SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TIPOFF MEDIA DAYS

October 14, 2026

Vic Schaefer

Texas Longhorns

Women's Media Day Press Conference

VIC SCHAEFER: First of all, I'd like to open it up with just a quick note, for me to have a chance to thank Bill Fennelly, the head coach at Iowa State. This will be his last season. Just to mention all he's done for our great game, what he's given of himself, the sacrifices that he's made, as we all do, for his family.

Then to impress upon and impact his own family, with them being a part of this great game. So it's been an honor to know him. Have deep respect and admiration for him. Appreciate all he's done for our game.

I've had many battles with him both in the Big 12 and one in particular when I was at Mississippi State in 2017. I can remember talking to the SEC office. We had an SEC/Big 12 challenge. Nobody really wanted to go to Ames. The reason is they won 96 straight at home.

Of course, they have such a tremendous fan base. Bill and his staff and those players are responsible for that. I said I'd do it. I had a little experience doing it at A&M in the Big 12. I tried to tell my team about what they were going to walk into. I had a good team, as that team would end up going to the Final Four. Had a great game in Dallas against Connecticut.

Down 17 at half. I can remember walking in the locker room not really being upset, just looking at my team going, I tried to tell you what was coming. Went out in the second half, didn't really play that much better. I think with a minute to go we were still down 11. Somehow we got it to overtime and ended up winning the game. It was quite a game, one that I'll always remember.

I can remember walking off the floor that night thinking this might be one of the greatest wins, greatest victories that certainly we'd had at Mississippi State, but maybe in my career, just because I have respect for that arena, those fans, and certainly Coach Fennelly and his team.

Again, just wanted to mention and pay my respect to him. Again, the appreciation that I have as somebody that's been doing this a long time, for what he's meant to our game.

As far as my team goes, I think we've had 13 practices. We have eight new players out of 14 that we had. We had six returners. Obviously Madi and Breya, our two starters are coming back. Bry Preston, I consider her a starter. Those three are kind of our returning starters, if you would, even though Bry didn't start.

I love our five freshmen that we have, our eight new players. Really, really excited about them. They're fun to coach every day. They bring it every day. They're learning a lot about what it's going to take to wear that steer head on our chest and take on everybody that we have to play this year. We have a very difficult schedule.

It's way early in the season. Obviously this time next week we'll have played up in Connecticut on a Monday night, in an exhibition game. Man, I get to thinking about playing somebody like that on the road with basically 17 practices. I mean, y'all think about that for a minute. That's a little bit hard to digest if you're me.

I'm excited to take my team up there. As I said yesterday, I really feel like those five freshmen, one thing I don't worry about with them, I don't think they'll be scared or intimidated. I think they'll be excited about the opportunity. Certainly I know the kids that I have coming back will be excited about that opportunity, too.

Again, it's a chance for us to go up there and really kind of go against somebody else besides ourselves that we go every day.

Yeah, I'll leave it there and open it for questions.

Q. Last year you talked a lot about Madison Booker's leadership, how it transformed. Where do you see that taking a much bigger step now that you don't have a point guard like Rori Harmon to kind of spearhead some more of that leadership for you?

VIC SCHAEFER: Yeah, I know I've commented on this several times.

After the Vanderbilt game last year, the voice I heard in the gym on that Friday was Madison Booker. She really kind of from that moment on, her voice resonated in the gym for the rest of the year. I think, as you know, we won 12 straight after that.

She's kind of taken up where she left off a year ago. So she's been tremendous every day. Our young kids, they see what it looks like to be an All-American every day because that's how she goes about her business every day in practice, work ethic, in everything, both ends of the floor. Every drill... She's really what you want. She's really what you want to have to show your kids.

She's been great. She is going to need to be that person. Bry has also tried to step up a little bit and be a voice. Again, I've said this a lot in years past. Rori was fast, Bry is electric. That kid is electric. I'm really excited about Bry Preston. I'm excited to see her this year and I'm glad she's on our team.

She's really special. We're going to need her to play well night in, night out. I don't worry about her running our team or doing the things necessary for us on offense.

I think the thing that we'll have the hardest time replacing is your best defensive player. Rori was that for five years, four and a half. I think that's what we're looking for right now with the 13 players that we have, is who's going to kind of step up and be that number one defender that we need to go against everybody else's great player, typically a perimeter player.

Q. You've led multiple different programs to multiple Final Fours. What have you found to be your key to success in that?

VIC SCHAEFER: I'm not sure there's a specific formula. I think for me, we've always prided ourself on being a tough, physical, aggressive basketball team. I think in any sport that you coach, if somebody describes your team as tough, physical and aggressive, I think any coach would like that.

My kids, they think they're the toughest team, the most physical team most nights on the planet. So that doesn't say anything about your skill set, by the way. Doesn't say anything about your jump shot.

As I watched football over the weekend, those football coaches, when they're getting interviewed coming off the field, man, they're all gushing about how tough and how physical they were, how proud they were of their teams, that that was a big key to their win that night.

It's no different in basketball. So I think everybody knows we hang our hat on our defense. I think back to that first year at Mississippi State. I can remember we didn't have a chance. They graduated six seniors on a 14-16 team that was going out the door. We didn't recruit anybody. We didn't inherit anybody other than one player from the previous staff, from a recruiting standpoint.

We had to hang our hat on something. There were nights we couldn't throw it in the ocean if we were standing on the beach at high tide. You can always guard. Defense travels. So we really tried to hang our hat on our defense.

That group didn't get it till late January. I didn't think we'd win five games all that year. We won five SEC games. We bet No. 11 Georgia that year. We had no business doing that that year. We held them to five baskets in the second half in our place. Beat them 50 to 44.

We had several games like that. I think we beat Arkansas 44-41. I'm telling you, we couldn't score. If we'd hunker down and guard a little bit, we'd have a chance.

In today's atmosphere in college athletics, let's just call it a blank canvas. College athletics, everybody's all about the psychedelics. They're all about the scoring, how many points you're getting. I'm talking about every sport.

If you can guard, if you can defend, if your defense is elite, you got a chance every night. Every team's going to be different. Every team is different. My team this year will be considerably different than last year's team. It doesn't necessarily mean that you're not going to be as good. You might be better.

If you can just be consistent in that area, it gives you a chance every night. If you're really good on that end, it travels. Defense travels.

I think for me, all those teams that we've had that have been successful, they've been really elite defensively. Last year in the NCAA tournament, we averaged 77 points a game over five games in the NCAA tournament. That includes scoring 43 against UCLA. We held people to 49 points in the NCAA tournament. That includes holding UCLA to -- well, they scored 51, we fouled them for their last four. You want something to keep you up at night? Know that you held UCLA to 47 points in the Final Four and you couldn't beat them. That's hard.

Q. We saw Breya Cunningham have moments in the NCAA tournament. How do you envision her role changing now with Kyla Oldacre not being there?

VIC SCHAEFER: Again, really love Breya. I said this before, if I ever got caught in a back alley somewhere, I want Breya with me. She's a competitor, tough kid.

I think for us, I've got to do a better job coaching and teaching her to stay out of foul trouble. She played about 18 minutes a game. I need to do a really good job of teaching her. She's probably going to need to play 30, to 35 minutes a game for us.

I can remember those elite teams at Mississippi State. Teaira McCowan would play 35 to 38 minutes a night at 6'7" and 2 whatever. She'd be dragging everybody up and down the floor. If I took her out, she was madder than a wet hen.

I need Breya to have that year, too, with us, where I got to teach her how to stay in games, not be so foul-prone. I think the more minutes she plays, the more efficient offensively for us. That's kind of something she and I have been talking about.

Again, that falls on me. I've got to do a better job with her. You know what, our guards have got to do a good job keeping that ball in front of them so she's not their last line of defense down there.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you.

VIC SCHAEFER: Thank. Praise the Lord and hook 'em Horns.