Texas Women’s Basketball Trio Earns Naismith Semifinalist Honors

Austin, Texas — The Texas Longhorns women’s basketball program continues to receive national recognition for its stellar 2025-26 season, as the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced semifinalists for several prestigious Naismith Awards on March 19, 2026.

Junior forward Madison Booker was named a semifinalist for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year, while senior guard Rori Harmon earned a spot among the semifinalists for the Naismith Women’s College Defensive Player of the Year, and head coach Vic Schaefer was selected as a semifinalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year.

These honors highlight the exceptional individual and team performances that have propelled Texas to another dominant campaign, including an SEC Tournament championship and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Booker, a standout junior, has been a driving force behind the Longhorns’ success. She led Texas to the SEC Tournament title and was named Tournament MVP after averaging 20.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game while shooting an impressive 61.4% from the field. This season, Booker is posting career highs in points (18.9 per game), rebounds (6.5), steals (2.3), and field goal percentage (51.6%). She has recorded 14 games with 20 or more points this year and boasts 42 such performances in her career.

Booker has already etched her name into Texas history, climbing to sixth on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,873 points. She is the only player in Texas women’s basketball history to amass 1,800 points, 600 rebounds, and 400 assists. Her standout performance came in the SEC Tournament semifinal against Ole Miss, where she poured in a career-high 31 points to go along with 11 rebounds and five assists. 

Over the summer, Booker added to her accolades by earning her fourth gold medal with USA Basketball at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup. She has been recognized as a First Team All-American by the Associated Press, USA Today Sports, and The Athletic this season.

Harmon, a senior guard and 2026 Associated Press All-America honorable mention, continues to solidify her status as one of the most complete players in program history. She holds Texas’ career records for assists (943, surpassing a 40-year-old mark and extending it by 167) and steals (370, breaking a record from 1980). 

Across her collegiate career, Harmon has accumulated 1,574 points, 943 assists, 370 steals, and 635 rebounds. She is the first and only NCAA Division I women’s basketball player to reach 1,500 points, 900 assists, 600 rebounds, and 350 steals.

Under Schaefer’s leadership, Texas has achieved remarkable consistency. The Longhorns are enjoying their third straight 30-win season—the first such streak since 1988—and have secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year (the second time in program history). 

Texas leads the nation with 14 victories over ranked opponents this season. Since the start of the 2023-24 campaign, Schaefer has guided the team to a 99-12 overall record. The program has captured either a regular-season or conference tournament championship in each of the last five seasons.

Schaefer’s accomplishments extend beyond Texas: He is the only women’s coach to lead two different programs to an SEC Tournament Championship and one of just two active head coaches to guide two programs to the Final Four.

The semifinalist announcements mark a key step in the Naismith Awards process, with finalists and winners to be revealed in the coming weeks, culminating around the Women’s Final Four in early April 2026.

A Brief History and Meaning of the Naismith Award

The Naismith Trophy, presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, is one of the most prestigious honors in college basketball. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, the inventor of basketball in 1891, the award was first given in 1969 to UCLA’s Lew Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) as the men’s college Player of the Year. It expanded to include women’s college basketball in 1983, with Anne Donovan of Old Dominion as the inaugural recipient. The trophy, sculpted by Marty C. Dawe of Atlanta, symbolizes excellence, tradition, and prestige in the sport.

Over the years, the Naismith Awards have grown to recognize top performers in multiple categories, including the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year (honoring the nation’s outstanding women’s player based on on-court success), the Naismith Women’s Defensive Player of the Year (presented by MOLECULE, recognizing elite defensive impact), and the Werner Ladder Women’s Coach of the Year. Winners are selected by a national voting academy of coaches, media, administrators, and former honorees, emphasizing tremendous achievement throughout the season. 

Past women’s Player of the Year winners include legends like Cheryl Miller (three-time winner), Dawn Staley, Lisa Leslie, Sabrina Ionescu, and recent stars like Caitlin Clark (two-time) and JuJu Watkins (2025). The awards remain a hallmark of individual brilliance and team success in NCAA Division I women’s basketball.