Texas Longhorns Announce Major Roster News for Next Season

The Texas Longhorns continue to answer some notable roster questions this offseason before the team starts adding players from the transfer portal.

After losing forward Nic Codie, guard Simeon Wilcher and forward Camden Heide in the portal on Thursday, the Longhorns have received some major news to their starting lineup.

Texas men's basketball announced Friday that center Matas Vokietaitis will be returning to the team next season. DraftExpress was the first to report the news.

Matas Vokietaitis' Return is Massive for Texas

Texas Longhorns center Matas Vokietaitis drives against BYU Cougars center Abdullah Ahmed (34) in the first half during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Vokietaitis is now set to be arguably Texas' best player next year after being the No. 2 option behind Dailyn Swain this past season. After transferring over from Florida Atlantic, Vokietaitis put together a career-best campaign, averaging 15.6 points and 7.1 rebounds on 61.9 percent shooting. He started all 36 games for the Longhorns.

There's always the possibility that Swain could return to Texas after testing the waters of the NBA Draft but it seems likely that will be going pro. As a result, the Longhorns will need to add another frontcourt starter out of the portal alongside Vokietaitis.

our guy’s back 🤘#AlwaysCompete | @MVokietaitis8 pic.twitter.com/lUUJoGQnOr
— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) April 10, 2026

Vokietaitis had a few growing pains early in the season but ultimately came up big for Texas in the NCAA Tournament. In four March Madness games (including First Four), he averaged 16.0 point and 8.8 rebounds on 54.5 shooting.

In Texas' upset win over No. 6 BYU in the first round, he finished with 23 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Vokietaitis then had 17 points and nine rebounds in another upset win against No. 3 Gonzaga in the second round to help send the Longhorns to the Sweet 16.

After facing off against Gonzaga star center Graham Ike, Vokietaitis said he wasn't concerned about who he is going up against and that he just wants to live up to expectations of being the best center in the country.

"First of all, I don't really care who I'm playing against," Vokietaitis said. "I'm just trying to play hard, confident. For my eyes, I'm the best big man in the country. So that's the key."

The Texas roster now has Vokietaitis, John Clark II, Declan Duru Jr. and Lewis Obiorah along with true freshmen Austin Goosby, Bo Ogden, Joe Sterling and Coleman Elkins.

Aside from Goosby and Vokietaitis, the rest of these names are set to be bench players or reserves, so it's secret that the Longhorns will need to add multiple players out of the portal this offseason,

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