Move over, Lady Vols. Texas poised to become SEC women's basketball's best UT

Welcome to SEC Unfiltered, the USA TODAY NETWORK's newsletter on SEC sports. Look for this newsletter in your inbox Monday through Friday. Today, SEC columnist Blake Toppmeyer takes over:

It’s been a minute since Tennessee could claim possession of the SEC’s best women’s basketball program. Actually, it’s been a decade.

Starting next season, the Lady Vols won’t even be the SEC’s best UT.

Texas will arrive and immediately boost SEC women’s basketball. That's needed. Peek at the latest national polls. South Carolina is No. 1 and undefeated. LSU is ranked inside the top 10. Both are national title contenders.

South Carolina and LSU should remain national powers as long as Dawn Staley and Kim Mulkey, respectively, are on the sideline.

Elsewhere, the SEC is experiencing a women’s hoops downturn. Ole Miss is the SEC’s only other team receiving a vote in the AP Top 25, and Tennessee received one vote in the USA TODAY coaches poll.

The Lady Vols are among a few SEC teams on the NCAA bubble. For now, at least, they are on the right side of the bubble.

In women’s basketball, the coach makes the program more than the program makes the coach. Since Pat Summitt’s 2012 retirement, the Lady Vols have won or shared the SEC’s regular-season title twice (2013, 2015) and won the conference tournament once (2014).

South Carolina and LSU have pulled away from the pack. Like I said, the coach makes the program. Mulkey should be on the women's basketball Mount Rushmore. Staley isn’t far from it. Vic Schaefer isn't Mount Rushmore good, but he's good. He revived Texas.

Schaefer was Gary Blair's longtime associate coach. They led Texas A&M to the national championship in 2011.

Schaefer set out on his own at Mississippi State. His impact was profound. Before the Bulldogs hired Schaefer in 2012, their best postseason finish had been one Sweet 16 appearance. After he arrived, the rafters started filling with banners. He took MSU to the Sweet 16 four times, including two national runner-up finishes.

Then he was off to Texas to jump-start a good program that was stuck in an also-ran rut.

Within his first three seasons, Schaefer took the Longhorns to the Elite Eight twice. They’re ranked No. 3 in the national polls. They’re on a short list of teams that can contend for a national championship, while Tennessee marches toward another also-ran conclusion.

The SEC would benefit from a third team joining South Carolina and LSU in the power struggle atop the league. Expect UT to fill the void — the UT in Austin.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer. Also, check out his podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered.