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Texas guard Jordan Pope announces return to Longhorns for 2025-26 season

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•04/03/25•

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Jordan Pope
Jordan Pope (Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images)

Jordan Pope is ready to run it back. He announced he’s planning to return to Texas for the 2025-26 season under new Longhorns coach Sean Miller.

Pope arrived in Austin this past season from Oregon State, where he spent two years. He led the Longhorns with 1.0 steal per game while averaging 11.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.

Keeping Pope was one of the priorities for Miller as he takes over for Rodney Terry. Now, the decision is official – he will be wearing the Burnt Orange once again

Prior to his arrival at Texas, Pope had an impressive sophomore year at Oregon State. He started all 32 games that year, averaging a career-high 17.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists before entering the transfer portal. He also shot 45.1% from the field, including 37.1% from three-point territory.

Jordan Pope’s return is the latest notable news for Texas as the Longhorns enter their new era under Sean Miller. Tramon Mark also announced he’s coming back after averaging 10.6 points per game following his transfer from Arkansas, where he had the best year of his career. Mark averaged 16.2 points per game with the Razorbacks while also adding 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game.

Texas went 19-16 overall this year, including a 6-12 mark in SEC play, before making the NCAA Tournament as one of the last teams in the field. The Longhorns fell to Miller’s Xavier squad in the First Four, and speculation continued to grow about Terry’s future as head coach.

Ultimately, Texas made the move. The school moved on from Terry on March 23 and moved quickly to hire Miller. He was involved with the coaching search last time around before Texas rattled off a run to the Elite Eight under Terry, who was serving as the interim head coach after Chris Beard’s mid-year departure.

Right away, Miller said he was impressed by Texas’ campus. He had never really been to Austin, and he was blown away by what he saw.

“You’re exactly right. I’ve spent a lot of time in the state of Texas, not necessarily Austin,” Miller said. “I’ve never coached against Texas on their court, so it was really my first time. And it really shocked me. I didn’t expect it to be as big, like you had mentioned, and the uniqueness of the campus, the facilities, the football stadium, the brand new basketball arena, Moody Center, which we have. It’s all right together.”