DeYona Gaston enters transfer portal after four seasons with Texas basketball program

Texas forward DeYona Gaston, who has been a fixture on the Texas women's basketball roster for the past four seasons, will finish her collegiate career elsewhere. She has entered the transfer portal, a UT spokesman confirmed Wednesday.

The Next Hoops first reported the news about the 6-foot-2 forward’s plans.

Gaston and guard Shay Holle were Texas' longest-tenured players this past season. Gaston originally signed with head coach Vic Schaefer at Mississippi State during the 2020 recruiting cycle, then followed him to Austin ahead of the 2020-21 season. Holle, who will return to Texas for a fifth season, was a member of the 2020 signing class that Schaefer inherited at Texas.

Gaston has appeared in 106 games with the Longhorns and averaged 9.0 points and 4.6 rebounds. She was a first-team honoree on the Big 12's all-conference team in 2023. She missed 13 games this past season because of multiple ankle injuries, but she still earned the Big 12's sixth player of the year award. Among her highlights were a 21-point outburst at Houston in February and a double-double at Texas Tech in January. She played through an illness during an 11-point, 10-rebound effort against Drexel in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Following the departures of Gaston and fellow forward Khadija Faye, Texas now needs to replenish its depth in the paint. Texas' two starting forwards, Aaliyah Moore and Taylor Jones, will return next season and incoming freshman Justice Carlton was a national top-10 recruit in this year's class. And versatile forward Amina Muhammad averaged 19.5 minutes of playing time as a sophomore.

Texas went 33-5 this season and won the Big 12 Tournament. The Longhorns' season ended on March 31 with a loss to North Carolina State in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.