason why he made his commitment to Texas A&M.

“The visit went amazing,” Irving said. “We saw the football game and got a tour of everything. What mattered to me the most was the best place I would fit in and have the best chance at making it pro, and I feel like [Texas A&M] has the pieces for me to do that compared to the others.”

With Irving’s commitment, Texas A&M now has two recruits from the class of 2026 alongside Neiko Mundey, and both players are considered top-50 players in the country. Irving will be playing his senior season at Pasadena High School in California, while Mundey is at Prince George’s Christian Academy in Maryland. Both players were join the Aggies for the 2026-27 season.

Article Continues Below

But the immediate task at hand for the Aggies is navigating the first season under Bucky McMillan as head coach. The program hired McMillan as their new head coach last April after Buzz Williams accepted the head coaching job at Maryland.

McMillan joins the Aggies after five seasons as the head coach at Samford. During that time, he led the Bulldogs to an overall record of 99-52 and one NCAA Tournament appearance and one NIT appearance. So far, McMillian has been successful with the transfer portal in constructing his roster.

The Aggies are coming off their third consecutive season of making the NCAA Tournament. They lost in the round of 32 to Michigan. Texas A&M is also coming off their fourth consecutive season of posting a winning record. They finished 23-11 overall and 11-7 in SEC play.