Forty Acres Insider: January 28

Chris Del Conte head shot

Longhorn Nation,

As we prepare to flip those calendars to February with the Holidays & New Year, an exciting run in the College Football Playoffs and last week's winter blast in the rearview mirror, it's time to get the ol' Forty Acres Insider rollin' again. And what a sensational week we had to launch our first edition of 2025. There was a plethora of thrilling victories, record-setting performances all over the place, as well as TENACIOUS TEXAS FIGHT ON THE COURTS, THE TRACK AND FIELD, THE POOL AND IN THE STANDS with the best fans in the land cheering us on every step of the way! As winter seasons stampede ahead, spring sports get going, and we prepare for many exciting days, weeks and months ahead, I must say it's a great time to be a Longhorn and we couldn't do it without the incredible, never-ending support of the Longhorn Faithful! Y'all are the absolute best and we appreciate you oh so much!!

Thank you, Longhorn Nation 🤘#HookEm | #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/ODT5LMtIvs
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) January 11, 2025

We've got to start it off with a look back at the epitome of Texas Fight that Coach Terry and our Men's Basketball team put on in an EPIC COMEBACK VICTORY OVER OUR ARCHRIVALS on Saturday at Moody Center to raise that Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown trophy high! Down 22 in the second half, our Horns dug deep, surged back and capped off a win over No. 13 Texas A&M with Tramon Mark banking in his rainbow floater high off the glass with 3.7 seconds left to secure a 70-69 win. We couldn't have done it without y'all. From tip-off to the final buzzer, y'all absolutely brought the energy and played an integral role in that colossal victory. And I must say, it was so awesome having classes back in session and our phenomenal student section out in full force! That victory made it back-to-back top-25 wins with our Horns taking down No. 22 Missouri last Tuesday. We are heating up at the right time for sure!

raise it up 🤘#HookEm | @TheCottonWatch pic.twitter.com/YYTi6EdGTT
— Texas Men's Basketball (@TexasMBB) January 25, 2025

The good times are rollin' for Coach Schaefer and No. 7-ranked Women's Basketball as well. Our Horns were en fuego last week, WINNING THREE GAMES IN SIX DAYS, including a pair of top-25 victories. It started on Monday in Newark, N.J., as fresh off a tour stop in the Big Apple we routed a top-10-ranked Maryland squad, 89-51, with our patented stingy defense and high-powered offense on full display. That was followed up by an 80-76 SEC nailbiter over No. 17 Tennessee on Thursday at Moody Center. The Texas Fight continued Sunday with a gritty, hard-fought road win over Ole Miss, 61-58, to secure our 20th win, improving to 20-2 and 6-1 in the SEC on the season. There's a lot more to come but Coach Schaefer has our squad clickin' on all cylinders as we head into the heart of conference play.

3 wins in 6 days got us like 😏🤘#HookEm | @CoachVic_UT pic.twitter.com/6K1HUExdRO
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) January 26, 2025

AND WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Men's and Women's Tennis both secured ITA Kickoff Austin Regional titles, Track and Field traveled to Albuquerque and brought home nine individual event titles at the MLK Jr. Invitational, while with a huge crowd on hand our Swimming and Diving squads swept all five dual matchups (three by the men, two by the women) at the Inaugural Eddie Reese Texas Showdown. What an awesome scene it was at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center as 2,331 of you packed the house and raised the roof on Friday night! I can't thank y'all enough for that incredible support of Coach Bowman, Coach Capitani and Texas Swimming and Diving!!

best fans in the country🤘 pic.twitter.com/UCzcODsDE4
— Texas Men's Swimming & Diving (@TexasMSD) January 25, 2025

Now it's on to another action-packed week with Men's Basketball taking to the road for games at Ole Miss on Wednesday (8 p.m. CT/ESPN2) and at LSU on Saturday (5 p.m. CT/SEC Network). Women's Basketball hosts Missouri on Thursday at 8 p.m. CT (we'll see you at Moody Center!) before traveling to College Station for a Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown with the Aggies on Sunday (5 p.m. CT/SEC Network).

Spring is in the air too as the Coach Schloss era debuts at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on Saturday with the annual Alumni Game and Fan Appreciation Day. That all starts with autographs and activities at 10:45 a.m. followed by the game at 2:30 p.m., and it's all FREE! Softball season is right around the corner and we can't help but be excited as Coach White and his squad has been tabbed the preseason No. 1 team in the country by ESPN/USA Softball. There's another weekend of Swimming and Diving as our squads host Texas A&M on Friday (3 p.m. CT, these will NOT factor into the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown standings) and follow that with the Sterkel Classic, named in honor of our Longhorn Legend Jill Sterkel, on Saturday. Men's and Women's Golf, Men's and Women's Tennis and Indoor Track and Field will all be competing this week as well. It's all Longhorns, all the livelong day so get those Horns Up!

the boys are back 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/q5aQr7EVb8
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) January 25, 2025

Hey, and we've got to talk Texas Football and celebrate ANOTHER HISTORIC YEAR FOR COACH SARK AND OUR HORNS. We started the College Football Playoff as the only team to earn a spot in that field in each of the last two years, and although it didn't end the way we wanted, we advanced to the semifinal round for the second straight year. There was a victory in the monumental first-ever postseason playoff game at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium with a 38-24 win over Clemson. Next it was a Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl title in a thrilling 39-31 double-overtime victory for the ages over Arizona State. And our guys left it all on the field in coming up just short against eventual National Champion Ohio State at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. In the end, the memorable season included a school-record-tying 13 victories, a berth in the SEC Championship Game in our first year in our new league, and a No. 4 final ranking that marked back-to-back top-five finishes for our Longhorns for the first time since 2008-09. Coach Sark has built an incredible culture here (as illustrated by this heartwarming message from Thorpe Award winner Jahdae Barron) and with all the success, we know there are bigger and brighter days ahead!

📈⬆️ ⁦@TexasFootball⁩ ❕❕🤘 pic.twitter.com/35tdBzTEOa
— Texas Football Recruiting (@TexasRecruiting) January 16, 2025

And before we get to all the notes, here's an emphatic Hook 'Em to our TRIO OF LONGHORNS HEADING TO THE SUPER BOWL in New Orleans (Feb. 9), Charles Omenihu & Xavier Worthy (Chiefs) and Moro Ojomo (Eagles). X-Man had six catches for 85 yards and a TD in the AFC Championship game victory, while Charles registered a tackle for loss and is back in The Big Game for a second-straight year. He was a member of last year's Super Bowl Champion Chiefs squad but had to miss the game due to injury, but this year he's back and better than ever for the Kansas City defense going for another title. Moro is getting plenty of reps on that fierce Eagles defense and will be playing in his first SB. It marks the 19th time in the last 20 years that we'll have a Longhorn representing us in the SUPER BOWL!

A trio of Texas Football greats (@MoroOjomo, @charless_94 & @XavierWorthy) are headed to the Super Bowl🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻 It marks the 19th time in the last 20 years that the Longhorns will be represented in The Big Game! pic.twitter.com/ISneTZxU6H
— John Bianco (@UT_Bianco) January 27, 2025

What a season for Football

What a season Coach Sark and our Football squad put together. From beating both Oklahoma and Texas A&M to playing in the SEC Championship Game to being the only program to make the CFP the last two years, much less the semifinals, it was quite the journey. We're all so proud of not only what the team produced on the field, but the culture of the program they've created, because we may have come up just short of going all the way, but we played a SIXTEEN game season, and they represented us in a first-class way from start to finish. And what a memorable finish it was to be part of the first 12-team playoff, including having a bonus "family reunion" by hosting a first-round game against such a storied program in Clemson. You all didn't miss a beat in showin' up and showin' out to have DKR rockin' for our first-ever home playoff win, and we can't thank you enough for that. Then after having just played in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta, we were headed right back to the ATL for the quarterfinals and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl for what turned out to be an instant classic! Our Horns came out en fuego on the opening drive and then built up a lead, and even though a tremendous Arizona State team made their way back for overtime, the Texas Fight would not be denied. Two sensational plays for two touchdowns and then one fantastic interception later, and we were Peach Bowl Champs! It was a magnificent moment in our history, and not only that, it made us the only program that's won all of the New Year's Six bowls – Peach, Cotton, Sugar, Fiesta, Orange, and of course Rose. That's why this is a truly special and legendary place, and I count myself lucky every day to be a part of it. Then it was back to Lone Star State for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, and while it was a such a difficult one to swallow, it's only because of how close it was as our squad took the eventual champs in Ohio State down to the wire. But as always, even in defeat they made us so proud because of who they are and what they represent. You hurt for them in the moment to come so close to their dream, but it's a team full of better people than players, and you know they'll be ready to bounce back. It especially gets the waterworks going for the ones who are moving on, but you know that great things are ahead, and you can't wait to see where their futures take them. Along those lines and continuing with things that make this legendary place, we had the bulk of awards season happen before our last edition, but there's been a little more since then as Kelvin Banks kept the honors coming and became our 25th all-time unanimous All-American, while Jahdae Barron became the 50th to be consensus, so a big Hook 'Em to them! We also saw youngster Colin Simmons take home the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award and get selected as a Freshman All-American, which are such well-deserved honors! And with all that…guess what? The newcomers are in, and the team's already back at it getting ready for next season!

Men's Basketball picks up two huge home wins against ranked opponents!

As I mentioned earlier in the intro, talk about a big-time week by RT and our guys with back-to-back home wins against AP Top 25 opponents. Longhorn Nation, to echo what Coach Terry and our players said in the post-game press conferences, YOU were the difference maker in both games and we can't thank you enough for your consistent support! Despite the deep freeze that came through Austin and forced the cancellation of classes on Tuesday, you ventured out once the roads were clear and packed Moody Center to full capacity that night to witness the Longhorns grind out a gutty 61-53 win over No. 22/24 Missouri. Battling thru an injury, Big Art (Arthur Kaluma) came up big with a 14-point, 12-rebound double-double to lead the way. Trailing by a point with 4:01 remaining, our guys fed off an electric crowd and sealed the victory with a 10-1 run. Then on Saturday, you returned to pack The Mood and were witness to one of the best comebacks in program history as our guys dug deep and rallied from a 22-point deficit early in the second half to claim a dramatic 70-69 win over No. 13/13 Texas A&M in the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown. What. A. Game. The kid Tre Johnson is special, and he led the charge with a career-high 30 points, and how about that crazy finish with Tramon Mark's beauty of a layup (for our only lead of the game with 3.7 seconds left, that's unreal) and the absolute eruption by Longhorn Nation at the buzzer! Now RT and the guys head back to the road this week and will play their seventh ranked opponent in the last eight games (how good is SEC Basketball?) when they face No. 23/23 Ole Miss on Wednesday (8 p.m. CT, ESPN2) before taking on LSU in Baton Rouge on Saturday (5 p.m. CT, SEC Network).

Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown mini movie 🎬🤘#HookEm | @TheCottonWatch pic.twitter.com/5cp37YryjV
— Texas Men's Basketball (@TexasMBB) January 28, 2025

Women's Basketball completes 3-0 week and reaches 20-win mark this season

Coach Schaefer and Women's Basketball are certainly on a roll, and the team's 20-2 record is our best start since the 2015-16 season. The Longhorns have now won four straight games and were named the National Team of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. The Longhorns started their impressive 3-0 week with an emphatic 89-51 victory over No. 8/9 Maryland in the Coretta Scott King Classic on Monday in Newark. The 38-point win over the Terps was our largest margin of victory over a top-10 team in program history. Texas returned home to Moody Center in front of over 7,500 screaming fans and produced an exciting 80-76 win over No. 17/17 Tennessee on Thursday. The Longhorns completed the six-day gauntlet by going back on the road and producing a 61-58 comeback victory at Ole Miss on Sunday. Texas erased an eight-point deficit by holding the Rebels scoreless over the final four minutes. How cool was it to see our super sophomore and Mississippi native Madison Booker, playing in front of over 30 family and friends, knock down the mid-range jumper with 26 seconds to go that proved to be the game winner! And we need to give a shout-out to Taylor Jones, who led the team with 24 points against Ole Miss and also posted 21 points and 14 rebounds in the win over Tennessee. Our ladies are back in The Mood (where they have a 10-0 record this year) against Missouri on Thursday (8 p.m. CT, SEC Network), so get your tickets for that one now and come support the Horns! Then we'll wrap up the weekend with a trip to College Station to face the Aggies on Sunday (5 p.m. CT, SEC Network) in the Cotton Holdings Lone Star Showdown.

back in the top 5 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/vYSow3SKfo
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) January 27, 2025

No. 1 Men's Swim & Dive remains undefeated in duals meets

We really do it bigger here and let me just say, you all showed out for our swim teams this past weekend! All 2,331 of you on Friday night showed why Texas is the best at the inaugural Eddie Reese Texas Showdown. Coach Bowman's guys posted three dual meet wins, including a 193-159 win against No. 4 Arizona State, a big 244.5-107.5 win over No. 6 NC State and a crushing 272-80 win against No. 18 Virginia. Rex Maurer leads both the Horns and the NCAA in the 500 and 1650 free and the 400 IM after sweeping all three events this weekend. The Longhorns made it look easy by winning nine events over the two-day meet. Now we turn the page and host Texas A&M on Friday (3 p.m. CT) for Senior Day, so let's send our guys off with a big Texas thank you for all they've done here on the Forty!

leaving the Eddie Reese Texas Showdown with three dual meet wins 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/19jHKnf6r0
— Texas Men's Swimming & Diving (@TexasMSD) January 25, 2025

No. 2 Women's Swim and Dive takes down No. 8 NC State and No. 17 Arizona State

Coach Capitani's squad put on a show this weekend while adding two top-17 wins to their resume this season. From Olympian autographs, to a photo op with the man himself, Eddie Reese, last weekend was something special here on the Forty. Emma Sticklen continues to dazzle after breaking her own program record in the 100 fly in a time of 49.55. And Emma wasn't finished making waves in the pool, as the two-time defending NCAA champ in the 200 fly put on another show by winning that event easily in 1:49.87. Make sure you head back to the TSC this weekend for Senior Day on Friday (3 p.m. CT) against the Aggies and the Sterkel Classic on Saturday for the final regular season meets of the year!

two more dual meet wins 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/ijHjSoGitd
— Texas Women's Swimming & Diving (@TexasWSD) January 25, 2025

One weekend, two champs for Tennis

It was a great weekend for our both our Men's and Women's Tennis squads as we hosted regionals for the ITA Kickoff Weekend, and both emerged as champs and with their tickets punched to the ITA National Indoor Championships later in February. Our women got things going Friday with a 4-0 sweep over Maryland, and then came through in the clutch with a 4-3 win over Baylor on Saturday that came down to a tiebreaker in the final set of the final singles match. It was back and forth high drama, indeed, but in the end, freshman Eszter Meri took it over the finish line on court 2 to send our Horns to Champaign, Ill., for the "Sweet 16" of indoor tennis. The men were staggered a day behind the women and produced a pair of 4-0 sweeps on Saturday against Rice and on Sunday against Georgia Tech to take that title. That also gets them to the Sweet 16, but the men's tournament will be right here in Texas, and our lads will be off to Dallas in a couple of weeks. I tell ya, the consistent excellence out of our tennis programs is just awesome…that's eight straight years our women have advanced to the National Indoors and seven straight for the men. So, well done to Coach Joffe and Coach Berque and their programs! But first thing's first – our women have a huge match against No. 10 NC State out at the Weller Indoor Tennis Center on Friday (2 p.m. CT), so bring your Burnt Orange best and cheer them on!

Logan Popelka leads Track & Field in Albuquerque at the Dr. MLK Jr. Invitational

Coach Flo and the team were on the road for the second straight weekend as they traveled to the Albuquerque Convention Center for a two-day meet and came back home with nine event wins.

Logan Popelka showed off his wheels after posting the top time in the 400 meters this season at 45.97 and moved to No. 4 on the UT all-time performer list. We've had some fast sprinters come through here in the past, so that's really impressive. We can't forget about the kid Sam Hurley who moved to No. 2 on the performer list in pole vault by clearing 5.52m, and that's pretty high if you ask me. The women claimed individual wins from Nine Ndubuisi (shot put), Akala Garret (400 meters) and Kenondra Davis (60 meters). Flo sure knows if you ask me. Our distance teams are headed to Fayetteville for the Razorback Invitational on Friday and Saturday, so let's cheer them on to run fast!

men's 400m 🤘

another win for Logan Popelka crossing the finish line in 45.97, moving to No. 4 on the UT All-Time Performer List ‼️
7. Chris Brinkley - 47.30 #FloKnows x #HookEm
— Texas T&F/XC (@TexasTFXC) January 25, 2025

Michael Huff, Hall of Famer!

We had some wonderful news last week as our Longhorn Legend and current assistant director of player development for Football Michael Huff was selected as a member of the 2025 class of the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame. A unanimous first-team All-American, Defensive MVP of the National Championship game and our first-ever Jim Thorpe Award winner (nation's top defensive back) in 2005, Michael's long list of accomplishments on the field are beyond worthy of Hall of Fame recognition. But our guy Huffy's efforts in the community, the support he provides our football program as a member of Coach Sark's staff, and the father, husband and man he is off the field are just as noteworthy. He's a special Longhorn and a tremendous person. We're looking forward to celebrating him all year long and at the NFF Annual Awards Dinner on Dec. 9 in Las Vegas, where he'll officially be enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame! Congrats Michael, you are a Hall of Famer in every way!

Legendary 🤘

Michael Huff is a member of the 2025 College Football Hall of Fame Class!@Huffy247 x @NFFNetwork x @cfbhall pic.twitter.com/R5KwPu4QVJ
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) January 15, 2025

Next stop…

College Football Hall of Fame 🤘🏆@Huffy247 x @NFFNetwork x @cfbhall pic.twitter.com/I4tN1I7Djv
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) January 16, 2025

Hook 'Em Horns,

Chris Del Conte

P.S. — It's Back-to-Back top-5 finishes for Coach Sark!

Coach Sark has led our Longhorns to back-to-back Top-5 finishes for the first time since 2008-09 and the third time (2004-05) since finishing in the top-5 three years in a row from 1968-70. It's worth nothing the Horns ended the year ranked in the Top-6 in 2001 and 2002 as well🤘🏻 https://t.co/LsQ2WxxsJA
— John Bianco (@UT_Bianco) January 21, 2025

P.S. — Shoutout to the Best Fans in the Land!

y'all got us home 🫶🤘#HookEm | @CoachVic_UT pic.twitter.com/fH7NgV5nCP
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) January 24, 2025

P.S. — A round of applause for our Outland Trophy winner, Kelvin Banks!

The Outland winner gets his trophy tonight 🤘🏆@Kelvinbanksjr12 x @outlandtrophy pic.twitter.com/P6NPPgcNIs
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) January 23, 2025

P.S. — Love seeing our Longhorns supporting their Longhorns!

game winner had us all like 🤯🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/1lO7z6MayE
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) January 26, 2025

P.S. — We celebrated Birthday number 10 for the Big Fella last week, HBD my man!

they grow up so fast 🥹🤘#HookEm | @TexasMascot pic.twitter.com/Iqh0mjcdae
— Texas Longhorns (@TexasLonghorns) January 24, 2025

P.S. — We see ya Rocket, thanks for stopping by!

welcome home, @rogerclemens 🚀#HookEm pic.twitter.com/XV0r1UxkIz
— Texas Baseball (@TexasBaseball) January 26, 2025

P.S. — What Starts Here! Congrats to T-Sweat & J-Whitt!

Making an impact 🤘@TvondreSweat and @J_Whitt3 were named to the @PFWAwriters All-Rookie Team pic.twitter.com/3PYaVPnw7f
— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) January 22, 2025

P.s. — Kudos to our 15-time All-Star KD!

never gets old 🤘

congrats, @KDTrey5 👏#HookEm pic.twitter.com/vddvLOYSPB
— Texas Men's Basketball (@TexasMBB) January 24, 2025

P.S. — We lost a Longhorn Legend last week, rest in peace Bobby Wuensch

We are saddened to share that @TexasFootball letterwinner Bobby Wuensch has passed away. Wuensch, who played offensive line for Coach Royal, was a two-time First Team All-American (1969, '70), including consensus honors in 1970, and a two-time national champion. pic.twitter.com/oFOj88s4Y1
— T-Association (@txtassociation) January 21, 2025

HEADLINES:

Women's Basketball signee Aaliyah Crump named McDonald's All-American

Women's Basketball's Booker named Naismith Trophy Player of the Week

Johnson named SEC Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week

Baseball ranked No. 14 in Baseball America preseason poll

Hook 'Em's Community Heroes – January 2025

Rowing announces 2025 schedule

Video: Longhorn Weekly with Rodney Terry (Jan. 23)

Video: Men's Basketball media availability (Jan. 23)

No. 1 Softball announces 2025 regular season schedule

Excelling on and off the court: Women's Basketball's Bryanna Preston

No. 4/3/3 Football's Ewers named to Davey O'Brien Postseason Great 8