Texas center Tionna Herron enters NCAA transfer portal

According to Talia Goodman of The Next Hoop, Texas center Tionna Herron has entered the NCAA transfer portal. Herron just wrapped up her first season with the program and will look to kick off her sophomore year with somebody new. While she might not be too experienced, Herron is expected to be a big-name on the open market.

“BREAKING: Texas freshman Tionna Herron has entered the transfer portal, a source tells @TheNextHoops,” Goodman said via X.

Herron played in 11 games during the 2023-2024 season with the Longhorns, not starting in any of them. She averaged 1.5 points and 0.7 rebounds per game. A season-high of six points was scored on Nov. 11 against UT-Arlington while also snagging three rebounds.

There is more to Herron’s story than just basketball, though.

Herron was originally a member of the 2022 recruiting class out of DeSoto (TX) High School. Kentucky is where she signed and was scheduled to play her freshman season. However, open heart surgery was required due to a congenital heart defect — something that stemmed from her high school days. Surgery was performed to repair her arteries and thankfully was successful.

“They found that my heart wasn’t pumping enough blood, which means I wasn’t getting enough oxygen,” Herron said in an interview with Travis Recek in January. “They said they were going to have a meeting with all the doctors and figure out if they wanted me to have surgery. I was just praying that I wouldn’t have to, but I knew I had to.”

Not getting back on the court while in Lexington, Herron decided to move closer to home and wound up playing for Vic Schaefer and Texas. However, after just one season in Austin, a new opportunity is hopefully out there for Herron.

Texas coming off run to Elite Eight

In what was the program’s final season in the Big 12, Texas accomplished some big things. Finishing second in regular season conference play was a great achievement but the Longhorns left their impact by cutting down the nets in Kansas City. It was the third Big 12 Tournament win in three years.

Then given a one-seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Elite Eight was as far as Texas got for the third time in Schafer’s tenure on the 40 Acres. NC State wound up winners, though, and reached the Final Four to end what had been a great season for the Longhorns.