Every few years or so, someone will emerge from the Texas Football program who feels like an overnight sensation of excitement that arrived out of nowhere.
I'm thinking of current Arizona State DB coach Bryan Carrington when he burst onto the scene under Tom Herman as an assistant director of player personnel.
I'm thinking of current Oregon running backs coach Ra'Shaad Samples back in 2018 when he was a mere assistant wide receivers coach.
There have been others, but these are the two that probably stand out the most. Well, you can now add Texas edge coach LaAllen Clark to the list because he's emerged in a very short amount of time as one of the rising stars of a Texas Football program that has more than a few of them.
Understand that Clark is only on staff in his current capacity because the NCAA changed the rules with regard to the number of on-field coaches a program can have on staff (from 11 to unlimited) and the number of assistant coaches that can be on the road (from 10 to 12, plus the head coach) last summer.
When he was added to the staff in February, the buzz coming out of Ohio State was the Longhorns had nabbed one of their top young football weapons in the program, but the man had only been a grad assistant for the Buckeyes when he took the job in Austin. How could anyone have foreseen that by the time we reached the summer, Allen would have emerged as perhaps the most popular coach on the staff among elite recruits?
Take a bow, Steve Sarkisian. Everyone loves your new guy. It seems like his name pops up in a recruit's mouth every five minutes.
Just like with Carrington and Samples back in the day, Clark is emerging as one of the most valuable commodities in the Texas program. His early recruiting chops are going to make him incredibly sought after among the elite programs in college football. If it turns out that he can develop talent at a level that matches his reputation in that area, we're talking about a guy that will ...
a. Make a hell of a lot more than $300,000 (his 2025 salary) as soon as next season. He'll be making 7 figures as an assistant coach somewhere in less than two or three years.
b. He'll be a head coach at the FCS level before the age of 40.
You can just see this stuff coming from a mile away sometimes. This is a guy with charisma and legit football developing chops (worked with Ed Oliver, Jeffrey Simmons and Danielle Hunter as the CEO of LC Performance before working at Ohio State). In a span of four years, he's gone from a grad assistant at Prairie View A&M to defensive ends coach at Southern to grad assistant at Ohio State to edge coach at Texas.
Folks, that's not normal. It took Jeff Banks 14 years before he emerged with a power conference j-o-b. It took Pete Kwiatkowski a quarter of a century to do the same. Hell, even a guy like 39-year-old A.J. Milwee needed nearly a decade to go from North Alabama as a GA to East Mississippi to Akron to eventually Texas as a quarterbacks coach.
You know who had a similar rise to Allen? None other than his boss. Sarkisian went from coaching quarterbacks at El Camino in 2000 to being the USC quarterbacks coach in 2001 to being with the Oakland Raiders in 2004.
I'm not saying that Allen is going to be just like Sarkisian, but his rise up the coaching ranks is kind of reminding me of him. Young stars in their profession take the elevators to the top, not the steps.
That appears to be what we're watching in Allen's ascent in the college coaching industry.
Unlike when Carrington and Samples left the Longhorns without too much of a fight, it'll be up to Sarkisian in the coming years (as soon as in six months) to make sure Texas Football does everything in its power to make sure their young star remains in Austin.
No. 2 – Photo Finish For The Cup!
As it turns out, the best competition in college athletics was the last one and it was the game within the game that proved to provide all the drama.
Texas had entered the weekend with a pretty strong grip on its fourth Director's Cup in five years, but a disappointing performance in the national outdoor track and field championships opened up the door for USC to dethrone the Longhorns.
Except USC couldn't quite pull of a double track title, which opened the door for Stanford to sneak through the back door for the Director's Cup title if sophomore distance runner Sophia Kennedy could finish second or higher in the 5K ... the last event of the meet.
She finished in third place by .31 of a second, which means that the Longhorns won the Director's Cup by .31 of a second.
Someone give Chris Del Conte a bag to breathe in or something. He was able to break out the good stuff in celebration, but not without a possible anxiety attack ... or three.
Check out the final scores ...
(Courtesy of @Direct_Cupdates)
In its first season in the all-powerful SEC, the Longhorns did the damn thing. Of the four Director's Cups that the Longhorns have strung together in the 2020s, this is the one that will mean the most to everyone in Austin. It shouldn't have been possible ... so they say.
Instead, the Longhorns became the first SEC school to ever win the Director's Cup.
SEC!!! SEC!!! SEC!!!
(A few other thoughts with all of the data in to splice through ...)
a. How difficult is sit to consistently win in men's basketball? Between Texas, USC and Stanford, only the Longhorns earned a single point (5 total) from the sport and it wildly proved to be every bit as important as the Stanford runner finishing in third place. Come on, Sean Miller. Help, CDC out a little.
b. Only four of the school's 19 sports finished the season worse than 17th nationally ... men's hoops (No. 65), men's indoor track (No. 26) and outdoor track (No. 34), and women's cross country (No. 31). Overall, 13 of the school's 19 athletic programs finished the season with a top 10 finish.
c. How on earth did Stanford get zero points from baseball or women's basketball? It was the first time the women's basketball team hadn't at least made the NCAA Tournament since 1987. It had made at least the Sweet 16 in every year since 2007. Meanwhile, the baseball team had been in the College World Series the last three seasons and somehow finished 13th in the Big 10 this year.
No. 3 - Get Your Popcorn Ready ...
It was 312 days ago that Texas running back C.J. Baxter suffered a torn ACL that ruined his second season in Austin.
A season that was set up to be a break-out campaign for a player that has big fans, including former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, was wiped out in a single moment, leaving the Longhorns to begin a bit of a season-long scramble with the running game.
Ten-plus months later and Baxter has returned to the Texas program in hopes of reestablishing himself as one of the top (recruiting) talents in the sport in a world where his emergence as a top player would represent just what the doctor ordered for a Texas offense that is leaning on Arch Manning a little too much going into the season.
Yet, should the expectations be sky high for a player that averaged a pretty unimpressive 4.8 yards per game during a freshman season that saw him forever banged up and dip below 3.5 yards per carry or worse in six of the 13 games he played in?
Personally, I'm a little skeptical. At no point during his freshman season did I think I was watching a future star in the backfield. There were moments against Washington (9 carries for 64 yards), Iowa State (20 carries for 117 yards) and Kansas State (10 carries for 90 yards) when I thought he look pretty good, but it was hard not to completely ignore his performances against Alabama (11 carries for 31 yards), Oklahoma (7 carries for 18 yards), BYU (9 carries for 22 yards) and Oklahoma State (13 carries for 43 yards).
Part of what was exciting about the 2024 season on paper was that we were supposed to find out who Baxter truly is as a college player. Is he the running back prince that was promised or something less than that?
We still don't know.
Coming into the season, I'm cautiously optimistic. There's definitely a role for Baxter on this team, but I wonder if his skill set is diverse enough to totally separate himself from the other backs on campus. What is he going to give the offense that Quintrevion Wisner doesn't already give it? What this team really needs is a home run hitter that can scare the daylights out of opposing defenses, while keeping them honest against Manning and the passing game at the same time. I'm not sure that's who Baxter was
before the injury
We're seven weeks away from getting a little closer to find out who Baxter really is going to be as a college player in a Steve Sarkisian offense.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready.
No. 4 – I found myself curious ...
This was one of the questions that was submitted in this week's Buy or Sell section:
I've been getting a lot of these types of questions in the last month, but I have to be honest when I tell you that I'm not sure I even know how good or bad Ewers was in the second half of games last season.
It always felt like there would peaks and valleys in any Ewers performance, but the inconsistency never felt contained or restricted to specific 30-minute sections of games.
Therefore, I decided to give this question its own section. Well done,
@grumpy horn. Let's look up the data and see what we're truly talking about.
vs. Colorado State - 2 of 2 for 12 yards, 0 TD and 0 INT (150.4 rating)
at Michigan - 6 of 10 for 43 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (129.1 rating)
vs. Oklahoma - 7 of 12 for 77 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (112.2 rating)
vs. Georgia - 19 of 31 for 194 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT (135.2 rating)
at Vanderbilt - 8 of 16 for 75 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT (76.9 rating)
vs. Florida - 2 of 2 for 36 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (416.2 rating)
at Arkansas - 5 of 9 for 76 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT (163.2 rating)
vs. Kentucky - 3 of 5 for 14 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (83.5 rating)
at Texas A&M - 6 of 11 for 76 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT. (94.4 rating)
vs. Georgia - 11 of 21 for 130 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (110.57 rating)
vs. Clemson - 6 of 10 for 61 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT (111.24 rating)
vs. Arizona State - 14 of 20 for 208 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT (180.4 rating)
vs. Ohio State - 13 of 19 for 150 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (141.6 rating)
Total: 102 of 162 for 1,152 yards, 9 TD, 5 INT (134.86 rating)
A few thoughts on the data ...
a. It's not great. His season rating was 148.98, so there's obviously a decline from pretty average numbers on the whole to something below average. His first half totals ended up being 191 of 283 for 2,320 yards, 22 touchdowns and 7 interceptions (157.1 rating), which is where his season efficiency numbers hovered throughout his 2023 season.
b. The stretch of football from the Kentucky game through the end of the season (excluding the Arizona State game) was pretty fugly. In those five games (out of the last six career games he played), he threw more interceptions than touchdowns and finished with a combined 114.85 rating in those 10 quarters of play.
c. The Arizona State performance, especially in overtime, really was the apex of his 2024 season.
Overall, yes, I'm going to say the quarterback play in the final 30 minutes of football for the Longhorns in 2025 will be much better than it was in 2024.
It better be.
No. 5 – In case you missed it ...
There's not much that screams togetherness and brotherhood on a college football team quite like flying 1,000 miles across multiple states to support a teammate's local camp.
For the likes of Arch Manning, Colin Simmons, DeAndre Moore and Aaron Butler to make such a trip on their own dime really speaks to how they feel about Ryan Wingo and the type of culture that Steve Sarkisian has built.
They didn't have to do that, but they
wanted to.
Folks, I've been to these camps when they are run by pro athletes and those running the event don't care about anything other than getting a cash grab from a bunch of moms and kids. I've seen guys running camps like this show up at the camps so torn up that they can't take their sunglasses off or let anyone smell their breath.
For these guys to make the trip to help a teammate and give the kids on hand an experience they won't forget ...
No. 6 - Scattershooting on this weekend in recruiting ...
... The super blue chips are on the way. Of the first 13 commitments in this class, only Dia Bell (On3, 247 and ESPN) and Jermaine Bishop (247) own super blue chip status. Only one other commitment (Dylan Berymon) is ranked inside the Top 200 in the On3 Industry composite rankings. That will soon change. A flood is coming. The goal should always be to hit between 7-10 in every single year. It's coming.
... A few years ago, I had a source I trust tell me that the Longhorns wouldn't likely engage in recruitments with Georgia. This was on the outset of NIL. A few years later and it sure seems like the last thing Sarkisian is afraid of is the Dawgs. After poaching Justus Terry in December, Texas has emerged as the possible betting favorite for Dre Quinn, who has cancelled his Notre Dame official visit scheduled for next weekend and will choose between the four schools he's taken official visits to - Texas, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Clemson. Expect the Texas buzz to rise with Quinn in the coming weeks.
... It should be noted that Quinn's frame at 6-4, 220 pounds is a little lighter than you'd prefer. He has a tweener physical profile, but Texas, Georgia and Clemson being involved should tell you that he has a chance to be an outlier.
... I'm not sure that being the leader for 5-star defensive tackle Lamar Brown in the summer is optimal. Maybe I'm wrong and he ends up being as solid of an early commitment as Dakorian Moore or Michael Fasusi, but this looks like a recruitment that might be decided in November when all of the final NIL offers come into place. Always remember that the Longhorns prefer to strike late with NIL discussions.
No. 7 - Let's have a talk ...
July 1 is right around the corner. Come hell or high water, Rivals is going to merge with On3 as an organization and the future of Orangebloods.com beyond the end of this month is still under consideration.
Over the course of the last seven weeks, a lot of my focus as the Owner/Publisher of Orangebloods has been sorting through our various options. While I continue to be in discussions with multiple parties about what steps we'll take, I wanted to do two things ...
First, I wanted to let you know that I'll likely announce a decision on the immediate future of the site in the next week or so. I can honestly tell you that while I have an idea of the steps that we will take, nothing is completely finalized, primarily because I'm carefully looking for the arrangement that is both best for the financial viability of the business and the best interests of every single one of you.
After weeks of consideration, negotiating and time to dive into a new beginning, we're almost ready to move forward. I firmly believe that the purchase of Rivals by On3 will turn out to be a pivotal positive moment in the history of the site. Now that we can kind of openly discuss the bad marriage now that's over in two weeks, we can admit that the partnership left a lot to be desired in a lot of ways. I don't have to explain them. All of you have lived them.
Thank you for always trusting in Orangebloods when our biggest partner didn't always reinvest that earned trust in a way that rewarded those giving all of the trust.
The second thing I wanted to do in this section is give you an idea of three options that are under consideration.
Option No. 1 - Join On3
It would be disingenuous for me to not admit that I've quietly been a big fan of On3 from the outside looking in for the last few years. From a network standpoint, they support the sites in the network at levels with regard to content support/quality that I have hoped to see from Rivals over the years. That being said, there are some real complications in a deal with On3 and it goes beyond potentially sharing a neighborhood with another existing Texas site (not a huge hang-up for me, but that doesn't mean that it's not complicated). The beautiful thing about the conversations with the people at On3 is that they've really gone out of their way to alleviate a lot of our concerns. Gold star for them on that front. Also, it's an easy place to envision as home. It's full of good people that I know really well.
Option No. 2 - Join another network
The single most lucrative financial offer that I've been handed is from a non-Rivals/On3 company. Of all the options in front of me when discussing this potential move, it is without question the one that would create the most jarring experience for the Orangebloods family member (everyone reading this). Out of respect to everyone involved, I don't want to get into the specifics of any conversation that I've had, but the financial implications under this consideration are significant.
Option No. 3 - Become an independent site
Honestly, it kind of feels like we've been running an independent site for years and just haven't had any of the luxuries that would come from such a position. Again, without going into specifics/details, there are elements of this arrangement that would probably provide the least-jarring experience for all of our Orangebloods family (everyone reading this). It might come with the most risk. Hell, who knows? All we've ever known is the Rivals experience in our 24+ years of existence. Given all of the elements of the business from the site to local advertising to YouTube and everything else in between, a case can be made that this is the safest place to dock what might be the biggest single ship in our industry from a subscription/premium message board standpoint.
This is what is being considered. None of the options is perfect. All of the options are better than what has been available to us in the last near-decade in almost every important way. What I can tell you is that I have listened to all of your various concerns about possible changes and every negotiation that has taken place has centered around what can be done to serve the wants and needs of the Orangebloods family, while being able to make sure that we're as financially viable for the long-term as possible.
Stay tuned ... July 1 is coming.
No. 8 – BUY or SELL …
(Buy) Of course. The Steve Sarkisian offense can't reach its zenith without it.
(Buy) I'd go 25/25/25 for Texas, Ohio State and Georgia and maybe 8/8 for Oregon and Alabama. The remaining 9-percent I'll give to the field.
(Sell) It's an overrated song, but it closed the show last night for a reason. I have to be honest ... I was Jonesing for the drums when they kick in at the beginning.
(Buy) Duh. The days of Sark slumming outside the top 5 are over.
(Sell) You misspelled "hugs" and greatly overestimate the amount of laying that takes place.
(Sell) That's not really a buy or sell question. It's just a basic question outside of the format. No need to run from it. It's not a number that I came up with. I asked a source if the $35-40 million number that Kirk Bohls had reported in the spring was accurate and I was told that the number was $36 million (and probably some change). My understanding is that the math involved included taking the money from revenue sharing dedicated to football and the remaining costs together .... and that's how you get to $36 million. I do not have a full breakdown of the 85-man roster. I can tell you that I have been told that the highest earners in the program (think Anthony Hill and Colin Simmons) will be in the $1.75-2.0 million range. Most of the 5-star level recruits in the 2025 class likely went from pulling 700k-ish in 2024 to something closer to seven figures or above. None of these numbers include anything related to Arch Manning.
(Buy) Yeah, probably.
(Sell) Define decisive. If that means 10+ points, I'm selling.
(Sell) As in No. 1? Or just a general top ranking. If it's the former, I'm going to say the sample-size is too small to have a definitive answer, but you're always getting the other's team Hail Mary approach each week. If it's the latter, I think the program has been pretty nails under Sarkisian as a favorite.
(Buy) I think that's probably fair, although you typically can't win No. 6 at a school like Texas without winning something in the top 5 (see each of the last two years).
(Sell) Better quarterback play will be required.
(Sell) Hero Kanu and Justus Terry will get just as many snaps as Travis Shaw at this point.
(Sell/Buy/Sell/Buy/Sell) Give me the under on 9.5 picks. I've got Simmons with 15 sacks this year in 16 or 17 games. Wisner might get there because of the game volume, but I'm going to say no right now. The defense will score 5+ touchdowns this season in 16 or 17 games.
(Buy) Yes, those are the stakes.
(Buy) I said as much in last week's column.
(Sell) I beg your pardon?
(Sell) Someone catches more passes, but maybe not as much receiving yardage.
No. 9 – Scattershooting all over the place …
... It just wasn't Scottie's weekend.
... It's feeling like it might just be LSU's College World Series to win. That opening win over Arkansas feels very ominous at this point.
... I'm not saying that Caitlin Clark has been hanging out with the Minister of Culture, but it's not outside of the realm of possibilities, right?
... The NBA title will likely be decided on Monday night. Game 5 feels like everything.
... Kevin Durant has no control on where he's about to get traded to this summer. My gut tells me he wants San Antonio or Houston, but is going to end up in Miami.
... Myles Turner is in line to receive a 3-year, $90-million type deal this off-season from the Pacers. Not bad work before the age of 30 if you can get it.
... I'm sorry Edmonton, but it feels like the Stanley Cup was won in your building on Saturday night by the non-Canadian team.
... Dak Prescott is entering his 10th season as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Good grief.
... I'm addicted to the transfer window in European football. Obsessed is more like it.
... This is almost too good to be true. I'm pinching myself.
... If this is it for Andy Robertson at Liverpool, he'll leave as a club legend that everyone will remember in only the fondest of possible ways. The bar is set high for everyone that follows in his shoes.
... I'm trying to give The Club World Cup a chance, but Bayern winning 10-0 against a bunch of dudes from Oceania didn't give me a lot of hope that we're going to be greatly entertained a lot in the next month. Oh well, as long as it takes the legs away from Man City and Chelsea in the league this season... LFG!!!!
... Austin FC is better than San Jose, Colorado, FC Dallas, Houston, Salt Lake and Sporting Kansas City, but not higher in the table than Seattle, LAFC, Portland, Minnesota, Vancouver and San Diego? Without having any other context, that sounds about right.
No. 10 - The List: Top 10 Texas Women's Athletes ...
A few thoughts before we get started...
a. After seeing Metallica in person for the first time on Saturday night in Houston, there's a huge part of me that wanted to circle around on
the Top 10 list that I did in April, but my goodness, it's only been a few months. Timing is everything in life and I should have waited until this weekend.
b. There was a request for a Top 10 Texas Women's Athlete list by
@malvarado after a public call-out, which I agreed to do. Here's the thing ... I swear I did this list in the last couple of years because I remember doing all of the research. Something must have happened that made me pull the plug on all that work at the last moment because ... I can't find the list anywhere and now I have to do the same legwork in building the list all over again.
c. This is a really tough list to compile because there are so many women over the decades that warrant the honor. Hell, it feels like there's practically a candidate or two in every current team on the 40 Acres for the future, whether it be Madison Booker or Teagen Kavan.
Honorable Mention: Mia Scott (Softball), Haley Eckerman. (Volleyball), Chiaka Ogbogu (Volleyball), Demetria Sance (Volleyball), Tara Davis-Woodhall (track), Juliet Cuthbert (track), Michelle Carter (track), Peyton Sterns (tennis), Laura Wilkinson (diving), Teagan Kavan (softball), Janae Jefferson (softball), Blaire Luna (softball), Heather Bowie (golf), Michiko Hattori (golf), Kaitlyn Papp (golf), Debbie Petirizzi (golf), Charlotta Sorenstam (golf), Fran Harris (basketball), Andrea Lloyd (basketball), Tiffany Jackson (basketball), Stacy Stephens (basketball) and Madison Booker (basketball)
Last 5 out: Annette Smith (Basketball), Leigh Ann Fetter (Swimming), Madisen Skinner (Volleyball), Christa Williams (Softball) and Reese Atwood (Softball)
10. Logan Eggleston (Volleyball)
Led the Longhorns to a national championship in her final season in 2022, a season that watched her become the program's first AVCA Player of the Year. Twice was named Volleyball Magazine's National Player of the Year. The only 5-time AVCA All-American, three-times earning 1st-team honors. A 3-time finalist for the Honda Award and the winner of the award in 2022.
9. Destinee Hooker (Volleyball/Track)
Here's the thing about Hooker ... she was a baddie in two-different sports, earning All-America honors in volleyball and in track. While she won three outdoor NCAA titles in the high jump and shattered the indoor college record with a leap of 1.98 meters in winning the 2009 NCAA title, she's best known for her career in volleyball. In addition to helping lead the USA to a silver medal in the 2012 Summer Olympics, she also one of just two four-time All-Americans in program history (along with joining Demetria Sance) and led her 2009 team to the national title game against Penn State. She was named the MVP of the Tournament, despite being on the second-place finisher.
8. Carlette Guidry (Track)
Won the Honda-Broderick Award as the National Track Athlete of the Year in 1990-91 and won the Babe Zaharias Award as the nation's top female athlete in 1991-92. Named as the 1980's Southwest Conference Track Athlete of the Decade. Guidry became the first Texas runner to ever win a gold medal in the Olympics when she was a part of the 4X100 relay. Holds the school-record with 23 All-American honors during her career.
7. Betsy Mitchell (Swimming)
A gold and silver medalist in the 1984 Olympics, Mitchell transferred from UNC to Texas in 1985 and ended up winning 9 different individual NCAA titles, while helping lead the Longhorns to three straight national titles. Twice was named as the Broderick Cup's National Swimmer of the Year and was twice named the National Women's Swimmer of the Year. Was named the Southwest Conference's Swimmer of the 1980s.
6. Kamie Ethridge (Basketball)
Ethridge was the 1986 National Player of the Year during UT's only national championship season and became the first female student-athlete at The University of Texas to have her jersey [No. 33] retired. As the team's starting point guard, the team's 34-0 season was the first spotless record in the history of the sport. A two-time All-American for Texas, Ethridge was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002 and the inaugural class of the Texas Women’s Athletics Hall of Honor in 2000. Ethridge won the Honda-Broderick Cup winner, recognizing her as the nation’s top female athlete across all sports. She is still the school's career leader in assists (776). She won a gold medal on the 1988 Olympic team.
5. Sanya Richards-Ross (Track)
The most prolific International sprinter that the school has ever produced. Among her most accomplishments in the 400 meters are winning gold in the 2012 Olympics and 2009 World Championships. With her gold medal victory in 2012, she became the second American woman to win the 400 meters at the Olympic Games and the first American woman to earn multiple global 400-meter titles. Richards-Ross is also a six-time 400 meters U.S. national champion (2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2012). Richards-Ross ranked number one in the world from 2005 to 2009 in the 400 meters and again in 2012. She set the American 400-meter record of 48.70 seconds in 2006 and was named the IAAF Female World Athlete of the Year in 2006 and 2009. She was a part of three consecutive Olympic gold medals in the 4X400 meters relay at the 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics. An 11-time All-American for the Longhorns, who won the NCAA title in the 400-meters at the 2003 NCAA Outdoors and 2004 Indoors.
4. Jill Sterkel (Swimming)
A two-time gold medalist in the Olympics in the 400-meter freestyle relay, Sterkel was a 16-time individual national champion for the Longhorns and twice helped lead her teams to national championships. Sterkel was twice named as the Broderick Cup's National Swimmer of the Year and three times was the national meet's highest-point winner.
3. Clarrisa Davis (Basketball)
A two-time winner of the Naismith Trophy (the only Longhorn to ever win the award) and the MVP of the 1986 Final Four, which is the only Texas team to ever win the national championship. The only Longhorn to ever be named to an NCAA Team of the Decade (1980s). One of three Texas players with more than 2,000 career points, she also leads the school record book in points per game and points in a season, while ranking fourth in career rebounding average and fifth in career field goal percentage.
2. Julian Alfred (Track)
This is one of the toughest calls I have ever had to make. She's a 12-time All-American. She's a two-time Indoor and Outdoor Big 12 Performer of the Year. She was a part of the 2023 national championship team and practically carried them to the title with 1st-place finishes in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4X100-meter relay. Her 22.5 points scored at the 2023 NCAA Championships is tied for the most ever by a Texas athlete. She has the 11 fastest times in the 60 meters in the history of the school and 17 of the top 21. She also owns the seven fastest times in school history in the 100, the two fastest times in the 200 meters and was a part of the starting runner on the 11 fastest 4X100-meter relay. To put a cherry on top of the best career any Texas female athlete has ever put together, she won gold in the 100 meters at the 2024 Olympics, as well as silver in the 200 meters.
1. Cat Osterman (Softball)
Arguably the greatest pitcher in the history of her sport. A gold medalist in the 2004 Olympics, Osterman holds the Big 12 Conference pitching Triple Crown for her career wins, ERA, and strikeouts, as well as shutouts, no-hitters, WHIP, and perfect games; she also holds the NCAA Division I record for strikeout ratio (14.34). A two-time winner of the Honda Award (given to the best player in college softball) and three-time winner of the USA Softball College Player of the Year. A four-time NFCA All-American. Ultimately, the gold medals and school records between Alfred and Osterman are kind of a wash. Alfred's big edge is that she led Texas to a team title. Yet, Osterman was a dominating shadow over her entire sport for four years in a way that no athlete ... male or female ... has ever been in on the 40 Acres. It's hard to overstate how big of a living legend she was in real time as a pitcher, but we're talking about an athlete was given two ESPY Awards for being the Best Female College Athlete and another ESPY for Best Female Olympic Performance after picking two wins, a save and leading the team in strikeouts in Athens.
