Texas A&M Basketball

Texas A&M set to hire Samford's Bucky McMillan as head basketball coach

On Friday, it was reported that Texas A&M will hire Samford's Bucky McMillan to be the next head basketball coach. Across his five-season tenure at Samford, the Bulldogs were 99-52 (.656) and 54-29 (.651) in the Southern Conference.
By Richard Zane
April 4, 2025
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63 Comments
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Photo by Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

According to reports from TexAgs’ co-owner and executive editor Billy Liucci as well as ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Jeff Borzello, Bucky McMillan is set to be hired as the next head men’s basketball coach at Texas A&M.

McMillan, 41, comes to Aggieland after spending the last five seasons at Samford University. While in Homewood, McMillan’s Bulldogs captured three Southern Conference championships — both the 2022-23 and 2023-24 regular-season crowns as well as the 2024 tournament title — and participated in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

An official announcement from Texas A&M is expected shortly.

With 17 years of head coaching experience at the high school and collegiate levels, McMillan takes over a Texas A&M program following Buzz Williams’ departure for the University of Maryland. In 2024-25, the Aggies were 23-11 overall and 11-7 in the SEC, and the Maroon & White were eliminated in the Round of 32.

A&M has not been to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since Billy Kennedy took the Aggies to the Sweet 16 in 2018. Never have the Maroon & White been to the Elite Eight and beyond.

Born in Birmingham, McMillan played college hoops at Birmingham-Southern College from 2002 until 2006 and graduated in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in education services.

Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Bucky McMillan’s Samford Bulldogs were 22-11 and 12-6 in the SoCon in 2024-25. They were eliminated in the first round of the 2025 NIT by George Mason.

McMillan began his coaching career at Alabama’s Mountain Brook High School — his alma mater — as an assistant in 2006, leading the junior varsity for two seasons until he was promoted to head coach in 2008. During his time at Mountain Brook, the Spartans won three 7A basketball championships and two 6A titles. He was named the Boy’s Basketball Coach of the Year by the National High School Coaches Association in 2018 — becoming the first Alabama coach to win the honor — after Mountain Brook went 34-3.

Samford hired McMillan on April 6, 2020. After having eight games canceled due to COVID-19 precautions during the 2020-21 campaign, “Bucky Ball” helped the Bulldogs rebounded to a 21-11 mark the following season.

In 2022-23, Samford claimed its first conference title since 1999 as the Bulldogs went 21-11 overall and 15-3 in the league. McMillan & Co. followed up with a 29-6 campaign and another 15-3 SoCon record in 2023-24, winning the league’s tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament for just the third time in school history. The No. 13 seed Bulldogs were eventually eliminated by No. 4 seed Kansas in the first round, 93-89.

Across his five-season tenure at Samford, the Bulldogs were 99-52 (.656) and 54-29 (.651) in the Southern Conference, and McMillan is a three-time SoCon Coach of the Year honoree (2022-24).

Additionally, “Bucky Ball” refers to McMillan’s uptempo, aggressive style of play.

McMillan is set to become the 23rd head coach in program history.

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Buzz Williams Billy Kennedy Bucky McMillan Pass it Back 2025 NCAA Tournament Basketball Texas A&M Kansas Maryland Samford George Mason 2024-2025
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Texas A&M set to hire Samford's Bucky McMillan as head basketball coach

28,366 Views | 63 Replies | Last: 5 mo ago by SBDavis87
eATMup-Reveille
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In reply to BadMoonRisin • 10:37p, 4/4/25
BadMoonRisin said:
April Fools was on Tuesday, my guys.


Belated Happy Birthday.
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DonHenley
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10:52p, 4/4/25
Lmao...who? Ags down so bad
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rondis23
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11:02p, 4/4/25
Best case scenario he works out, and we are a stepping stone for him in 5 years.
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nbbob
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11:44p, 4/4/25
When the previous coach won a total of 2 NCAA tournament games in 6 years, how much risk is there really in going with a lesser name with a completely different philosophy? I think Buzz leaving and this hire are good developments for the program .
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CardiffGiant
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11:44p, 4/4/25
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jja79
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In reply to StrykerAg • 11:57p, 4/4/25
StrykerAg said:
Have fun not seeing A&M win a natty in a sport that matters before you kick the bucket


What living Aggie has seen one in their lifetime? I'm not expecting to see one the rest of my life.
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cupcakesprinkles
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In reply to Hill08 • 12:04a, 4/5/25
Hill08 said:
When was the last time we didn't LOVE and commit, transfer, or HC hire?
Mark Stoops
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rondis23
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In reply to nbbob • 12:09a, 4/5/25
nbbob said:
When the previous coach won a total of 2 NCAA tournament games in 6 years, how much risk is there really in going with a lesser name with a completely different philosophy? I think Buzz leaving and this hire are good developments for the program .


Melvin Watkins.
Tony Barrone.

It's a shame that I remember those times. 1 year of making the tourney would have been nice.
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Ozamataz Buckshank 01
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12:27a, 4/5/25
Trev must have received a lot of "no"s from better candidates to have to make this hire.
"You can't grade the success of a CEO by how likeable he is."
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Eddie Vedder
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1:32a, 4/5/25
What the fu…
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LB12Diamond
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In reply to rondis23 • 5:09a, 4/5/25
rondis23 said:
nbbob said:
When the previous coach won a total of 2 NCAA tournament games in 6 years, how much risk is there really in going with a lesser name with a completely different philosophy? I think Buzz leaving and this hire are good developments for the program .


Melvin Watkins.
Tony Barrone.

It's a shame that I remember those times. 1 year of making the tourney would have been nice.


LOL

Please by all means tell me the actual basketball coaching similarities besides just throwing out two of our bad coaching hires.

So many BAS posts popping up.
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kimcosgrove
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5:32a, 4/5/25
I am excited for this hire. Good job, Trev.
Kim Cosgrove Fightin' Class of '84
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rondis23
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In reply to LB12Diamond • 5:38a, 4/5/25
LB12Diamond said:
rondis23 said:
nbbob said:
When the previous coach won a total of 2 NCAA tournament games in 6 years, how much risk is there really in going with a lesser name with a completely different philosophy? I think Buzz leaving and this hire are good developments for the program .


Melvin Watkins.
Tony Barrone.

It's a shame that I remember those times. 1 year of making the tourney would have been nice.


LOL

Please by all means tell me the actual basketball coaching similarities besides just throwing out two of our bad coaching hires.

So many BAS posts popping up.



We have Zero players on our current Roster. Barrone could Not recruit. Melvin kinda recruited but couldn't coach. Both Coaches were HUGE question marks, but A&M hired them.

Then we started hiring coaches that were a little more proven/up and coming coaches with tournament experience/wins. Finally, from 2004 and on, Texas A&M basketball has had some hope of playing post season basketball. Sometimes it's been the NIT, sometimes we make the tournament.

Samford has Never won a tournament game in school history. Bucky has Zero tournament wins in his career. We just hired him.

Bucky has dominated the Southern Conference to the tune of 1 Conference championship in 5 years, and it wasnt even this past season. He has struggled to consistently win against Wofford, yes THAT Wofford.

We also have NO players on our current roster.

BAS? Ok.
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Bobaloo
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6:16a, 4/5/25
BCG came from UTEP and is considered a deity in these parts. I am aware he was an assistant at KU. I'm partial to coaches who want to coach at A&M. Buzz, Jimbo and Schloss don't want to be here. F them
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Deus Vult
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In reply to Kansas Kid • 7:26a, 4/5/25
Kansas Kid said:
I would rather take a chance on a guy like this then retread a big name.

I see you didn't visit the baseball forum much.
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aggiebones
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7:46a, 4/5/25
Didn't Law get into the Elite 8? Or was that loss to Memphis in the Sweet 16?
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Tango.Mike
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In reply to Upperdeck Critic • 7:53a, 4/5/25
Upperdeck Critic said:
If he can recruit a complete roster and fill all the bench, he will have passed his first test. Then keep them ! Hope he has some NIL to use.
I can't say I'm excited by the selection. It reminds me of hiring a coach from Murray State several years ago. But, there were some extenuating circumstances surrounding Kennedy which perhaps hampered his coaching in the later years.
The last time I was excited by a coaching hire at A&M for basketball was Billy Clyde Gillespie. Not that exciting to hire someone from Samford in the Southern Conference.
Seems as if Maryland likes Aggie basketball coaches.... Turgeon and Williams....
Seems as if the Aggie AD may have panicked after being turned down by Beard. Is it too late to get Jackie Sherrill back as AD....


Gillispie was .500 in the corpse of a mid major conference when A&M hired him. The hope back then was Eustachy, there were very few casuals who were "excited" by the Gillispie hire. Turgeon and Buzz were much bigger hires than Gillispie.

Sherrill was completely incompetent as AD, we don't need him back to do anything

Btw, I like the "according to Billy Liucci" in the OP article - translated to "Billy Liucci just read this on X and is reposting."
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Stupedasso
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In reply to Dr. Alister MacKenzie • 7:56a, 4/5/25
Dr. Alister MacKenzie said:
LOL wow


You know our program is in a sad state when the Texas Tech coach just says no and doesn't even bother using us as leverage to get more money. He acted like we were beneath them even calling him.
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monarch
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In reply to 85AustinAg • 8:41a, 4/5/25
Agreed. GTFO
Peace for Ukraine!
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FTAG 2000
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In reply to Stupedasso • 8:51a, 4/5/25
Stupedasso said:
Dr. Alister MacKenzie said:
LOL wow


You know our program is in a sad state when the Texas Tech coach just says no and doesn't even bother using us as leverage to get more money. He acted like we were beneath them even calling him.


He got more NIL funds out of it. Just not public (yet).
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rondis23
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In reply to aggiebones • 9:02a, 4/5/25
aggiebones said:
Didn't Law get into the Elite 8? Or was that loss to Memphis in the Sweet 16?


Loss to Memphis in the Sweet 16. Which is the Peak of Aggie Basketball History. We're trying to say we care about Basketball, and our AD goes and hires a guy with ZERO tournament wins. His offense is Fantastic though!
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nbbob
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In reply to rondis23 • 9:03a, 4/5/25
rondis23 said:
nbbob said:
When the previous coach won a total of 2 NCAA tournament games in 6 years, how much risk is there really in going with a lesser name with a completely different philosophy? I think Buzz leaving and this hire are good developments for the program .


Melvin Watkins.
Tony Barrone.

It's a shame that I remember those times. 1 year of making the tourney would have been nice.


I remember them as well. My point is that Buzz wasn't all that successful when the criteria is post season accomplishments. Further, not a single player was drafted by the NBA during his tenure. So either he couldn't attract major talent or develop it. Or both. In my opinion he was stuck somewhere in the middle and hadn't given much indication he could recruit or build a program that could at least make the Sweet 16. And I think his record confirms that.
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halfastros81
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In reply to rondis23 • 9:31a, 4/5/25
Wanna guess how many ncaa tourney games Coach K won at Army before Duke hired him? Zero tourney wins for a guy with less than 5 yrs as a hbbc is not a great metric to use imo especially at a place without a lot of ncaa tourney success. Also Coach K didn't get past the round of 32 until yr 5 at Duke. I'm not comparing Bucky to Coach K , just saying that particular metric isn't a good predictor of future success. Bobby Knight is another one… didn't win an NCAA tourney game until Year 8 of his college hc career (yr 2 at Indiana).

The real peak of A& M hoops history was the 79-80 team that took the eventual National Champion to overtime in the Sweet 16.
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Canvasback
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In reply to StrykerAg • 1:44p, 4/5/25
StrykerAg said:
From Jimbo, Schloss and Buzz to Elko, Earley and this guy....yikes.

That's enough Aggie Athletics for me this decade.
Bye
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Canyon99
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In reply to Stupedasso • 2:47p, 4/5/25
Stupedasso said:
Dr. Alister MacKenzie said:
LOL wow


You know our program is in a sad state when the Texas Tech coach just says no and doesn't even bother using us as leverage to get more money. He acted like we were beneath them even calling him.


You do know they played in a national championship game in recent years, correct? You need a sense of reality.
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Ag-Yoakum95
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In reply to rondis23 • 3:08p, 4/5/25
rondis23 said:
LB12Diamond said:
rondis23 said:
nbbob said:
When the previous coach won a total of 2 NCAA tournament games in 6 years, how much risk is there really in going with a lesser name with a completely different philosophy? I think Buzz leaving and this hire are good developments for the program .


Melvin Watkins.
Tony Barrone.

It's a shame that I remember those times. 1 year of making the tourney would have been nice.


LOL

Please by all means tell me the actual basketball coaching similarities besides just throwing out two of our bad coaching hires.

So many BAS posts popping up.



We have Zero players on our current Roster. Barrone could Not recruit. Melvin kinda recruited but couldn't coach. Both Coaches were HUGE question marks, but A&M hired them.

Then we started hiring coaches that were a little more proven/up and coming coaches with tournament experience/wins. Finally, from 2004 and on, Texas A&M basketball has had some hope of playing post season basketball. Sometimes it's been the NIT, sometimes we make the tournament.

Samford has Never won a tournament game in school history. Bucky has Zero tournament wins in his career. We just hired him.

Bucky has dominated the Southern Conference to the tune of 1 Conference championship in 5 years, and it wasnt even this past season. He has struggled to consistently win against Wofford, yes THAT Wofford.

We also have NO players on our current roster.

BAS? Ok.



In this era of college basketball, there are plenty of schools lacking players at the moment. Go look just up the road in Waco where that team has had sustained success the last ten or so years. They've lost quite a few themselves. That's just one example.
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Ag-Yoakum95
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In reply to rondis23 • 3:11p, 4/5/25
rondis23 said:
aggiebones said:
Didn't Law get into the Elite 8? Or was that loss to Memphis in the Sweet 16?


Loss to Memphis in the Sweet 16. Which is the Peak of Aggie Basketball History. We're trying to say we care about Basketball, and our AD goes and hires a guy with ZERO tournament wins. His offense is Fantastic though!


I'm assuming you weren't on board either when they hired Gillespie, right?
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SBDavis87
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6:32p, 4/5/25
Aggies needed a Shelby Metcalf type hire, instead they got a Kenny Payne type hire.
I worked at Stryker too.

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