Texas exodus as women's Final Four team sees key players hit transfer portal

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Texas exodus as women's Final Four team sees key players hit transfer portal

2026-04-11 03:33 Last Updated At：03:50

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — From Final Four to roster rebuild. That's what Texas women's basketball coach Vic Schaefer is facing after a group of key players hit the transfer portal this week.

Schaefer still has three-time All-American Madison Booker to build around, but the departures were jarring. A program coming off consecutive Final Four appearances was expecting to refresh and reload behind Booker, a group of seasoned veterans and one of the top recruiting classes in the country.

Texas was already losing starting point guard Rori Harmon and center Kyla Oldacre, as well as key reserve forward Teya Sidberry as all three had expired their college eligibility.

But soon after the transfer portal opened, a trio of players who were expected to be major contributors next year bolted.

Sophomore Jordan Lee, the team’s second-leading scorer who started 38 games and averaged 13.2 points and was the team's top 3-point shooter, was among them. So was Aaliyah Crump, who was one of the top recruits in the country in 2025. She missed 15 games last season with a foot injury but played in 24, averaging 7.9 points.

And sophomore Justice Carlton, who flashed moments of brilliance but also struggled with consistency, started 28 games and averaged 8.5 points. Also transferring is Aaliyah Moore, who missed last season with an injury.

Carlton posted on social media that she had wanted to play her entire career at Texas.

“I never imagined I'd transfer,” she wrote, “But some things just don't work.”

Schaefer did not plan to make a comment on the departures, a team spokesman said.

The players transferring out leave a team that has rocketed into the national elite in Schaefer's six seasons. In that span, Texas returned to the Final Four for the first time since 2003 and advanced to the Elite Eight three other times.

Texas won a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season title in 2025 and won the league tournament this past season. Texas also earned No. 1 seeds for the NCAA Tournament the last three years.

Schaefer has proven to be a demanding coach to play for, and willing to publicly criticize his players.

After an 18-point loss in Nashville on Feb. 12, he went on a postgame rant that questioned his team’s heart and called the Longhorns “probably the softest team I’ve had in years.”

They didn't lose again until the Final Four. Schaefer's comments followed the team to Phoenix, where Harmon and Booker said the players had responded well to their coach's rebuke.

The roster needs an overhaul for next season but is far from bare. Schaefer's incoming recruiting class is ranked among the best in the nation, highlighted by guard Addison Bjorn and forward Brihanna Crittendon.

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Suryavanshi and Jurel blitz Bengaluru to keep Rajasthan unbeaten in IPL

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — Another breathtaking innings by 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi led unbeaten Rajasthan Royals to comfortably overhaul titleholder Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League on Friday.

Bengaluru recovered from 125-7 in the 14th over to set a decent target of 202.

But Suryavanshi's 78, including another 15-ball half-century, and Dhruv Jurel's unbeaten 81 off 43 balls drove Rajasthan to 202-4 and a six-wicket victory with two overs to spare.

Suryavanshi rocketed the chase with 70 in a stand of 108 off 37 balls with Jurel. They were a season-best 97-1 after the powerplay.

Bengaluru threw test bowlers Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar at Suryavanshi and the kid tore them apart. He got off the mark with a boundary by squeezing a yorker back past Kumar, and welcomed Hazlewood's first ball of the season with a six over deep backward point. Hazlewood's second over was tagged by Suryavanshi for 4-4-4-6.

“We just cannot believe how someone can hit it like that,” Jurel said. “We think we can not hit like that. He is a great talent.”

The youngster smashed seven sixes and eight boundaries at a strike rate of 300 in his second fifty of the young season.

“I try to play the ball and not the bowler, and play my game,” Suryavanshi said. “My dad, my coaches ... they keep telling me that the journey is long and to focus on my process and my game, without diverting my mind.”

By the time he was caught at long on, and the crowd rose to applaud his spectacular effort, the chase was as good as over at 129-2 in the ninth over.

Jurel combined with Ravindra Jadeja to finish the inevitable. Jurel's second fifty this season included three sixes and eight boundaries.

Rajasthan topped the table with four wins from four games while Bengaluru was third with a game in hand.

Rain forced the start to be delayed for more than an hour, and Bengaluru was reduced to 61-3 in the powerplay.

As wickets fell to Jofra Archer and Ravi Bishnoi, Virat Kohli kept the strike rate up and captain Rajat Patidar top-scored with 63 off 40 balls. But when Bengaluru slipped to 125-7, Ventakesh Iyer was brought in as an impact substitute and it paid off as 76 runs were plundered off the last six overs.

Iyer’s quickfire 29 off 15 balls helped Bengaluru reach 201-8.

“The way we started in the powerplay, to get to 200 is a positive sign for us,” Patidar said. “The way their batters, especially Vaibhav, batted in the powerplay, it made the difference.”

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket