The only other time the Aggies were ranked this high was in 2006-07, when Billy Gillispie's squad made it to the Sweet 16 and was one of the most successful teams in program history.

The Aggies return the vast majority of their core from last year, with preseason first team All-SEC selection Wade Taylor IV back at point guard. A&M also returns key pieces in Andersson Garcia, Henry Coleman III, Manny Obaseki, Solomon Washington, Jace Carter and Hayden Hefner.

A&M was also active in the portal, adding guard Zhuric Phelps (SMU), forward/center Pharrel Payne (Minnesota) and wing CJ Wilcher (Nebraska) to the squad. Redshirt freshman Rob Dockery and signees George Turkson, Chris McDermott, Andre Mills and Janusz Ratowski round out the squad.

Even with the high ranking, the Aggies were only picked fifth in the preseason SEC poll, an indicator of the depth of the conference. A&M will face stout competition in the conference portion of its schedule, facing No. 2 Alabama, No. 11 Auburn, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 21 Florida, No. 23 Kentucky and No. 19 Texas twice.