Entering her fifth year in head coach Vic Schaefer’s program, graduate point guard Rori Harmon is the self-proclaimed “grandma” of Texas’ backcourt.
“I’m really, really proud of ‘my children’ for buying in and understanding that they have what it takes to be so electric here on this team,” Harmon said following the Orange-White Scrimmage at Moody Center on Sunday.
By her “children,” Harmon is referring to sophomores Jordan Lee and Bryanna Preston as well as freshman Aaliyah Crump. Together, they make up the Longhorns’ primary guard depth for the 2025-26 season.
Despite the opportunity to build off of last year’s NCAA Final Four run through development and additions, if there is any spot where Texas’ roster is lacking, it is in the in-program experience category. Among Schaefer’s returners, only Harmon, junior forward Madison Booker and senior guard Sarah Graves have spent two or more years in Austin.
For 22-year-old Harmon — now just 46 assists away from becoming Texas’ all-time career leader — that has meant one thing heading into her final season on the Forty Acres: vocal leadership. As the Longhorns build an identity with their six new arrivals, Harmon knows that she is to be a relied-upon, guiding voice alongside Booker, the 2025 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year.
“I think (Booker and I) just gotta understand there’s a lot of new people looking at us and expecting us to talk,” Harmon said. “That’s going to be the difference when it comes to these tougher games. We’re the ones playing on the court. I want to be the voice that they can listen to.”
Harmon and Booker received a head start on this front in mid-August through Texas’ participation in Globl Jam. The Longhorns, representing the United States, got to practice about 10 days, per Harmon, and play four international games, including two high-intensity meetings with host Canada.
“We learned a lot about ourselves,” Harmon said about the tournament. “Everyone’s just so easygoing. It makes life a little bit easier when everyone just wants the best for each other and (is) just competing.”
Just weeks away from the season opener, Texas has entered the tune-up phase of its preseason. The Orange-White Scrimmage was the beginning of that, giving the burnt orange faithful an opportunity to spectate the team’s new look live for the first time.
Now, the Longhorns prepare for home exhibitions against Lubbock Christian on Thursday and Texas Women’s University on Oct. 27.
“I hope (fans) realize how exciting that we’re going to be this year,” Harmon said. “We are only like 15 or 16 practices in, so we are not going to look perfect every time, but I hope they know that we’re always gonna play hard and be really competitive.”
For Harmon specifically, this period gives her an opportunity to continue to settle in without the knee brace she wore for the duration of the 2024-25 season. On Sunday, she showed flashes of her standout playmaking and shotmaking.
“I think for her, she’s getting used to not having (the brace) on and trusting not having it on,” Schaefer said about Harmon on Sunday. “I think as she plays more and more, she’ll get her quickness back and her step back. She’s probably not that far from where she was pre-injury.”
Harmon and the Longhorns officially begin their non-conference schedule at home against Incarnate Word on Nov. 3.
