New Texas A&M basketball head coach Bucky McMillan is beginning to fill out his 2025 coaching staff after being officially hired on Saturday afternoon after five seasons at Samford. After the news was revealed on Friday night, one name that Aggie fans are highly familiar with is accomplished assistant Mitch Cole.
Before arrived at Samford to join McMillan's staff at the start of the 2021 season, Cole's college basketball journey included five seasons (2011-2016) at Texas A&M under former head coach Billy Kennedy, helping guide the Aggies to the Sweet 16 during the 2015-2016 season with a roster that included current NBA All-Defensive First Team guard Alex Caruso, who now stars with Oklahoma City.
Before joining Kennedy's staff, Cole was a standout Divison III head coach at Birmingham-Southern, winning the NCAA Division III Provisional Tournament championship during his final 2011 season. After a three-year head coaching sting at Berry University, Cole returned to Divison 1 to help McMillan build what would become one of the best teams in the Southern Conference.
This is an excellent hire that provides familiarity with and proper execution of McMillan's game plan. This is new regarding several Samford players who have entered the transfer portal, and knowing Cole's excellent recruiting background, the next month should result in more good news for Texas A&M's new basketball era.
Welcome back to Aggieland, Mitch Cole 👍
— Texas A&M Basketball (@aggiembk) April 5, 2025
Cole served on Billy Kennedy’s Texas A&M staff for five seasons from 2011-16 and now joins new head coach, Bucky McMillan!
📰 https://t.co/JDp7hXwFqi#GigEmpic.twitter.com/h6lDM6bSjr
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M HC Bucky McMillan hires Mitch Cole his 2026 coaching staff