Longhorns Country

Texas Longhorns Guard Jordan Pope Makes Decision for Next Season

Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope has made a decision on what he'll do for his senior year.
Zach Dimmitt|
Mar 3, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) handles the ball as Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Riley Kugel (2) defends during the first half at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images
Mar 3, 2025; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) handles the ball as Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Riley Kugel (2) defends during the first half at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns are retaining another member of their backcourt, and more could be on the way.

The team announced that guard Jordan Pope is returning for his senior season under new head coach Sean Miller. The news comes only a few hours after guard Tramon Mark also announced that he would be returning to Austin for his sixth and final year of college basketball.

The roster is starting to fill out a bit more for Miller. Texas now has Pope, Mark, forward Nic Codie and Xavier transfer Dailyn Swain. Chendall Weaver is also expected to return, though there hasn't been an official announcement.

Jordan Pop
Xavier's Dayvion McKnight pressures Texas' Jordan Pope during the Xavier vs. Texas NCAA Tournament First Four game in Dayton on March 19, 2015. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After playing his first two years at Oregon State, Pope transferred to Texas and averaged 11.0 points and 2.0 rebounds while starting 32 of 35 games. He scored a career-high 42 points on 8 of 12 from 3-point range in a win over New Orleans in December.

The Longhorns wouldn't have been able to squeeze their way into Dayton if not for Pope's play in the SEC Tournament. He averaged 13.6 points in the three games in Nashville, which included 13 points and eight rebounds in the double-overtime win over Texas A&M.

Pope got a taste of the NCAA Tournament at the First Four against Xavier but only finished with three points in 15 minutes.

"When I seen everyone start cheering when our name popped up, I almost teared up a little bit," Pope said on Selection Sunday. "This is what I dreamed for, this is what I came to Texas for. That was part of my decision in leaving (Oregon State). I wanted to be part of March Madness and get my chance to be on that stage. And now that we have the opportunity, I'm just grateful."

The Longhorns will now need to add a few more guards along with some frontcourt pieces from the portal as the offseason continues.

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7

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