Texas A&M Should Add This Transfer Portal Player to the Roster

Aggieland should embrace the idea of adding players with SEC basketball experience.

So, Texas A&M basketball, as the program should, is investing in fighting to bring in players with experience on the biggest stages, where the lights are shining the brightest, and one of those guys on the market right now looking for a new home is the transfer from Tennessee.

His name? It’s Cade Phillips.

Skills & Work of Phillips

Cade Phillips Tennessee Volunteers. — Tennessee forward Cade Phillips (12) dunks the ball during a NCAA basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Northern Kentucky Norse at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Nov. 8, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What’s special about this athlete? He brings size. The Aggies are likely going to be looking for size in the offseason, as they lacked that in the past, and imagine combining the 6-foot-9 weapon with the possibility of Zach Clemence and Mackenzie Mgbako. What a scary room that would be, one no opponent would want to run into, with the physicality and shooting that crew would create.

Phillips played in 10 games (nine starts) this year before suffering a season-ending injury.

Numbers don’t always tell the whole story either. Even though he didn’t see a ton of playing time, he earned more each season he played for the Volunteers, going from 6 minutes to 14.9 minutes before wrapping up his tenure with 16.9 minutes.

That would be a perfect fit for ‘Bucky Ball’ because of the system he runs, where he runs the offense by trying to get a shot up in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock, and if shots are not going through the net, he quickly makes the move to making substitutions, which might fit the structure he has been in.

During the previous year, Phillips averaged only 3.8 points per game with four rebounds and 0.4 assists. From the field, he was a 65.4 percent shooter and wasn’t a shooter who posted any numbers from beyond the arc. At the charity stripe this season, he shot only 30.8 percent, but did much better in his two previous years.

The Jacksonville, Alabama, native appeared in only 10 games this season, so he didn’t play a ton, but when he did, he gained valuable experience against top-tier NCAA teams, which is who he would be playing against all season.

His best performance of the season came against UNF, when he registered nine points, going 4 of 6 from the field, with nine rebounds and two blocks. Factor in all the NBA-caliber players he stepped on the floor with and practiced with, and who he would be playing with, who are also highly rated prospects.

Would McMillan and Co. be interested in adding this piece to next year’s roster? Only time will tell.