NCAA Releases Houston vs. Texas A&M Injury Report
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The Houston Cougars are ready to continue their journey in March Madness as the No. 2 seed in the South region, and their next challenge is the No. 10 seed Texas A&M Aggies in the second round.
Houston knows better than most programs how important it is to have a healthy team at this time of year. The injury luck did not go UH's way for three straight years from 2022-24. Houston's two leading guards in 2022 in Tramon Mark and Marcus Sasser were out for the tournament, yet the Cougars still made it to the Elite Eight.
The following year, Sasser deals with a nagging injury during tournament season and Houston fell in the Sweet 16. The most devasting one came in 2024 when senior leader and hearbeat of the program Jamal Shead went down with an ankle injury against Duke in the Sweet 16 and Houston lost. The Cougars were healthy last season and made it to the national championship.
Houston is looking to go back and finish the job this year, and that starts with taking care of Texas A&M. Currently, the injury report for both Texas teams does not look concerning.
Houston Players Out
Houston has two players listed as out on the initial player availability report released from the NCAA on Friday night. Both are not surprises at all. Redshirt sophomore guard Kordel Jefferson is out for the game, as he had left knee surgery back in January and has been out for the season since.
He played three games early in the season and had a total of 12 minutes. Jefferson was struggling with his knee and it wasn't improving, so surgery was the only option. A medical redshirt was said to be on the table at the time. Jefferson was a top 100 recruit out of high school and sat out his first year in 2023-24 as a redshirt.
Besides Jefferson, Bryce Jackson is listed as out and that is due to the fact he redshirted his freshman year. Jackson is a four-star recruit from Pearland who was a finalist for the Guy V. Lewis award last season as a senior in high school.
Texas A&M Player Out
The Aggies have one player listed on the injury report, and that has remained a constant for most of the year. It's junior forward Mackenzie Mgbako, who has been out since Dec. 21 with a season-ending foot injury. He just played seven games with Texas A&M this year.
Mgbako was a huge addition for the Aggies this offseason as a transfer from Indiana. The 6-foot-9 talented forward was a five-star recruit and McDonald's All-American coming out of high school. Mgbako averaged 10.4 points and 4.9 rebounds in seven games for A&M.
Maanav Gupta is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2025 with his bachelor’s in journalism and a minor in Spanish. Gupta spent three years at the student newspaper, The Daily Cougar, and also covered the 2025 Final Four and National Championship as Houston beat writer for College Basketball Review. He also has his own YouTube channel, Maanav’s Sports Talk, where he has interviewed professional athletes and broadcasters like Jim Nantz, Jose Altuve, J.J. Watt, Rich Eisen, and Alperen Sengun. Gupta was also a contributor to the Houston athletic program as a student. You can find Gupta on X, Instagram and TikTok @MGSportsTalk.