Bucky McMillan compares his coaching style to Johnny Manziel's showing at Bryant-Denny Stadium

Bucky McMillan has one of the most exciting brands of basketball across the college landscape. And he’s bringing that brand to College Station, now that he’s the head man of the Texas A&M Aggies. McMillan wasted little time in winning over his new fan base, delivering an inspiring speech on Monday night.

He brought up Aggie legend Johnny Manziel and how fearless the Texas A&M football program was under his watch. “I was in Bryant-Denny Stadium when a guy you may know by the name of Johnny Manziel rolled into town,” McMillan said. “They were fearless. That’s how we’re going to play basketball. That’s how we play basketball.”

Texas A&M hires Bucky McMillan as next head coach

Texas A&M is set to hire Samford‘s Bucky McMillan as its next head coach, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Former Aggies head coach Buzz Williams left the program to take over at Maryland on April 1.

McMillan and Texas A&M are reportedly finalizing a five-year deal. McMillan has been Samford’s head coach for the past five seasons, amassing a 99-52 overall record during his tenure.

He had his best season at Samford in the 2023-24 campaign when he led the Bulldogs to a 29-6 record, a 15-3 mark in conference play, a Southern Conference regular-season title, a conference tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.

McMillan also guided Samford to a SoCon regular-season championship in the previous season. For his efforts, McMillan won the Southern Conference Coach of the Year Award three consecutive seasons (2022-24).

Samford posted a 22-11 overall record and a 12-6 mark in conference play this season. They didn’t make the NCAA Tournament but were invited to the NIT, where they ultimately fell in the first round to George Mason.

McMillan’s teams are known for their fast-pace. McMillan’s entertaining style of play has affectionately come to be known as “Bucky Ball.” Samford averaged 82.9 points per game this season, the 14th-most in the country.

McMillan coaches an equally rapid pace on defense, constantly pressing his opponents for 94 feet. In turn, the Bulldogs ranked in the Top 20 in the country for opponent turnover percentage the past two seasons.

Samford is the only head coaching job McMillan has held at the collegiate level. Before leading the Bulldogs, McMillan was the head coach at Mountain Brook High School in Alabama from 2008-20.

McMillan won three 7A state basketball championships and two 6A state basketball championships at Mountain Brook. In total, he led the program to seven appearances in the state tournament semifinals, 10 regional tournament appearances and nine area titles.

On3’s Grant Grubbs also contributed to this article.