Former TCU power forward David Punch is staying in the Lonestar State and will transfer to Texas, according to On3’s Joe Tipton. Punch will have two years of collegiate eligibility remaining in Austin.
The 6-foot-7 Punch led the Horned Frogs in multiple categories while starting all 34 games this past season, where he averaged a team-high 14.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game in 2025-26. Punch started 61 of the 66 games he played the past two seasons at TCU, averaging 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 1.3 assists and 0.9 steals during his time in Forth Worth.
But Punch saved his best ball for the postseason, including averaging 25 points on 58.6% shooting to go along with 8.5 rebounds and three blocks in two Big 12 Tournament games in mid-March. He also produced a double-double with 16 points and a team-high 13 rebounds in TCU’s 66-64 win over eighth-seeded Ohio State in their Round of 64 game in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Punch signed with TCU as a four-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting cycle out of Harker Heights (Killeen, Texas), where he was rated as the No. 6 player in Texas, No. 18 power forward in the class, and No. 108 player overall, according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, a weighted composite of the three major media recruiting services.
Punch is known as a physical presence willing to put his body on the line, as evidenced by the sophomore getting bloodied in TCU’s second-round NCAA Tournament game against Duke, which ended the Horned Frogs’ season in a 81-58 loss.
The addition of Punch would help Texas replace the loss of power forward Nic Codie, who entered the transfer portal on Thursday after two seasons in Austin. The 6-foot-8 Codie averaged 3.0 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 0.5 assists across 43 games with the Longhorns over the past two years.
The Dallas native’s best game in a Longhorn jersey came in Texas‘ Round of 32 victory over Gonzaga, in which he scored a season-high 12 points with four rebounds. He becomes the second Texas player to transfer from the program, joining guard Simeon Wilcher.
Texas enjoyed a successful first season under head coach Sean Miller, which resulted in the Longhorns’ first appearance in the Sweet Sixteen since 2023. Miller has reached the Sweet Sixteen nine times and the Elite Eight four times as a head coach, but has never broken through to the Final Four.