Houston Cougars Center Undergoes Second Surgery for Devastating Injury
In this story:
The Houston Cougars' much-anticipated 2025-26 season is quickly approaching, with game one just a few months away from tipping off, as the Cougars should be widely considered one of the top national championship contenders heading into the season in all of college basketball.
But for head coach Kelvin Sampson, his squad might be without one of their big men for an uncertain amount of time to start the season in a few months.
As the Houston Chronicle's Joseph Duarte reported, redshirt sophomore Jacob McFarland has undergone a second surgery on the broken leg he suffered in practice last October. Duarte also said on X that the surgery was to replace the rod in McFarland’s right leg from his first surgery with a larger rod to promote further healing, and that there's no timetable for when he will be cleared, but it’s expected to be a few months.
McFarland on His Recovery Process
A member of the Cougars' class of 2023, which ranked No. 22 per 247Sports, McFarland redshirted his first year in Houston and looked poised to be involved in the Cougars' frontcourt rotation in the 2024-25 season. Last year, the big man checked into a charity exhibition win vs. #13/15 Texas A&M and grabbed a rebound, and added a steal.
However, his season was cut short by the devastating injury he suffered in a Cougars practice in late October of 2024. The California native kept his spirits high when speaking about his rehab process, emphasizing resiliency throughout the process.
"Even though that happened, I have to still keep going," McFarland said during his recovery process in late January. "One thing I've learned is being patient. One bad chapter doesn't mean your story is over."
McFarland as a Recruit
McFarland was a four-star prospect out of Moreno Valley, CA, and ranked as the No. 14 player at his position and the No. 16-ranked player out of the state of California per On3's Industry Rankings. McFarland was also one of the top players in the country as a Top 100 prospect ranked as the No. 95 player in the class.
The Cougars' 2023 recruiting class has proved to be highly important for the Cougars, including McFarlan. The class featured two four-stars and a three-star prospect. The highlight of the class so far for Houston has been forward Joseph Tugler, who was a big piece of the Cougars' run to the national championship game and was named a preseason All-American before the season.
