Longhorns Country

Texas Longhorns' Vic Schaefer Named Semifinalist For National Coach Of The Year

Vic Schaefer is a semifinalist for Naismith Coach of the Year award

Lindsey Plotkin

Mar 7, 2025; Greenville, SC, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer reacts to a call by officials against the Ole Miss Rebels during the second half at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
Mar 7, 2025; Greenville, SC, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer reacts to a call by officials against the Ole Miss Rebels during the second half at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
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AUSTIN -- Vic Schaefer, the SEC Coach of the Year, has been named a semifinalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year Award after leading the Texas Longhorns to a 31-3 record heading into the NCAA tournament.

Schaefer was named a semifinalist with several other coaches, listed here:

Geno Auriemma - UConn

Kenny Brooks - Kentucky

Mark Campbell - TCU

Cori Close - UCLA

Lindsay Gottlieb - USC

Niele Ivey - Notre Dame

Wes Moore - NC State

Shea Ralph - Vanderbilt

Dawn Staley - South Carolina

This season, Schaefer has only lost to two other coaches on this list, Dawn Staley and Niele Ivey. Texas fell to Notre Dame in overtime in the ACC-SEC Challenge, a preseason showcase and South Carolina in Columbia and the SEC Tournament.

Vic Schaefer poses for a picture after cutting down the nets after winning the SEC regular season titl
Texas Longhorns head coach Vic Schaefer poses for a photo with the net to celebrate the Longhorns' SEC victory following their win over the Florida Gators, March 2, 2025. With the 72-46 win over the Gators, the Texas Longhorns become regular season SEC Champions. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Now, Schaefer and his team will await their seeding by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. He feels that his team has the resume to be a top seed, and NCAA Bracketologist Charlie Creme agrees.

"I think our body of work and our net, you know, it speaks for itself," Schaefer said. "I think with what we've been able to do, you know. And again, I'm not in there. I'm not on that at this point. For me, it's just tell me what time the bus needs to load, where from, and I'll make sure my team's on it. But I certainly think we've established ourselves as one of the top two teams in the country when it comes to see and I know Dawn (Staley), I think (South Carolina) should be over us because they beat us twice."

The Longhorns are a lock to host for the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament. The main question is if they will snag the final No. 1 seed or be a No. 2 seed. For now, all they can wait for is to be told who to play and when.

Schaefer is going to take his next opponents one game at a time, telling his team that they need to go on a six game win streak if they want to achieve their main goal, winning a national championship.

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Lindsey Plotkin
LINDSEY PLOTKIN

Lindsey Plotkin is a journalism major and sports media minor at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also a double coverage editor for the Daily Texan on the football and baseball beats, and a staff writer for Texas Longhorns On SI.

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