Where does Texas Women's Basketball sit in the "way-too-early" rankings of 2026-27?
Texas watched as the UCLA Bruins, the team that narrowly escaped its Final Four matchup with the Longhorns, defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks to capture the national title on Easter Sunday.
It was an unfortunate end to a stellar season for the Longhorns, but next season, head coach Vic Schaefer returns just as much talent to the Forty Acres, making the 2026-27 season as promising as ever.
At the center of the returners is incoming senior forward Madison Booker, a perennial All-American phenom who led Texas in scoring this season at 18.9 points per game. However, it was her uncharacteristic 3-for-23 showing against the Bruins that held the Longhorns from reaching the program's first national championship game in decades.
"I think we feel like in our locker room we let one get away," Schaefer said postgame as he was flanked at the press conference by Booker and senior point guard Rori Harmon, both fighting back tears.
"I think this one will haunt me as the coach for probably till the day I die."
But lucky for the Longhorns, they have the nation's top recruiting class coming in to kickstart a redemption tour right away.
"For Madison, she going to be back in this game again. She's going to have the same opportunity again," Schaefer stated. "Sometimes it takes once or twice when you're here before, you really find a way and you can convey that to your teammates that, 'Hey, we got to really understand the opportunity we have in front of us and go execute.'"
Longhorns Welcoming Best Recruiting Class in 2026 Cycle
Help is on the way. Joining Booker and the Longhorns next season is four 5-star recruits. Three of the signees - Addison Bjorn, Brihanna Crittendon and Aaliyah Spaight - were named McDonald's All-Americans in their final year of high school.
Since Schaefer took over the program, he and his staff have recruited 10 McDonald's All-Americans, according to Texas Athletics. In total, 33 players have been named high school All-Americans before starting their career in Austin. Six players on the current roster earned the prestigious honor in recent years.
Bjorn is the Gatorade Player of the Year in Missouri and is ranked No. 10 in ESPN's 2026 class. The 6-2 guard is Parkville South High School's all-time leading scorer after averaging 21.9 points and 12.0 rebounds as a senior. Her experience with Team USA has linked her to current Longhorns Jordan Lee and Aaliyah Crump during FIBA competitions, where Bjorn has walked away with two gold medals.
Crittendon averaged an astounding 28.8 points per game at Riverdale Ridge High School in Thornton, Colorado this season. The 6-3 forward led her team to its first state championship in program history in 2024, capped by a 24-point, 16-rebound double-double in the title game. She is on the watch list for the Naismith Girls High School Player of the Year award.
Spaight rounds out the trio of top-20 recruits as another national player of the year candidate. The 5-7 guard from Nevada-based powerhouse Bishop Gorman won a state championship in 2024 and made a name for herself on the EYBL summer circuit with Why Not Premier.
Joining the star-studded class is 5-star forward from IMG Academy Isi Etute and 4-star shooting guard Amalia Holguin from Newport Coast, Calif.
ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25
The Longhorns clock in at No. 2 on ESPN's "way-too-early" rankings for the 2026-27 season. The No. 1 spot is held by UConn, who fell to the Gamecocks on the other side of the Final Four in the Huskies' only loss of the season. South Carolina sits at No. 3 and the new national champions shockingly fall out of the top 25 all together.
While members of this year's Longhorns team will carry the weight of this year's finish heavily, Schaefer and Booker will have a newfound motivation to make the All-American's senior season a rewarding one.
There is no other goal than a national title, and Texas will once again have plenty of talent to make goal a reality.
