AUSTIN (KXAN) — Texas football and volleyball may be the focal point of Texas athletics at the moment, but Darrel K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and Gregory Gym won’t be the only arenas Longhorn fans flock to for long. The Texas women’s basketball team will soon make its return, and head coach Vic Shaefer is optimistic for his sixth season with the team.
As the season quickly approaches, there are a few things to know heading into the 2025-26 season.
Madison Booker and Rori Harmon gear up for another season on the Forty Acres
Madison Booker has proven throughout her career with Texas that she is one of the best women’s basketball players in the nation. Now entering her junior season, Schaefer knows that she will only further cement her Texas legacy.
“Booker is one, when you get an outlet, that’s your first look,” Schaefer said in a recent media availability.
Booker finished the season averaging 16.3 points per game and was awarded the SEC women’s basketball player of the year. Paired with Texas point guard Rori Harmon, Texas once again has very real championship hopes. Harmon, who enters her fifth season with the Longhorns, is the first player in program history to reach 1200 points and 700 assists in her career.
“When you can start a team with Madison Booker and Rori Harmon at the guard, that’s a pretty good place to start,” Schaefer said. “To have those two, man, they are super competitive.”
Kyla Oldacre works to return from injury
During the GLOBL Jam tournament in Canada over the summer, Kyla Oldacre suffered an ankle injury. A powerful presence for Texas who prioritized the paint last season, Oldacre will be a crucial return for the Longhorns.
“Kyla has not worked out, hasn’t done a whole lot of anything since she went down in Toronto,” Schaefer said. “She did do a little bit [on Tuesday]…in conditioning, she just did a little bit, which is a lot more than she’s done.”
Oldacre played less than nine minutes against Puerto Rico in the GLOBL Jam before going down with an injury, but in that time scored 17 points and 11 rebounds. One of the more powerful centers in the SEC, her return may be necessary for the Longhorns to make a deep run in March this season.
“[Tuesday] was her first time that really, that I’ve seen her,” Schaefer said. “She sees the doctor today, and hopefully we’ll get a good report and get her cleared up. She’s certainly doing way better now, so I expect her to be fine here in the next week or so.”
Texas loses some familiar faces
While the Longhorns retained the team’s two best players in Harmon and Booker, there were a few losses from the rest of the roster. Shay Holle, who finished her career as Texas women’s basketball’s all-time winningest player, departed the team after her fifth season.
“The first question that I have with this team is who’s gonna fill the void of Shay Holle,” Schaefer said. “She was involved and played every year she was here …That’s the first question, you say, OK, what is it you’re looking for? That consistency.”
Texas also lost forward Aaliyah Moore and center Taylor Jones. Moore averaged 19.7 minutes last year for the Longhorns and 7.9 points per game. Jones averaged 21.8 minutes per game, 11.9 points per game and was awarded AP All-America Honorable Mention honors.
“We lose [Moore], who brought a toughness and a competitive spirit in a game,” Schaefer said. “Then it helped to have a five-player like Taylor Jones who could make a free-throw jumper and stretch the floor a little bit.”
Texas now has some new faces, including freshman guard Aaliyah Crump, who was rated the No. 5 recruit by ESPN in the 2025 class.
Though some familiar faces may have departed and one key Texas player is working her way back from injury, it seems Schaefer is excited for yet another season of Texas women’s basketball.
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