Former DeSoto basketball star Tionna Herron hasn’t been able to start her college career yet after having open-heart surgery at the beginning of her freshman year at Kentucky.
As the 6-4 Herron tries to get back on the basketball court, she has found a new college home. She announced on Twitter on Wednesday that she has transferred to Big 12 regular-season champion Texas, which is coming off a 26-10 season and a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I wanted to move closer to home, especially after having this major heart surgery made me realize I wanted to be closer to family,” Herron said in a press release. “I also wanted to go somewhere that could help me be better than I was before my surgery, and I felt Texas gave the competitive mindset and the family feel from the team to the staff.”
i’m coming home 🧡🤍 #hookem🤘🏿 pic.twitter.com/tLS2rsrS0l
— Tionna Herron (@TREEvibess) May 17, 2023
Herron was a four-star recruit and was ranked by ESPN’s HoopGurlz as the 11th-best post player and 69th-best overall player in the class of 2022.
Herron will be reunited with former DeSoto teammate Amina Muhammad, a 6-4 forward who averaged 3.9 points and 4.9 rebounds as a freshman. In addition to signing Herron, UT has also signed Flower Mound 6-9 center Abbie Boutilier, who will be the tallest player to ever play for Texas.
“We are super excited to be able to welcome to the Longhorn family Tionna Herron,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer said in the press release. “She is another top 60 player from the state of Texas. She is a two-time defending champ of the DeSoto Lady Eagles. Tionna adds quality young depth to our front court that we are excited about developing in the coming months and years. Tionna and Abbie Boutilier are the future centers for many years to come for Texas women’s basketball.”
Herron, who helped DeSoto win back-to-back Class 6A state championships in 2021 and 2022, had surgery Aug. 24, 2022 to correct a congenital heart defect called anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery. That is the second leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes in the United States, according to Texas Children’s Hospital.
The Lexington Herald Leader reported that Herron began experiencing chest pains during Kentucky’s preseason conditioning. Those raised concerns, because Herron had been under the supervision of a cardiologist after she was found to have an abnormal heartbeat at age 8.
Herron had undergone a pair of surgeries unrelated to her cardiac care before her senior year, which the Lexington Herald Leader reported showed that she had a rare congenital heart defect, but further testing came back normal and Herron was able to play as a senior at DeSoto. Once she complained of chest pains at Kentucky, she was examined by a specialist and it was determined that she had restricted air flow and needed open-heart surgery.
Hi all, as some of you may not know I was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect that is seen in less than 1% of the population called Anomalous Aortic Origin of a Right Coronary Artery (AAORCA). On August 24th I underwent open heart surgery to correct this disorder. pic.twitter.com/th8AmkogDr
— Tionna Herron (@TREEvibess) September 20, 2022
Herron was a second-team all-area selection as a senior and averaged 10 points, 4.5 rebounds and two blocks for a 35-2 team that featured seven Division I signees and was ranked No. 2 in the nation by MaxPreps. Herron was an all-state selection as a junior and averaged 12 points, eight rebounds and two blocks as DeSoto won the first state title in program history.
On Twitter: @DMNGregRiddle
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
