Sarah Sylvester, a sophomore at TCU, has become the first student-athlete in the school's Big 12 era to participate in both basketball and volleyball. Sylvester, who has already established herself as a formidable middle blocker on Horned Frogs volleyball team, accepted a preferred walk-on invitation to join the TCU women's basketball team for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.

This comes in the wake of TCU holding open tryouts last Thursday and Friday to bolster its basketball roster, as the team deals with a series of injuries. The team had to forfeit its games against Kansas State and Iowa State on Jan. 17 and Jan. 20, respectively, due to being unable to field a full team.

Hailing from Livonia, Michigan, Sylvester is no stranger to basketball. During her high school years at Marian High School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, she was a standout athlete. As a senior, she averaged 11.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, earning All-Catholic High School League honors in her junior and senior years.

On the volleyball court, Sylvester has been a pivotal player for TCU. She has been instrumental in leading the Horned Frogs to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in consecutive years – 2022 and 2023. Her impressive record includes setting the school record for most blocks in a three-set match with 13, per TCU Athletics. In 2023, Sylvester not only led TCU but also ranked sixth in the Big 12 in blocks per set, starting all 32 matches of the season.

Sylvester's freshman year was marked by record-setting performances in hitting percentage and blocks per set average, placing her among the top D1 freshmen nationally.

TCU's women's basketball team is set to host UCF on Tuesday.