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PHOENIX — Fifteen years ago, Texas A&M won a national championship with Sydney Carter in its starting lineup and Vic Schaefer working as an assistant coach.
Eight years ago, Schaefer's Mississippi State team came up three points short in its national championship bid. Schaefer's daughter, Blair, was starting for the Bulldogs that season.
Texas Longhorns assistant coach Blair Schaefer looks at her father and head coach Vic Schaefer after winning the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite 8 game against Michigan at Dickies Arena on Monday, March 30, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
MORE:Is this Texas team the best that Vic Schaefer has ever coached? We'll find out in Phoenix.
This weekend, Vic Schaefer will again chase a championship alongside Blair Schaefer and Carter. But neither will be playing for him at the Mortgage Matchup Center. Instead, they'll be coaching with him when the Longhorns face UCLA in a national semifinal game Friday night.
Carter and Blair Schaefer are both members of Schaefer's Texas Longhorns coaching staff, which also includes Elena Lovato, Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Mason Wright. Those assistant coaches have helped guide Texas to a 35-3 record this season and a 12-game winning streak that has included four NCAA Tournament victories and a takedown of South Carolina in the SEC championship game.
"I think I've got the best staff in the country," Vic Schaefer said. "They work extremely hard. We just signed the number one (recruiting) class in the country. I couldn't be more blessed, I can tell you that."
Texas Longhorns assistant coach Blair Schaefer talks to head coach Vic Schaefer during the game against Prairie View A&M at the Moody Center on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025 in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
At the end of his second season at Texas in 2022, Schaefer lost his entire coaching staff. Dionnah Jackson-Durrett, who had followed Schaefer from Mississippi State, left Austin to take over the program at University of Missouri-Kansas City. April Phillips (San Jose State head coach) and Calamity McEntire (Illinois associate head coach) also found employment elsewhere after just one season with the Longhorns.
Schaefer immediately replaced Jackson-Durrett with Lovato, who had previously worked for him before sitting out the 2021-22 season. But Schaefer was patient with the rest of his hires. Blair Schaefer was promoted in May from her previous role as a director of basketball operations. In September, UT announced that it had lured Wisdom-Hylton away from Boston College.
"I take my time on these things," Schaefer said that fall. "I just don't get in a hurry. We recruit to a fit, that's not just for my student-athletes. It's critical that I get it right from my staff."
After those hires, Schaefer proclaimed that "I feel like I've got The A-Team again." Whether he sees himself as Hannibal Smith or B.A. Baracus in this analogy is irrelevant. But what does matter is that Texas hasn't had any casting changes since that 2022 offseason overhaul.
MORE:Meet the men who are getting the Longhorns ready for a title run
Lovato, Wisom-Hylton and Blair Schaefer are all still on the Texas bench. The NCAA has since allowed teams to expand their coaching staff, but the only assistants that Schaefer has added (Carter and Wright) were done so through internal promotions.
Does that continuity matter? Rori Harmon, the team's fifth-year point guard, believes so.
Texas Longhorns assistant coach Sydney Carter looks on against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the championship of the SEC women’s basketball tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 9, 2025 in Greenville, S.C. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
"It helps us build relationships with them," Harmon said. "They get a feel for us not just as basketball players, but as people, and I think that's just what makes basketball easier for us. They know our tendencies, they know everything that we do, they know what we're thinking. I think that's just what makes it easier to work out with them, watch film with them. They're able to coach us harder. It's taken just a form of love."
Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, Texas is 129-22. The Longhorns have won conference championships in both the Big 12 and SEC while reaching the Final Four twice.
Lovato worked alongside Schaefer at Mississippi State and Texas and has been a head coach herself, so she has plenty of responsibilities as an associate head coach that include game-planning and mentoring the younger Schaefer. Meanwhile, Wisdom-Hylton has been tasked with coaching the Longhorns' post players.
The all-time leader in assists and steals at Texas, Harmon has worked more with Carter than any other UT assistant. In many ways, the two are mirror images of each other. Harmon stands 5-foot-6, while Carter was also listed at 5-6 while playing at Texas A&M from 2008-12. Harmon has been a four-time honoree on either the Big 12 or SEC's all-defensive team. Carter earned all-defensive honors in the Big 12 in 2011 and 2012. Harmon and Carter are both Black women who were raised in Texas.
Head coach Vic Schaefer and assistant coach Sydney Carter of the Texas Longhorns pose for a portrait after winning the Players Era Championship basketball tournament at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Nov. 27, 2025 in Las Vegas. (Josh Tu/Players Era/Getty Images)
"A lot of people think we're sisters for some reasons," Harmon said. "She's in my corner, always. She's always like, 'You've made me just such a better coach and person.' She doesn't understand how much she's meant to me. She works out with me. She's sacrificing her time to wake up early or stay after practice just so she can help me get to where I want to go."
GOLDEN:Why not the Texas Longhorns to win the women's title?
Junior forward Madison Booker has often credited Blair Schaefer with helping the development of her game and confidence. Booker is on pace to become the Longhorns' all-time leading scorer, and she is the program's only three-time Associated Press All-American.
"When you get to these tough moments on the court, I can look for her and kind of be at ease a little bit," Booker said. "She's been tremendous my first few years here."
Texas Longhorns assistant coach Blair Schaefer looks on during their game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena on January 15, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
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Eight years ago, Schaefer's Mississippi State team came up three points short in its national championship bid. Schaefer's daughter, Blair, was starting for the Bulldogs that season.
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Texas Longhorns assistant coach Blair Schaefer looks at her father and head coach Vic Schaefer after winning the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite 8 game against Michigan at Dickies Arena on Monday, March 30, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
MORE:Is this Texas team the best that Vic Schaefer has ever coached? We'll find out in Phoenix.
This weekend, Vic Schaefer will again chase a championship alongside Blair Schaefer and Carter. But neither will be playing for him at the Mortgage Matchup Center. Instead, they'll be coaching with him when the Longhorns face UCLA in a national semifinal game Friday night.
Carter and Blair Schaefer are both members of Schaefer's Texas Longhorns coaching staff, which also includes Elena Lovato, Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Mason Wright. Those assistant coaches have helped guide Texas to a 35-3 record this season and a 12-game winning streak that has included four NCAA Tournament victories and a takedown of South Carolina in the SEC championship game.
"I think I've got the best staff in the country," Vic Schaefer said. "They work extremely hard. We just signed the number one (recruiting) class in the country. I couldn't be more blessed, I can tell you that."
You must be registered for see images attach
Texas Longhorns assistant coach Blair Schaefer talks to head coach Vic Schaefer during the game against Prairie View A&M at the Moody Center on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025 in Austin. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)
Vic Schaefer's staff has not lacked continuity over the past four seasons
At the end of his second season at Texas in 2022, Schaefer lost his entire coaching staff. Dionnah Jackson-Durrett, who had followed Schaefer from Mississippi State, left Austin to take over the program at University of Missouri-Kansas City. April Phillips (San Jose State head coach) and Calamity McEntire (Illinois associate head coach) also found employment elsewhere after just one season with the Longhorns.
Schaefer immediately replaced Jackson-Durrett with Lovato, who had previously worked for him before sitting out the 2021-22 season. But Schaefer was patient with the rest of his hires. Blair Schaefer was promoted in May from her previous role as a director of basketball operations. In September, UT announced that it had lured Wisdom-Hylton away from Boston College.
"I take my time on these things," Schaefer said that fall. "I just don't get in a hurry. We recruit to a fit, that's not just for my student-athletes. It's critical that I get it right from my staff."
After those hires, Schaefer proclaimed that "I feel like I've got The A-Team again." Whether he sees himself as Hannibal Smith or B.A. Baracus in this analogy is irrelevant. But what does matter is that Texas hasn't had any casting changes since that 2022 offseason overhaul.
MORE:Meet the men who are getting the Longhorns ready for a title run
Lovato, Wisom-Hylton and Blair Schaefer are all still on the Texas bench. The NCAA has since allowed teams to expand their coaching staff, but the only assistants that Schaefer has added (Carter and Wright) were done so through internal promotions.
Does that continuity matter? Rori Harmon, the team's fifth-year point guard, believes so.
You must be registered for see images attach
Texas Longhorns assistant coach Sydney Carter looks on against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the championship of the SEC women’s basketball tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 9, 2025 in Greenville, S.C. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
"It helps us build relationships with them," Harmon said. "They get a feel for us not just as basketball players, but as people, and I think that's just what makes basketball easier for us. They know our tendencies, they know everything that we do, they know what we're thinking. I think that's just what makes it easier to work out with them, watch film with them. They're able to coach us harder. It's taken just a form of love."
Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season, Texas is 129-22. The Longhorns have won conference championships in both the Big 12 and SEC while reaching the Final Four twice.
Assistants credited with aiding the development of key Texas players
Lovato worked alongside Schaefer at Mississippi State and Texas and has been a head coach herself, so she has plenty of responsibilities as an associate head coach that include game-planning and mentoring the younger Schaefer. Meanwhile, Wisdom-Hylton has been tasked with coaching the Longhorns' post players.
The all-time leader in assists and steals at Texas, Harmon has worked more with Carter than any other UT assistant. In many ways, the two are mirror images of each other. Harmon stands 5-foot-6, while Carter was also listed at 5-6 while playing at Texas A&M from 2008-12. Harmon has been a four-time honoree on either the Big 12 or SEC's all-defensive team. Carter earned all-defensive honors in the Big 12 in 2011 and 2012. Harmon and Carter are both Black women who were raised in Texas.
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Head coach Vic Schaefer and assistant coach Sydney Carter of the Texas Longhorns pose for a portrait after winning the Players Era Championship basketball tournament at Michelob ULTRA Arena on Nov. 27, 2025 in Las Vegas. (Josh Tu/Players Era/Getty Images)
"A lot of people think we're sisters for some reasons," Harmon said. "She's in my corner, always. She's always like, 'You've made me just such a better coach and person.' She doesn't understand how much she's meant to me. She works out with me. She's sacrificing her time to wake up early or stay after practice just so she can help me get to where I want to go."
GOLDEN:Why not the Texas Longhorns to win the women's title?
Junior forward Madison Booker has often credited Blair Schaefer with helping the development of her game and confidence. Booker is on pace to become the Longhorns' all-time leading scorer, and she is the program's only three-time Associated Press All-American.
"When you get to these tough moments on the court, I can look for her and kind of be at ease a little bit," Booker said. "She's been tremendous my first few years here."
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Texas Longhorns assistant coach Blair Schaefer looks on during their game against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Colonial Life Arena on January 15, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
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