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Texas women's basketball coach Vic Schaefer is used to encountering sharks during his summer outings chasing speckled trout and redfish at Port O'Connor. He goes wade fishing, which means he stands in the water among the sandbar sharks, blacktip sharks and bull sharks that linger in the area. "The bull sharks, those are the ones you want to stay clear of because they don't care where the fish is," Schaefer told CBS Sports. "If he is hungry, he is going to eat it." The possibility of an encounter doesn't deter him from going into the water. If he wants to fish, he is going to do it. But with basketball season starting soon, Schaefer has shifted his focus from the ocean to the Longhorns. Fresh off a Final Four run, the expectations are high for his team once again. Texas is ranked No. 4 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll and were predicted to finish first in the SEC coaches preseason poll, even ahead of South Carolina. Texas looks great on paper, but Schaefer is well aware that the same can be said for other teams in the league. Just like in the ocean, there are a lot of sharks in the SEC water. "Our league, I think we got some teams that are going to be older and wiser, they have some depth," he said. "It's going to be a nightmare getting through that gauntlet of 16 games. It's two months of pure hell." Yes, pure hell. But Schaefer loves the idea of it. "That's why you sign up to do what we do," he said. "If you are not interested in that, you are in the wrong league and at the wrong school for me. It's why we do what we do." Here are some reasons why Texas is one of the preseason favorites. It starts with Rori Harmon and Madison Booker Both Rori Harmon and Madison Booker made the CBS Sports top 10 players list ahead of the 2025-26 season, and Booker recently made the 2025-26 AP preseason All-America team. She has been one of the most impressive players in the nation since her freshman year, and Schaefer said she is now embracing a bigger role as a vocal leader. "I think Booker is doing a great job right now with some leadership," he said. "Her versatility, I can play her at four positions if I want to. I just think that really opens up the playbook for me a little bit." Meanwhile, Harmon came back from a torn ACL last season and played with a brace. However, the brace is finally off and Schaefer expects her to look even better this year. "Rori is out of the brace, so she is getting back to being comfortable playing without a brace and she gets a little bit better and better every day," he said. "Any time you got a fifth-year senior point guard who has been through the wars like her, and you got Booker as a two-time All-American, that's two pretty good places to start with your team." Texas still has a two-headed monster in the post Texas had Kyla Oldacre and Taylor Jones as the "two-header monster" last season. Jones was one of the Longhorns' top scorers and led the team in rebounds and blocks. She graduated, but Oldacre, a center who almost averaged double figures in scoring and led the Longhorns in offensive rebounds, is back for her senior year. Oldacre dealt with an ankle injury in the summer and wasn't able to complete the team's preseason conditioning. However, she has been officially cleared and Schaefer said she could be set for a breakout season. "I think Kyla is going to be one of the best 5 players in the country," he said. "I've had some good ones in my career and she's got a chance to be one of those that really has a great year for us. Obviously, Taylor Jones had an All-American season last year. I think Kyla is going to have an opportunity this year to really be special for us." Jones is gone but the Longhorns added Arizona transfer Breya Cunningham to play alongside Oldacre. "We knew that getting Brea Cunningham would be somebody that could really add to our team and provide an inside presence along with Kyla," he said. "I always like to have a two-headed monster down there, and those two are going to really provide that." Texas finally has outside shooters Texas' defense is always solid, but one of the biggest questions for the Longhorns last season was how far they could go without a 3-point shooter. They made it all the way to the Final Four, but the concern was still addressed during the offseason. Schaefer said there are several players who can contribute to the offense this season. So far, Aaliyah Crump, Jordan Lee and Ashton Judd are the ones who stand out the most. Crump, the No. 5 player of the class of 2025, was described by 247Sports' Brandon Clay as a "shotmaker out to beyond the 3-point line" who has "legitimate length on the perimeter" and rarely forces shots. She is only a freshman, but Schaefer is already impressed with how her skills are translating to the college level. "Aaliyah Crump can really shoot it," he said of the 6-foot-1 guard. "A big guard like Booker, she can see the floor and can run, but man, she can really shoot it." Lee, entering her sophomore year, shot at almost 40% from beyond the arc as a freshman. She averaged just 5.8 points per contest while playing under 20 minutes per game, but she now has more experience and is expected to take on a bigger role. Unfortunately, Judd recently suffered a small fracture in her right kneecap and will be sidelined until at least the end of November. When she is healed, the Missouri transfer could be a strong weapon for Texas. She was a versatile asset for the Tigers and showed she can play against top competitors. One of her best games last season was a 17-point performance with four 3-pointers against LSU.
