Sean Miller Knows Exactly how to Improve Texas basketball with Transfer Portal Adds

The Longhorns are setting itself up for a much improved regular season

Mar 16, 2026; Dayton, OH, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller talks with center Matas Vokietaitis (8) during a practice session ahead of the first four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at University of Dayton Arena. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

In case anyone forgot, the college basketball world was reminded how good of a coach Sean Miller is after he led Texas to the Sweet 16 during his first season in Austin.

It was a forgettable regular season for the Longhorns, starting 12-9 in January before a five-game winning streak put them in position to make the NCAA Tournament entering late February but dropped five-of-six games going into Selection Sunday.

Still, Texas got a March Madness bid, albeit to the First Four, but it didn’t deter the Longhorns. A favorable draw gave Miller’s team NC State in Dayton before getting an injured BYU squad in the Round of 64 and vulnerable Gonzaga program in the Round of 32.

Regardless, it showed how Texas was coming together late in the season and it nearly upset Purdue if not for a putback by Trey Kauffman-Renn in the final second.

But Miller knows what his team needed the most entering next season. His first order of business was getting 7-footer Matas Vokietatitis to return for his junior season and then went out into the transfer portal to add TCU forward David Punch, who averaged 14.1 points per game this season.

Texas has its work cut out this offseason after the graduation of Tramon Mark and Jordan Pope while Dailyn Swain, the team’s leading scorer, declared for the NBA Draft as a projected first round pick.

The trio combined to average 44.4 points per game for the Longhorns and Sean Miller is hoping Colorado’s Isaiah Johnson is able to fill that void after the freshman opted to commit to Texas after a strong debut season that saw him shoot 37.8-percent from 3-point range and put up 16.9 points per game.

It’s clear that Miller wants this Texas team to be dominant inside, playing through its star center and new powerful forward but after a 10th place finish in the SEC this year, Miller will have the Longhorns in contention at the top of the league next season.