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Tre Johnson declares for the NBA Draft

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•04/08/25•

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Tre Johnson
Tre Johnson (Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

One and done. Texas guard Tre Johnson, who took home SEC freshman of the year honors during the 2024-25 season, has declared for the 2025 NBA Draft. The unsurprising move means it’s draft prep time for Johnson, who is considered one of the top college prospects for the upcoming draft.

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Johnson was the SEC freshman of the year, a second-team All-SEC selection, and a member of the SEC All-Freshman team during his only season on the 40 Acres playing for Rodney Terry. Johnson averaged 19.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 33 games, functioning as the Longhorns’ primary scoring threat in every contest. He went out with a strong 23-point effort versus Xavier in the Longhorns’ First Four matchup.

There was no equivocation regarding how long Johnson would be on the 40 Acres. Everyone involved, Johnson, Terry, and the program, knew his stop at Texas would be for one year. Even new head coach Sean Miller said at his introductory press conference he would encourage Johnson to head to the NBA.

Johnson will look to join other Longhorn first rounders since the year 2000 like Chris Mihm, TJ Ford, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kevin Durant, DJ Augustin, Avery Bradley, Damion James, Tristan Thompson, Jordan Hamilton, Cory Joseph, Myles Turner, Jarrett Allen, Mo Bamba, Jaxson Hayes, and Kai Jones.

The 2024-25 team’s struggles were no fault of phenom Johnson. Johnson managed to lead the SEC in scoring as a freshman, a feat completed just six times in the history of the conference, done most recently in 2023 by Alabama’s Brandon Miller.

Despite the team’s lack of success, Johnson’s draft stock rose throughout the season as he demonstrated high-level scoring ability from all three levels, aided by an advanced functional handle that allowed him to get to his spots on the floor. He’s drawn comparisons to Cam Thomas (Brooklyn), Tyler Herro (Miami), and Buddy Hield (Golden State) as an off-guard that can fill it up at the pro level. 

With such promising scoring upside as well as positional size at 6-foot-6, Johnson has been consistently projected in the top 10 of this summer’s NBA Draft.

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Johnson finished his career at Texas with 658 total points, the tenth-most in one year in school history.

Coming out of Link Academy in Missouri by way of Lake Highlands in Dallas, Johnson was ranked as the No. 5 overall prospect, the No. 2 shooting guard, and the No. 1 prospect in Missouri. On3 ranked Johnson as the No. 7 overall prospect, the No. 2 shooting guard, and the No. 1 player in Missouri. In the On3 College rankings, he was the No. 18 overall prospect and the No. 4 shooting guard.

Keenan Womack contributed to this story

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