Texas women's basketball: Following knee surgery, Aaliyah Moore enters the transfer portal
· Yahoo Sports
Aaliyah Moore plans on playing basketball next season. It just won't be at the University of Texas.
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On3 reported on Monday that Moore has entered her name into the transfer portal. Both Moore and her management agency later shared news of her decision on their Instagram profiles.
Texas Longhorns forward Aaliyah Moore (23) drives the ball to the basket against Tarleton State Grace Booth (12) in the fourth quarter at the Moody Center in Austin, Nov. 20, 2024. (Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman)As the No. 6 recruit in the Class of 2021, Moore was a foundational piece of Vic Schaefer's first recruiting class at Texas. The 6-foot-1 forward and Oklahoma native averaged 8.9 points and 4.7 rebounds over 89 games with the Longhorns. Moore scored 39 points over the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament during her freshman year, and she had 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 2024 NCAA Tournament game against Alabama.
Aaliyah Moore also dealt with injuries during Texas career
But Moore's time at Texas was plagued by knee injuries. Moore received a medical redshirt during the 2022-23 season after she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee during the Longhorns' ninth game. Her 2024-25 season was cut short by tendonitis in her right knee.
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Last offseason, Schaefer announced that another knee surgery would sideline Moore for the entire 2025-26 season. Schaefer initially said that Moore intended on rejoining the Longhorns for the 2026-27 season, but he later backed off that statement.
While recovering from her knee surgery, Moore attended classes at Texas but mostly stayed out of sight. She did not even attend the team's ring ceremony for its 2025 Final Four run on Nov. 3. Schaefer said near the end of January that he had just talked to Moore, but the coach said that conversation was mostly about her family and not her future.
That future will happen elsewhere. Even though she was not on the Texas roster this past season, she joins an offseason exodus on the roster that includes former mentee Justice Carlton and freshman guard Aaliyah Crump.