What PJ Haggerty Said in First Media Availability With Texas A&M

This offseason was one in which Texas A&M basketball made some significant moves, and one of those was adding PJ Haggerty, who had his first opportunity to speak to the media after joining the program.

In his first media availability, he touched on several areas, including what went into his decision to come to Aggieland, and head coach Bucky McMillan was heavily involved in making that decision easier for him.

“Coach Bucky was the first one that called me,” Haggerty said. “Told me how I fit in the system. Up and down a lot. Transition. I like to play a lot of transition. Hour and thirty from the crib.”

With Crosby, Texas, being the place he is proud to call his hometown, playing in College Station made the transition easier for him and his family, especially now that they will have better access to his games. Haggerty mentioned how cool it was to be less than two hours away and how there is a ton of love and support that comes along with that.

“It’s been amazing,” Haggerty said. “The first school I went to was far, so my family wasn’t able to come, and now an hour and a half, a lot of my family will be able to come, and so a lot of love and support.”

Haggerty Sees Style Fit With A&M System

Great.

That was the response when Haggerty was asked about fitting into this culture, which goes by “Bucky Ball” and is described as fearless, hardworking, and unselfish.

“I can control the pace of the game,” Haggerty said. “Get the teammates the ball. Got a lot of shooters I can hit. Big men, I think I fit pretty well.”

Having that by his side to operate on both sides of the court always makes it easier going into a new season of basketball, which will be his fifth at a different school in five years. Haggerty noted that he even watched games from last year’s team, which helped him realize it was a style for him.

“I watched a lot during the season,” Haggerty said. “I watched them when they played U of H. Florida. At Alabama. There’s been a lot of games I’ve seen where it’s high-paced. It feels like 100, 100 plus. Things like that fit my play style.”

Haggerty also briefly highlighted his style, describing himself as a three-level scorer and a winner.

“I’m not gonna score at all levels, I would say, but giving my teammates the ball, getting to the paint, make plays for my other teammates. Just being a leader. Trying to win.”

With summer ball just getting underway and preparations underway to develop as a player, the 6-foot-4 star, who averaged 23.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, addressed his hopes for elevating his game in the 2026-27 campaign, emphasizing the importance of defense.

“I want to try to speed up ball handlers and being more of a playmaker and not just scoring the ball,” Haggerty said. “Giving my teammates the ball.”

Since joining a new program, the fifth year star has already credited his teammates for the talent they display on the floor and for what makes this group unique and dangerous down the line.

“I would say we got a lot of different things,” Haggerty said. "We’re versatile. We got bigs. Shooters. Guards. Defense. We got a lot of great weapons — We got a lot of people that can do a lot of things — a lot of people at different spots, so it will be fun to see.”

At the end of the day, Haggerty said he could make an impact, and it revolved around one simple concept.

Winning.

“Win,” Haggerty said. “That’s the first thing. At the end of the day, we do a lot of things in basketball, but if you don’t win, it don’t really matter.”

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