'She never cracked': Why 1 of the most popular Longhorns was a 5-9 guard who rarely played

Texas Longhorns guard Sarah Graves (6) celebrates with the bench in the second half as the Texas Longhorns play the Missouri State Bears in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at the Moody Center in Austin, March 20, 2026. Texas won the game 87-45. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)

PHOENIX — The Texas women's basketball crowd was emphatic — chanting "Put Sarah in!" — calling for the Longhorns' senior guard who averages less than one point a game, who's never been a starter, who's put in when the game's outcome is foregone and who is, above all else, a star.

"What she brings to our team, you can't put a value on," Texas coach Vic Schaefer said.

Sarah Graves has never been your average bench player — and she knows that. While some may dream of being a part of the starting lineup, she is just focused on bettering herself.

“I've spent four years on the bench, perfecting one skill: energy,” Graves stated on a LinkedIn post.

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Texas Longhorns guard Sarah Graves (6) shoots for three points in the second half as the Texas Longhorns play the Missouri State Bears in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at the Moody Center in Austin, March 20, 2026. Texas won the game 87-45. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)

Deciding to walk on at Texas

Texas Longhorns guard Sarah Graves (6) shoots a 3-pointer during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite 8 game against Michigan at Dickies Arena on Monday, March 30, 2026 in Fort Worth. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)

Graves enrolled at Texas in 2022 from Keller High School and is pursuing a finance major at the UT McCombs School of Business with plans to graduate this year. A 5-foot-9 guard for her high school team, she decided to take a long shot at Texas and try out as a walk‑on. At the time, Texas had made the NCAA Tournament the previous seven years it was played.

“I told her, ‘You’re getting a McCombs degree,’” said her father, John Graves, pointing out that she was already tackling a big ambition.

“‘If you survive Vic Schaefer,'” he recalled telling her, “'that’s a life lesson that will serve you the rest of your life.’”

There were no guarantees; no promise of playing time, recognition or even a roster spot. On top of that, she got sick just before tryouts.

“She kept going. She never cracked,” her father said.

She stayed late in the practice facility, running extra reps with the women’s practice team, pushing through sickness and exhaustion. Day after day, she kept at it — and made the team. That resilience became the foundation of her Texas career.

“She's a special kid," John Graves said. "To do all that without knowing if you'll play, I know why people don't do it.”

Texas Longhorns guard Sarah Graves (6) celebrates after making a free throw during the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 game against Kentucky at Dickies Arena on Saturday, March 28, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)

She played one minute her first season, but said her heart raced constantly from the bench. She leapt after defensive stops, mimed shooting bows and arrows after long threes and turned to the fans, arms flailing, urging them to get loud. She was all in: every cheer, every gesture, every ounce of energy on the court and on the bench.

During the 2023-24 season, Schaefer awarded her a scholarship.

As Texas drew more attention the past few seasons, fans began to notice a player — still in her pregame long sleeve — cheering as if she had scored the game-winning shot every time her teammates made a play.

The 'Put Sarah In' movement begins

Her parents said the first signs came from students. During blowouts, handmade “Put Sarah In” posters began appearing; at first as a student section joke, then as something bigger. Students would chant nonstop, urging Schaefer to put in a player who hadn’t seen the court all game.

“When I first heard the chants, I couldn’t believe it,” said Graves' mother, Nicole Graves. “I thought, ‘Are they saying Sarah? Our daughter?’”

Texas Longhorns guard Sarah Graves (6) leaves the court after winning the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Sweet 16 game against Kentucky at Dickies Arena on Saturday, March 28, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)

Over time, the chants grew, Sarah blushed and teammates clapped along to the beat as the noise swelled: “Texas scores — PUT SARAH IN!”

What started with students and younger girls wanting a photo or autograph soon ranged from fans with grey hair to little boys holding out signage, yelling for the little-used reserve.

“Getting to chat with them is one of my favorite things,” Graves said.

On the bench, she has pushed fans to cheer, but her teammates say her impact runs deeper. Top scorer and team leader Madison Booker called her “my dawg.’”

“She honestly instills so much confidence in everybody on this team,” Booker said. The two talk about basketball and life — conversations that the All-American said reflect the quiet leadership Graves has offered for years.

Doing it for the love of the game

But Graves doesn’t believe she is unique.

“There are so many benchwarmers who are exactly like me,” Graves said. “We do a lot behind the scenes purely for the love of the game.”

On LinkedIn, Graves is known for sharing thoughts and lessons on various topics, such as personal branding, confidence, growth through failure and what it means to stay authentic in the sports industry. After the Longhorn ran up big scores over their opponents in the NCAA Tournament, the coach called on her to play in both the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight wins at Dickies Arena — the same Fort Worth venue of her high school graduation ceremony.

Texas Longhorns guards Bryanna Preston (1) and Sarah Graves (6) celebrate winning the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Elite 8 game against Michigan at Dickies Arena on Monday, March 30, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman)

“This is such a full‑circle moment,” Graves said before the Sweet 16.

In the Sweet 16 game, she hit two technical free throws after teammate Aaliyah Crump pointed to her to go into the game, saying postgame that Sarah deserved to play in that arena.

Graves and her parents thought the Sweet 16 might have been her final NCAA Tournament appearance. But in the Elite Eight, with Texas comfortably ahead and less than three minutes left, the chant started again — not all at once, but with enough force to make it clear the crowd wanted Schaefer to hear them.

“I told coach I didn’t think I was going to go in, and he said, ‘Do you not hear the thousands of fans chanting for you?’” Graves recalled with a smile.

As she stepped onto the court, fans and the players on the bench rose to their feet. And when she buried a jumper with less than 10 seconds remaining, Dickies Arena exploded.

“My teammates on the bench were saying, ‘Sarah, I think you made the scouting report, so you might need to give them a head fake,’” Graves said, referring to the research that opposing  teams do on key players. “And I was like, ‘I’ve made the scouting report?’”

After the game, her family embraced in a group hug, tears and smiles on their faces, each wearing a shirt with her jersey number 6. Her mother, tears in her eyes, explained the feeling she gets, saying when these moments happen, it makes everything worth it.

Even in Texas’ season-ending Final Four loss to UCLA, when Graves checked into the game for one final time, the moment still carried the weight of everything she had built over four years.

“It’s like a sweet payoff of four years of grind,” John Graves said. “Four years of grind and grit that nobody else saw.”