Houston Cougars Basketball Involved in Recent Partnership with NBA2K
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The Houston Cougars have one of the quickest emerging and growing brands in all of college basketball, all on the back of the fruitful program that head coach Kelvin Sampson has been able to build over his time with the Cougars.
The Cougars have become one of the fixtures in college basketball as of late, making deep runs into the NCAA Tournament since the 2018-19 season. Over that time frame, the Coogs have made three trips to the Sweet Sixteen, an appearance in the Elite Eight and the Final Four, and most recently finished as the National Runners-Up a season ago.
And with the growing recognition of the Cougars as a college basketball powerhouse, Houston has seen its name value grow tremendously to the point that the Coogs will be involved in getting their name into a popular sports video game.
Houston Featured in New NBA 2k26 Update
On Wednesday, NBA 2K revealed college-themed content for 16 college additions in NBA 2K26 which includes playable MyTeam cards and wearable jerseys for The City. The video game company announced the partnership that will include several of the top programs in the country, including Houston, with the likes of Duke, North Carolina, and Kansas also being involved.
Shared with On3, NBA 2K also revealed that 40 men’s and women’s basketball players will be featured in NBA 2K26, along with their respective schools, and the Cougars will feature two of their players from both their men's and women's basketball squads.
For the men's side, freshman forward Chris Cenac Jr. received the recognition to be Houston's representation in NBA 2K26. In his first season as a Coog, Cenac has been impactful, averaging 9.5 points per game while shooting 50 percent from the field, while also averaging 7.6 rebounds and half a block per game.
The forward needed some time to adjust to the college level, as most young freshmen do, but after getting some games under his belt, the five-star freshman who ranked as the No. 7 player in the country for his recruiting class has started to blossom into the player the Coogs were expecting. And down the stretch, Cenac will play a big role for the Coogs headed into March.
Representing the women's squad for the Coogs is graduate guard Kateri Poole, who is in her first season with Houston after transferring in from LSU. This season, Poole saw action in 10 games, averaging 3.9 points, 2.4 assists and 1.2 rebounds per game before undergoing season-ending surgery to her left knee.
Poole was a part of the LSU squad that won a national championship during the 2022-23 season, in which she played in 35 games, started six, and averaged 4.5 points and 2.4 assists during the season. She came off the bench through much of the regular season but started in the final five games of the NCAA Tournament.
