Coming off an impressive first collegiate season, former LHHS standout Tre Johnson has been named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year.
Tre Johnson in the Alamodome.
The SEC announced all-conference honors on Monday, with Johnson named to both the All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Freshman Team, as well as earning Freshman Player of the Year honors. He is the 10th Texas Men’s Basketball player to earn conference freshman player of the year honors and the first since Jaxson Hayes in 2019. Johnson was the sole Longhorn player to receive all-conference honors this season.
Johnson, who won the UIL 6A D1 State Championship with the Wildcats in 2023 before transferring to Link Academy in Missouri, currently leads the SEC in scoring with 20.2 points per game and has scored 20 or more points in 13 of 29 games played. He will be just the sixth freshman in SEC history to lead the conference in scoring if he remains the league’s leading scorer at the conclusion of the season.
The six-foot-six guard was named SEC Freshman of the Week five times in his first year and set the Texas single-game freshman scoring record in an overtime loss to Arkansas with 39 points. Kevin Durant previously held the record with four 37-point performances in 2007. Johnson’s prolific first-year has drawn comparisons to Durant’s freshman campaign, with Johson averaging the most points scored per game by a Texas player since Durant averaged 25.8 ppg in 2006-07.
In addition to conference-wide honors, Johnson has been named a finalist for the Jerry West Award, which is awarded annually to the top shooting guard in D1 basketball. The honor is awarded based on the vote of a committee made up of coaches, former players and media, but fans are able to vote as well, with the fan vote representing one committee vote.
As the end of his freshman season nears, NBA Draft buzz around Johnson has picked up. Named “one of the most impressive prospects this year” by Sports Illustrated, he is viewed by many as a potential high first-round pick. Johnson is currently picked to be the seventh overall pick in USA Today’s latest mock draft and the fifth overall pick in Sports Illustrated‘s.
Johnson led the Wildcats to a state championship in 2023 under Head Coach Joe Duffield, averaging 21.8 points and 6.4 rebounds on the year. Following the season, he transferred to Link Academy in Missouri, joining other top recruits from around the country. He has also represented the United States on the international level, having played on the USA Men’s Basketball U19 Team at the 2023 FIBA Men’s U19 World Cup in Hungary.
In November of 2023, Johnson committed to Texas as a five-star recruit.
Johnson and the Longhorns will next tip-off against Vanderbilt in the First Round of the SEC Tournament on March 12 at 2:30 p.m. CST.
