Swain becomes the first addition for Sean Miller in his tenure with the Longhorns.
Cancel those other visits.
Former Xavier Musketeers rising junior wing Dailyn Swain was set to visit the Kentucky Wildcats and in the process of scheduling a trip with the Arkansas Razorbacks after traveling to Columbus to see the Ohio State Buckeyes, but instead ended his NCAA transfer portal recruitment by committing to former head coach Sean Miller and the Texas Longhorns on Tuesday during a visit to the Forty Acres.
NEWS: Xavier transfer Dailyn Swain has committed to Texas, CAA’s NIL Basketball division told ESPN. The 19-year old sophomore will follow Sean Miller and Xavier’s coaching staff to Austin, bringing his Swiss Army Knife versatility at 6-foot-8. pic.twitter.com/CivlIDVHoX
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) April 1, 2025
The 6’8, 220-pounder is the first addition to the Longhorns program since Miller was introduced as the Texas head coach last week.
An Ohio native, Swain was a consensus three-star recruit in the 2023 recruiting class ranked inside the top 100, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. Swain chose Xavier over eight reported offers, including Arizona State, Cincinnati, Kansas State, Marquette, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech.
As a freshman, Swain started in three of the 29 games that he played in before an appendectomy kept him out of the final five contests, averaging 4.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game.
Considered one of the top breakout players for the 2024-25 season by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, Swain was exactly that, averaging 11.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. Against Texas in the First Four, Swain’s all-around game showed up with 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. In the subsequent loss to Illinois, Swain scored a career-high 27 points with eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals, hitting three of his 11 career threes.
So far, Swain hasn’t been a shooter with range, attempting only 54 threes over two seasons and making them at a rate of 20.4 percent. On far twos as a sophomore, Swain wasn’t much better at 33.3 percent, but he is a career 81.6 percent free-throw shooter, suggesting some remaining upside as a shooter, although his load and release can get elongated at times.
Where Swain excels offensively is around the rim, finishing second on the team with 24 dunks in 2024-25 while taking nearly 70 percent of his shots around the basket, converting 63.6 percent. Despite his lack of shot credibility, he’s able to attack the paint off the bounce and plays with an impressive degree of physicality despite a frame that looks lanky on film.
Aiding Swain’s ability to convert in the paint is his touch with both hands, allowing him to make baskets from difficult angles with a craftiness that represents one of his best offensive attributes.
With Miller lifting his bigs above the free-throw line, the new Texas head coach allows space for cutters for like Swain, who has a good feel for how to work off the ball to create easy looks.
In addition to serving as a solid playmaker for his teammates with an assist rate of 17.6 percent this season, Swain is a strong defensive rebounder at 18.5 percent and an opportunistic defender, leading the Musketeers with 53 steals at an elite rate of 3.2 percent.