Houston to reload with a stacked freshman class, but decisions loom for key Final Four stars

For the third time in school history, an appearance in the national championship game ended in heartbreak for Houston. On Monday night in San Antonio’s Alamodome, the Courgars squandered a 12-point, second-half lead and failed to get off a shot on the final possession in a heartbreaking 65-63 loss to Florida.

For Kelvin Sampson and his Cougars, this one is going to sting, and it’s going to sting for a while. At 69 years old, Sampson is entering the twilight of his career, and it’s not a given that he’ll get another shot at winning Houston’s elusive first national championship.

The sting will last, but that won’t prevent Sampson and his staff from getting back on the horse. The Cougars have back-to-back Big 12 titles to defend next season and will usher in a new era of Houston basketball. They say goodbye to tons of experience but welcome in their most talented recruiting class, ranked No. 4 in the nation by 247Sports, since the days of Phi Slamma Jamma.

The hype is real for next season, with Houston already checking in among the top five of the 247Sports’ way-too-early top 25 rankings for next season.

So let’s examine what’s next for Houston basketball ahead of the 2025-26 season. Who is on the way out, who has decisions to make, who is coming in, and what are the Cougars’ most critical needs in the transfer portal? 

Say goodbye to …

LJ Cryer, Ja’Vier Francis, J’Wan Roberts, Ramon Walker and Mylik Wilson.

What an incredible class. The mark left on the program, particularly by Cryer and Roberts, will be awfully tough to replicate in today’s game. Sure, Cryer arrived as a transfer, but he stuck it out for three years in Houston, and Roberts was on campus for six seasons! We just aren’t going to see that very often moving forward.

A multiple-time All-Big 12 performer and a third-team All-American as a senior, Cryer seemed to step up and make shots whenever needed. His will kept them in the game against Duke, and his consistency was something that his teammates and coaches could always count on. He may have come up a little short on Monday night, but that shouldn’t take away from an awesome career in his hometown.

If you could create a Kelvin Sampson player in a lab, he might look an awful lot like Roberts and have a similar background. He arrived on campus without much fanfare; he wasn’t the most skilled, and he wasn’t the biggest post player. But, he got better every year, punched way above his weight class when it came to toughness, and turned himself into a first team All-Big 12 player through lots of sweat equity and a total commitment to doing whatever it took to help the Cougars win.

Francis is another vintage Sampson player. Perhaps a little rough around the edges, but he always found ways to bring what was needed on the defensive end. Wilson provided some key buckets as a fifth-year senior while Walker was an outstanding culture guy in the locker room.

Houston’s heartbreak is piling up and Kelvin Sampson is running out of time: ‘This was the year right here’

Dennis Dodd

Decisions to make …

Joseph Tugler and Milos Uzan.

A sophomore big man, Tugler is pretty highly coveted by the NBA despite averaging just under six points and six rebounds per game. He’s an analytics darling who rates through the roof as a defender. The NBA loves him for knowing who he is as a rebounder and rim protector who can switch up and down a lineup. He’s likely to get picked if he comes out — it’s just a matter of how high a team is willing to draft a guy so raw offensively. Tugler will have to weigh his ultimate draft stock to what coming back to Houston for the 2025-26 season could do for him.

A second team All-Big 12 guy, Uzan soared during the latter part of the season. It took some time adjusting after his transfer from Oklahoma, but the buzz around him was strong headed into the Final Four. Uzan has said he believes he’s an NBA player, and he is certainly going to test the waters. The latest intel from NBA sources has him on the bubble between the first and second round, but that was before a relatively poor showing in the Final Four. Uzan’s decision is looking much tougher today than it did a few weeks ago.

Welcome back … 

Terrance Arceneaux, Kordelius Jefferson, Cedric Lath, Chase McCarty, Jacob McFarland, Mercy Miller and Emanuel Sharp.

Few programs have done as good a job as Houston has when it comes to keeping their talent out of the portal and developing them over the course of four and five years. This offseason could be a major test of that, but there are some pieces with real potential set to come back.

Obviously, Sharp is the most important returnee. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he tested the NBA waters, but he needs to come back and will likely be a preseason All-Big 12 pick. Sharp has the tools to take over as the primary scorer and will be among the most dangerous jump shooters in all of college ball next season.

In Areceneaux, the Cougars have an intriguing wing. He’s 6-foot-6, athletic, and has a good-looking stroke from deep. He hasn’t quite turned the corner as a consistent producer, but in a program where guys consistently get better, he’s a good bet to make a leap as a junior.

One guy to keep a close eye on next season is McFarland. After redshirting as a freshman to add strength, McFarland broke his leg at the beginning of the season. He’s a mobile, defensive-minded big man who the staff was high on prior to his leg injury.

Say hello to …

Chris Cenac Jr., Kingston Flemings, Isiah Harwell, Bryce Jackson and Kalifa Sakho.

Because of the program’s success on the floor and Sampson’s proven track record of consistently developing professionals, the Cougars are reaching never-before-seen heights on the recruiting trail. Houston’s high school class ranks No. 4 nationally and includes a pair of McDonald’s All-Americans in Cenac and Harwell.

While Houston has been built on experience, Sampson has shown a willingness to play young talent before and he’ll have more than ever at his disposal next season. A five-star prospect, Cenac is 6-foot-10, skilled, bouncy and has the potential to be an NBA lottery pick after one season. If he commits to the Houston way, he could be special.

Harwell will arrive as a wing shooter who has size and athleticism. After tearing an ACL during his junior season, he came on during the second half of his senior season while earning McDonald’s All American honors.

Frankly, Flemings probably should have been an All-American, too. Ranked among the top 25 nationally, he’s an explosive point guard who is pushing 6-foot-4. He’s added some needed strength as a senior and is hard to contain off the bounce.

Jackson is a developmental wing with length, while Sakho is a Sam Houston transfer who will be expected to help replenish the Cougars’ front line.

Transfer portal needs …

A plug-and-play big, a wing shooter and a ball handler.

Much of what Houston does in the portal will be dependent upon the professional decisions of Uzan and Tugler. However, even if they both stay, they’ll need some experienced help. The incoming freshmen are big-time talents, but they are freshmen and will need some time to develop the physicality required to play at the level to which Houston is accustomed.

At a minimum, the Cougars need to add a veteran guard who can create off the dribble as a scorer and setup man. If Uzan leaves, they’ll need two of these types of players. Along the same lines, they could use another experienced big man who can give Cenac a runway to adjust. If Tugler leaves, finding a shot blocker will be of the utmost importance.

The Cougars are losing a ton of shooting with Cryer’s graduation, so another guy that can stretch and soften defenses from deep should be a priority.

After coming within seconds of a national championship this season, the foundation of a contender are there and the next few weeks of portal combat could determine just how seriously Sampson’s program can contend. 

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