Texas Longhorns Earn Surprising Spot In ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25 Rankings

The Longhorns will be operating in their first season with Sean Miller at the helm as head coach.

Xavier Musketeers head coach Sean Miller looks to the video board in the second half of the NCAA Tournament First Four game between the Xavier Musketeers and the Texas Longhorns at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. | Sam Greene/Cincinnati Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It's the beginning of a new age in Austin.

As the smoke clears and the confetti is swept off of the Alamodome floor following the Florida Gators' masterful comeback against the Houston Cougars to win the 2025 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, so begins the preparations for the 2025-26 season and what all it entails.

The Texas Longhorns will endure their first season with former Xavier coach Sean Miller as the head coach, replacing Rodney Terry after his three seasons as the Longhorns' coach.

Mar 19, 2025; Dayton, OH, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark (12) plays the ball in the first half against the Xavier Musketeers at UD Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

But how do the Burnt Orange stack up against the rest of the best in the NCAA?

Shortly after Florida's championship victory, ESPN's Jeff Borzello posted the 2025-26 NCAA men's basketball Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings, along with the projected starting lineups for the teams.

In the rankings, the Texas Longhorns are found at No. 24, above the No. 25 North Carolina Tar Heels and below the No. 23 Ohio State Buckeyes, one of seven teams representing the SEC.

And in the projected starting lineup, we find three returning Horns in guards Jordan Pope (11.0 PPG), Chendall Weaver (6.4 PPG), and Tramon Mark (10.6 PPG). Guard Tre Johnson is currently ranked in the Top 50 of ESPN's 2025 NBA Draft Rankings, and for that reason is considered a "departure," hence his absence from the group.

The projected lineup is rounded out with transfers Dailyn Swain and Matas Vokietaitis, the former of which followed Coach Miller over to Austin from Xavier after averaging 11 points a game with the Musketeers.

Vokietaitis, a seven-foot-tall center from Lithuania, averaged 10.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game with the Florida Atlantic Owls, who fell to Dayton in the first round of the NIT, and just recently announced Sunday that he would be transferring to the Longhorns.

Here are the complete Top 25 Way-Too-Early Rankings, per ESPN.

1) Houston Cougars

2) Purdue Boilermakers

3) Louisville Cardinals

4) UConn Huskies

5) Michigan Wolverines

6) Kentucky Wildcats

7) Arkansas Razorbacks

8) Duke Blue Devils

9) St. John's Red Storm

10) UCLA Bruins

11) Alabama Crimson Tide

12) Auburn Tigers

13) Iowa State Cyclones

14) Wisconsin Badgers

15) Kansas Jayhawks

16) BYU Cougars

17) Arizona Wildcats

18) Michigan State Spartans

19) Florida Gators

20) Gonzaga Bulldogs

21) Tennessee Volunteers

22) Texas Tech Red Raiders

23) Ohio State Buckeyes

24) Texas Longhorns

25) North Carolina Tar Heels