Texas women’s basketball is ranked #1 for the first time in more than 20 years.

Today ended the Texas Longhorns women’s basketball team’s more than 20-year-long stretch of being ranked first in the AP Poll.

With just three games remaining in the regular season, the Longhorns are ranked #1 for the first time since February 16, 2004.

Texas has defeated nine opponents in the Top 25 this season, including a run of victories in February against teams ranked in the Top 10, including No. 2 South Carolina, No. 8 Kentucky, and No. 5 LSU.

South Carolina’s 57-game winning streak in the regular season—one of the longest in sports—was ended by the Longhorns’ victory over the Gamecocks.

During that time, the Moody Center has sold out twice, prompting superstars like Kevin Durant to call out players like Madison Booker who are advocating for Austin to become a WNBA basketball destination.

During the last three games, Booker, a sophomore sensation, has averaged 18.3 points per game, 9.7 rebounds, and made 17 of 19 free throws.

She was the first freshman to win the Big 12 Conference’s Player of the Year honor the previous season, and she came in as ESPN’s No. 12-ranked recruit in the class of 2023.

Before the end of her sophomore year, she became one of only four players in Texas history to surpass 1,000 points in her career.

Following a season-ending injury last year, Rori Harmon returned as a fifth-year senior and was recently included to the watchlists for both the Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year and the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Eight more points would make her the first player in Texas women’s basketball history to reach 1,200 points and 600 assists.

Under longstanding coach Jody Conradt, that 2004 squad possessed a comparable amount of star power.

It included Tiffany Jackson-Jones, the 2004 national freshman of the year, who was selected by the New York Liberty in the first round of the 2007 WNBA draft.

Additionally, the club included two WNBA third-round selections: Jamie Carey (2005, Phoenix Mercury) and Stacy Stephens (2004, Houston Comets).

After reaching the Final Four the previous year, they lost 71-55 to LSU in the Sweet Sixteen, disappointingly falling short of expectations.

Texas has only advanced to the final four three times, in 1986, 1987, and 2003, and hasn’t taken home a national title since 1986.

But under head coach Vic Schaefer, it has had frequent participation in the NCAA tournament, including three trips to the Elite Eight in 2021, 2022, and 2024—something it hadn’t done since 2016 prior to his hiring.