Addition of Texas A&M transfers announced by Maryland men's basketball

Ahmed Ghafir
May 1
3 min read

Maryland men’s basketball has eight transfer portal commits in the fold while 2025 five-star Darius Adams became the first high school pledge of the Buzz Williams era. And on Thursday, Maryland has started making those transfer portal additions official with former Texas A&M forwards Pharrel Payne and Solomon Washington, along with redshirt freshman guard Andre Mills and George Turkson.

Payne, a 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward, was also Maryland’s first portal pickup of the offseason to give Williams and Maryland a key building block in the 2025-26 roster overhaul. He is also one of four Aggies set to join the program after Solomon Washington, George Turkson and Andre Mills all went public with their decisions within the next week of Payne’s commitment.

"Ngochi is as good of a person as I have coached in my career. That he chose to follow us to Maryland is humbling and speaks to his loyalty," said Williams via release. "As excited as I am for Terp Nation to see the type of player he is, and the impact he will have for our team on the court, I am equally excited to see the impact he has on the college park community!"

Payne’s second transfer also marks as somewhat of a full circle moment after the Minnesota native began his career at Minnesota where he averaged nine points and 5.5 rebounds over two seasons. Payne then transferred to Texas A&M where he averaged 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds while starting in 14 games and appearing in 20 more in 2024-25.

Washington, a 6-foot-7 forward originally from New Orleans, LA, became a rotational piece for the Aggies over the last two seasons, including a dazzling sophomore campaign when he averaged 7.4 PPG and 5.7 RPG on 48.3% shooting, all career highs. Washington, who started in 47 games during his three seasons under Buzz, joins the program with one year of eligibility remaining.

"Solo brings a rare type of athleticism to our roster that's value can be really hard to measure on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball," said Williams via release. "But his most effective gift is his intelligence, and his ability to marry those two traits have become a large component of his game on the floor. His energy and effort will quickly make him a fan favorite in the XFINITY Center!"

Mills and Turkson, meanwhile, join the program with four years of eligibility remaining after redshirting in 2024-25.

“The culture, the coaches, it’s not like anything I’ve ever seen,” Mills told IBG about why he opted to follow Buzz. “The perfect example of the embodiment of hard work. He expects a lot from his players, we train hard and we play hard because that’s what our coach does. He leads by example with that.”

"I am very excited for Dre's growth and development to finally be on display for Terp Nation to see as his college career begins," said Williams via release. "He was very intentional during his redshirt year, in focusing his energy on things that impact his trajectory as a person and a player in a positive manner. He will be a valuable part of this year's team and beyond!"

“Bede is a good guy. He played under Buzz, he has wise wisdom as well so aside from playing for him as a coach, he’s just a really good coach,” Turkson said of new Maryland assistant Wabissa Bede. “During my redshirt year, he was the coach I could go to for a morning workout before practice, get in the gym early in the morning on weekends or before school and just workout. The coaches invest in you. Bede invested in me, Andre, a couple other of the guys.”

"George brings a level of tenacity, hustle, and grit that make him very easy to cheer for. His ability to do the little things and play hard every possession will be an asset for this team," said Williams via release. "He handled his redshirt year with elite accountability and has a bright future. I am grateful he is here and excited for his growth to continue in College Park!"

The news also comes days removed from Buzz’s contract details being made official while the program announced the first four additions to the coaching staff with Wabissa Bede, Lyle Wolf, Devin Johnson and Steve Roccaforte being formally announced with other A&M staffers expected to also head to College Park.

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