The TCU Horned Frogs are back in a rebuilding mode after a .500 season that didn’t lead to postseason action of any kind.
The program remains stable. Coach Jamie Dixon, the former point guard who returned to his alma mater, is back again with a roster filled with transfer talent and one of the top recruits that the Horned Frogs have ever brought in. The goal is to be better than a year ago. But how realistic is that? Let’s preview the Horned Frogs for the 2025-26 season.
TCU Horned Frogs
2024-25: 16-16, 9-11 in Big 12, tied for ninth place. Lost in first round of Big 12 Tournament to Colorado. No other postseason action.
Head coach: Jamie Dixon is entering his 10th season with the Horned Frogs, where he played in college and served as the starting point guard for their 1987 NCAA Tournament team. He is 176-126 at TCU with four NCAA Tournament appearances and an NIT championship. He is 504-249 for his coaching career, which started at Pitt in 2003.
Big 12 history: TCU joined the Big 12 in 2012. The Horned Frogs were members of the Southwest Conference but was not invited to join the Big 12 when the SWC broke up. TCU has not won a Big 12 regular season or tournament title.
2025-26 Schedule: Click here for the full Big 12 men’s schedule.
TCU 2025-26 Roster Review
Gone: Noah Reynolds (12.5 PPG), Vasean Allette (11.4 PPG), Frankie Collins (11.2 PPG), Trazarien White (9.2 PPG), Ernest Udeh (6.6 PPG), Brendan Wenzel (6.4 PPG), Isaiah Manning (2.0 PPG)
Returning: F David Punch (6.5 PPG), F Micah Robinson (5.3 PPG), G Jace Posey (4.3 PPG), C Malick Diallo (2.2 PPG), G Ashton Simmons (redshirt), G RJ Jones (2.4 PPG at Kansas State in 2023-24), G Trey Stuart, G Drew McElroy, C Adam Stewart.
Incoming transfers: G Tanner Toolson (13.3 PPG at Utah Valley), G Jayden Pierre (12.3 PPG at Providence), C Vianney Salatchoum (10.3 PPG at Florida International), G Brock Harding (8.8 PPG at Iowa), G Liutauras Lelevicius (8.7 PPG at Oregon State), F Xavier Edmonds (19.2 ppg at Salt Lake CC).
Incoming freshmen: G Kayden Edwards (No. 49 recruit in country)
Projected Starting Lineup
G Tanner Toolson: Brings great experience from Utah Valley.
G Jayden Pierre: Big EAST experience will be an asset in physical Big 12.
G Brock Harding: Dixon made it clear at media day that he hopes to play both Harding and Pierre on the floor at the same time.
F David Punch: The one holdover that almost seems assured of a starting spot.
C Vianney Salatchoum: The Horned Frogs could use a double-digit scorer inside.
Starting Lineup Crashers
F Xavier Edmonds: It’s a lot to ask of a juco player, but he was the top juco recruit in the country for a reason.
G Kayden Edwards: He’s going to play right away, but Dixon generally doesn’t start freshmen — at least at the start of the season. But he’s talented enough to earn his way in.
Lineup Competition
Dixon had a lot of offense to replace, and he did a good job in the transfer portal. He found five Division I transfers that averaged at least eight points per game a year ago and the national juco player of the year. That should be more than enough talent to bolster Punch and Posey, the two holdovers that should benefit the most from more playing time. Those two would presume to be starters or heavy contributors. But with Pierre, Diallo, Harding, Lelevicius and Jones, the Horned Frogs have plenty of depth. Plus, Dixon must find a way to play Edwards, the program’s third-highest recruit in the computer ranking era. He has options.
Early Prediction
TCU is going to have to blend the portal talent and the holdovers quickly. The Horned Frogs have always been a quality perimeter team. But they’ve struggled finding consistent scoring inside. Dixon acknowledged that and tried to address it. If that talent makes TCU better inside, its can turn around last year’s slide and get back into the top half of the Big 12 and contend for the NCAA Tournament again.
