Austin, TX

Former Texas Longhorns Guard Transfers to Big 12 Team

Published

9 months ago

June 7, 2025

Former Texas Longhorns Guard Transfers to Big 12 Team

AUSTIN — A former Texas Longhorns guard is headed back to the Big 12 for the 2025-26 season after another offseason in the transfer portal.

Per reports from Tobias Bass of The Athletic, former Texas guard Chris Johnson will transfer to the UCF Knights after spending this past season with the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. He averaged 10.7 points and 4.0 rebounds in just three appearances for SFA.

Johnson played with the Longhorns during the 2023-24 season before hitting the transfer portal last offseason.

Nov 15, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Chris Johnson (0) drives to the basket during the first half against the Rice Owls at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

A Missouri City (Houston) native and four-star guard in the 2023 class, Johnson played at prestigious Montverde Academy where he was teammates with notable names like Duke’s Cooper Flagg, Georgia’s Asa Newell, Maryland’s Derik Queen, UConn’s Liam McNeeley, Ohio State’s Sean Stewart and more.

Johnson originally signed with the Kansas Jayhawks in 2022 but de-committed and was released from his letter of intent in June 2023. He eventually arrived to Austin for 2023-24 season ahead of the first full year under coach Rodney Terry.

Johnson played in a reserve role in his only season at Texas. He played in 17 games with the Longhorns, averaging just 1.1 points in 4.5 minutes per contest. He got playing time at Madison Square Garden in the Empire Classic against Louisville and eventual national champion UConn. In the loss to the Huskies, Johnson saw five minutes of action while recording one rebound.

With Stephen F. Austin this past season, Johnson scored a career-high 17 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists in a win over University of Dallas (Division III) in November. He then had five points in 15 minutes against the Drake Bulldogs, a team that finished with a 31-4 record and made it to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament this season.

As for the current Longhorns, new head coach Sean Miller has rebuilt the roster with portal additions of Xavier forward Dailyn Swain, St. John’s guard Simeon Wilcher, Xavier forward Lassina Traore, Purdue forward Camden Heide and Florida Atlantic center Matas Vokietaitis.

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Austin, TX

Will the rest of Austin allergies seasons be as bad as cedar this year?

Published

33 minutes ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Will the rest of Austin allergies seasons be as bad as cedar this year?

Austin had a particularly itchy and drippy cedar fever season to start the year. Many winter days, from late December into February, had high or very high ashe juniper (aka cedar) pollen counts.

Central Texas has a year-round allergy season with mold popping up at any time. For the more traditional spring and fall allergy seasons, forecasters at AccuWeather are predicting some of the allergens across the country will be worse this year than average.

Texas, though, is a different story.

For grass allergies, which happen now through September, AccuWeather estimates Austin will have an average season. However, just west of the Interstate 35 corridor in the Hill Country to almost El Paso, that season is expected to be worse than normal.

“Texas may experience above-average grass pollen for a few weeks,” AccuWeather’s allergy report said, “though the season could be shorter-lived compared to northern areas.”

It all depends on the weather

How much rain we get in the next six months and the perennial Texas heat will all affect the growing season for grasses and weeds, as well as the amount of pollen trees produce. The Farmers’ Almanac and the Old Farmers Almanac are both predicting a wetter and warmer spring.

Rain helps plants grow, which can increase pollen production over time. However, rainfall during allergy season can also bring temporary relief by washing pollen out of the air. That’s what we’re expecting this weekend, with our first meaningful rain chance in nearly three weeks. Tree and weed pollen levels might briefly drop, but mold could spike because it thrives in damp, humid weather.

If spring continues with excessive heat like we saw in February, it could limit the growth of some plants and trees. Extreme heat can reduce how much they grow, and how much pollen they produce. On the other hand, if we get a healthy balance of rain and only slightly above-normal temperatures — not extreme heat — pollen counts could climb. That’s especially true as we head into April, typically our windiest month of the year, which helps spread pollen more easily.

How can you treat allergies in Austin?

If you are feeling the effects of allergies, here are some things you can do to lessen them:

Start taking allergy medication at least two weeks before your allergen’s season is supposed to start. Keep taking your allergy medication throughout your allergen’s season, even on low-pollen days.
Vary your allergy medication. You can take a nasal spray, an eye drop and an oral antihistamine at the same time to treat the different symptoms. If one kind of allergy medication isn’t working, consult your doctor about whether you should add a second one or switch out the medication.
Take a shower before going to bed.
Take off outside clothes or shoes when you get into the house.
Do a daily nasal wash such as a neti pot or saline spray.
Consider seeing an allergist to get drops or shots to lessen your reaction to the allergen.

Consider these household tips to improve your chances of keeping allergens away:

Change the filters in your house regularly during cedar fever season.
Vacuum and sweep regularly.
Change your sheets, especially your pillow regularly.
Keep doors and windows closed.
Clean out the vents in your home.
Have your home tested for indoor allergens such as mold.
Wash and brush the animals in your house to lessen the amount of allergens in the air.
Wear a mask outside or inside while you are trying to lessen the pollen or mold indoors.

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Austin, TX

Texas Primary: Breakdown of Texas races

Published

13 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Democrats tried to stop a mid-decade redistricting effort, but were unsuccessful. Now, we are starting to see some of the candidates emerging in those newly drawn districts. FOX 7 Austin’s Rudy Koski gives a full breakdown.

Posted March 3, 2026 10:32pm CST

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Austin, TX

Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Remembering Jorge Pederson: Minnesota MMA fighter killed in Austin, Texas, shooting

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – A shooting on West Sixth Street in Austin, Texas, early Sunday morning, killed three people and injured more than a dozen others, according to the Austin Police Department. APD confirmed one of the victims was 30-year-old Jorge Pederson, a Minnesota man who worked as an MMA fighter for the Med City Fighting Championships.

“You meet tons of fighters and there are people that stand above the rest that you find you enjoy or find the most amusing,” MCFC Co-Owner Matthew Vogt said. “He was definitely one of them.”

According to Vogt, Pederson was also the owner of a Minnesota business called Metro Movers. Vogt said the MMA competitor touched everyone’s hearts since his first day of fighting professionally in Rochester.

“As soon as we met him when it was the weighing time, we just loved the guy already because he had a great mission or spirit about him,” Vogt said. “He was a funny guy and great fighter.”

Vogt told KTTC when he first saw the news that Pederson was killed, he could not believe what he saw.

“I was looking, like, ‘Wait a minute. Is this one of his shenanigans or did something actually happen there?’” Vogt said, recalling the moment he saw a social media post regarding the shooting in Austin. “I confirmed with a few people and I’m just like, sometimes, some things happen that you don’t even like, you don’t even know how to respond to it because it’s just so out of left field that you don’t immediately have a response to it.”

MCFC confirmed there is an online fundraiser dedicated to supporting Pederson’s family. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $10,000 has been raised.

“He was someone that always could make anybody laugh,” Vogt said. “Support his family through the fundraiser and take a look at his Instagram especially to see how funny he was.”

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