Elyjah Freeman didn’t arrive at Texas the way most high-major players do. He wasn’t a blue-chip recruit, wasn’t a five-star out of high school, and wasn’t even ranked in the class of 2024. Instead, the junior forward from Palm Beach, Florida, took a path that ran from Wellington High School to Lincoln-Memorial, then Auburn, and now to Austin through the transfer portal.
Freeman’s rise started after a senior season at Wellington High School that didn’t draw much attention from recruiters. He went to Lincoln-Memorial, a Division II program in the South Atlantic Conference, for the 2024-25 season, and that’s where his profile changed fast.
“The summer of my senior year of high school, I was very underlooked,” Freeman said in media availability on Sept. 16.
“All it took was one (Amateur Athletic Union) tournament in Atlanta where I had a breakout game. … That’s where my LMU head coach at the time saw me and … from there I was able to go on a visit.
I was able to commit, and I just trusted him.”
Freeman made the most of that opportunity right away. As a freshman, he averaged 18.9 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 31 games, earning South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year honors and a spot on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Southeast Region All-District Second Team.
That season opened the door to the SEC, and Freeman transferred to Auburn for 2025-26. His role changed, but his production stayed steady enough to matter: he started 21 of 38 games, averaged 9.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 26.9 minutes per game, and helped the Tigers win the 2026 National Invitation Tournament.
Freeman says the memory of being overlooked still drives him.
“I always resolve back to it: being under-recruited in high school,” Freeman said. “It’s a blessing in my opinion; some guys don’t have the feeling that I have when I go on the court.”
Now he’s at Texas for the 2026-27 season, joining a roster that has undergone major turnover. Freeman is one of five non-underclassmen on the team and one of three players who already have significant SEC playing time on their résumés.
Texas coach Sean Miller pointed to Freeman’s unusual climb when discussing what he brings to the Longhorns.
“Elyjah four years ago was a Division II player,” Miller said. “It’s amazing that he went from being a good high school player in South Florida, to Division II, to a starter at Auburn.”
Miller said Texas wants to keep pushing Freeman forward.
“That trajectory that he is on, we hope that our program can help develop, because he has a lot of talent as well and I think the best is yet to come from him,” Miller said.
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Rowe later accepted the apology after the two had a productive private conversation, saying they would move forward with respect, which helped quiet the immediate fallout. Still, there is one more wrinkle before Texas meets Tennessee, because Manning and Sarkisian are expected to sit down with Rowe together in the lead-up to the game, a small but noticeable test of how smoothly everyone can move past a controversy that never should have existed in the first place. [Read more 🡒]
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The report also shows the kind of attrition that can shape a game like this, with Justus Terry, Xavier Filsaime and Jordan Coleman out and Nick Townsend doubtful. Tennessee, meanwhile, has five players listed as unavailable, so both sides are already dealing with personnel questions before kickoff, but Texas at least appears to have a chance to count on Simmons when the pressure ramps up. [Read more 🡒]