Texas signs three basketball players who are 'going to make an impact when they get here'

For the first time Wednesday, Texas fans at Moody Center got to cheer on Justice Carlton, Jordan Lee and Bryanna Preston.

Granted, none of them was actually in the arena. It was a school night, after all. Those three high school players, who were recognized during halftime of the season opener as Texas' 2024 women's basketball signing class, will have to wait until next season to hear those cheers. They all signed with the Longhorns on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period.

"I'm giddy and I'm so excited about those three," Texas coach Vic Schaefer said after the 80-35 win over Southern. "All three of those kids are college-ready, y'all. I'm telling you, they're going to make an impact when they get here."

Landing the 2024 trio

Schaefer credited assistant coaches Elena Lovato, Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Blair Schaefer for helping to secure a class that Texas could claim was the top-ranked collection of talent in the nation. That boast comes with an asterisk.

Yes, ESPN did recently analyze that Texas had the No. 1 class in the recruiting cycle. Those rankings will be fluid, however. The top three recruits in the ESPN HoopGurlz rankings have not yet announced where they'll play. And half of the top 10 and 11 of the top 50 prospects remain uncommitted.

Carlton and Lee were ranked Nos. 7 and 8 by ESPN HoopGurlz. Texas is the only school to sign two top-10 prospects so far. Preston is No. 43 nationally.

Even with all those highly regarded prospects still out there, Schaefer said Texas' 2024 class is probably complete. Texas guard Shaylee Gonzales is the only Longhorn who won't have eligibility left after this season, and Schaefer said he liked what Texas accomplished Wednesday.

"These are our kids, and we're excited about them," he said. "We know they can help us win. They're the kind that the University of Texas deserves, and so this is what we do.

"You just keep stacking classes, y'all. You go through our facility, we have a graphic: You've got to stack classes. You can't sign a good one, then go two or three years and not have a good one. You've got to stack them. That's how you build a program. And of course, we all know it gets harder and harder to keep those kids because of instant gratification in the world, but if you can hang on to them and develop them, that's always been the secret to our success."

Breaking down Texas' 2024 signees

A 6-foot-1 forward from Katy, Carlton was her district's offensive player of the year last season. She owns seven school records at Seven Lakes High. Schaefer noted that she might be "the most physical high school kid I've ever seen play. She doesn't dodge contact; she wants it."

Lee, a 6-foot guard from California, averaged 20.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists as a junior. She's also a state champion in the 800 and 1,600 meters in track.

Preston, a point guard from Georgia, averaged 18.7 points, 6.7 assists and 2.2 steals last year. She'll be mentored by UT star Rori Harmon for one year.

"Her ability to defend 94 feet will make countless opponents uncomfortable and will remind our fans a lot of how Rori Harmon defends," Schaefer said.

This is the fourth class that Schaefer has signed since he took over at Texas after the 2019-20 season. Of the nine high school signees in his first three classes, eight are still with the program.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas women announce the signing of three top basketball prospects