For the first time in five years, Texas women’s basketball head coach Vic Schaefer walked into the gym without former point guard Rori Harmon. It felt different.
Harmon had been more than just a point guard to the Longhorns. Her leadership on and off the court has left Schaefer with a question he has spent the offseason trying to answer:
Who takes the ball?
The answer, at least for now, is not one person.
“It’s a little different when you’ve had Rori there for five years, and it wouldn’t matter what position Rori played,” Schaefer said in a Sept. 24 media availability. “But I have complete confidence in (junior guard Bryanna) Preston and (freshman guard) Lizzy (Spaight).”
Preston may be the closest thing Texas has to a natural successor. Schaefer said that if Harmon hadn’t taken a fifth year, he wouldn’t have had an issue filling her spot. Preston was waiting in the wings, and despite not being the starter last year, she proved to Schaefer that she can be vital in the big moments.
In the 2025-26 season, Preston averaged 4.9 points while only averaging 14.2 minutes per game. However, even with Preston ready to take the reins, Schaefer has made it clear that the job is far from settled.
That makes Texas’ point guard situation less about replacing one player, and more about redistributing everything Harmon used to provide.
“(Preston) can do some things that maybe Rori couldn’t do, or didn’t do,” Schaefer said. “She sees the floor incredibly well.”
He also has three freshmen to fall back on with guards Addison Bjorn, Amalia Holguin and Spaight. Bjorn and Spaight were highly-touted five-star recruits before officially declaring themselves Longhorns.
Additionally, Schaefer made a late pick-up with sophomore Jayda Clark, an Australian guard who has experience at the professional level.
With fall practice underway, Schaefer is looking to spend the next few weeks figuring out which players give the Longhorns the best chance to play as a cohesive team before the season begins.
More than half of the Longhorns’ roster is new. So while the Harmon gap might not be the pressing issue, helping five freshmen adjust to collegiate play might cause some initial season difficulties.
“Over half our team is new, and so we’ll probably have some growing pains that go with that, and that’s okay,” Schaefer said. “My job is to get them ready as (quickly) as I can.”
That might be the defining storyline of this season beyond just the point guard position: figuring it out.
Schaefer said his challenge over the next three or four weeks is to find the right combination at point guard while also getting players comfortable in their “home” positions. Rather than expecting one player to replicate everything Harmon brought to the table, Texas can mix and match.
And Schaefer is looking for players willing to take charge. Because when Texas finds itself in the big moments, Schaefer isn’t necessarily looking for individual premier talent.
“I don’t put the best basketball players on the floor, I put the five toughest competitors,” Schaefer said.
