Big 12 Portal Thoughts: Texas Tech Women Accomplish Portal Redo
Texas Tech women’s coach Krista Gerlich wants nothing more than to get her alma mater back to the NCAA Tournament.
The point guard for the Lady Raiders’ 1993 national championship team hasn’t gotten Tech over the hump yet. The last two seasons they’ve had a chance, but each time the Lady Raiders have missed the cut. Last season Texas Tech went 17-16 and was not selected for the WBIT, the NCAA’s new women’s postseason tournament.
After that, Gerlich released a statement saying the Lady Raiders wouldn’t accept any other postseason bid and would start working for next season.
And, so, they have.
In this edition of Portal Thoughts we take a look at where the Texas Tech women are now and what’s left to do this offseason.
Texas Tech’s Losses (2)
The Lady Raiders lost two players to eligibility after the season.
Rhyle McKinney, a guard who spent three seasons at Texas Tech after starting her career at SMU, averaged 3.5 points in a primary bench role last season. She had one year of eligibility remaining but opted to forego it as she was graduating.
The other was forward Jazmaine Lewis, who exhausted her eligibility. She played 27 games last season but lost playing time as Jordyn Merritt asserted herself into the rotation. In her first season at Tech in 2022-23 she scored a career-high 191 points.
Texas Tech’s Transfer Losses (5)
Texas Tech lost five players to the transfer portal.
Jazion Jackson was foremost among the four. The guard transferred in from UTEP before last season and averaged 11.6 points and 5.8 rebounds for the Lady Raiders. Texas Tech will see her again this season as she transferred to Arizona State.
The Lady Raiders will see another transfer as Ashley Chevalier, who was at Texas at one time, transferred to Houston. She only averaged 2.2 points for the Lady Raiders.
Forward Elina Arike moved on to Middle Tennessee while guard Saga Ukkonen transferred to Fresno State. Combined they averaged nearly six points a season ago.
Finally, forward/center JoJo Nworie, who has missed the past two seasons to separate season-ending injuries, transferred to future Big 12 rival Colorado, per Buffzone.com.
Texas Tech’s Transfer Gains (6)
The Lady Raiders will have a half-dozen players with previous college experience thanks to the transfer portal. Texas Tech announced those signings last week.
Foremost is former Iowa State freshman Jalynn Bristow, a former Top 50 recruit who averaged 5.1 points and 3.7 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game. She has a solid 3-point shot and this puts the Holliday, Texas, native closer to home. The forward was third for ISU with 122 rebounds and at 6-foot-2 she’ll stretch defenses.
The Lady Raiders also snagged guard Denae Fritz, who spent two season with Iowa State and last season with Baylor. He’s an above-average defensive player who can score when given the chance. She averaged nearly nine points for ISU in 2022-23.
Tech needed height and got it in 6-foot-6 forward Maya Peat, who played four years at UAPB. She hit double figures 19 times last season and has nearly 700 career rebounds.
Former Lubbock Cooper star Adlee Blacklock is back after playing the last two seasons with Oregon State. As a sophomore last season she only averaged nine minutes. But her freshman season she led the Pac-12 in 3-point shooting.
Sarengbe Sanogo is a 6-foot-3 forward who did time at both Odessa College and Northwest Kansas Technical College. With Odessa last season she earned NJCAA Division I Honorable Mention All-American after she averaged 11.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
Texas Tech’s Recruiting Gains (1)
The Lady Raiders have one freshman on the roster. Kalysta Martin is a 6-foot-2 forward from San Antonio who graduated from Providence Catholic School early and joined Texas Tech in January. The four-star recruit was the No. 7 prospect in the state and she left high school averaging a double-double with more than 1,600 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.
Set to Return (8)
Texas Tech has a remarkable amount of continuity with more than half the roster returning. That includes each of the Lady Raiders’ Top 6 scorers. Jasmine Shavers paced Tech with 15.4 points per game. Bailey Maupin averaged 14.1 points and led the team with 102 assists. Jordyn Merritt, the Florida transfer, scored 8.1 points and pulled down 5.6 rebounds. Kilah Freelon led Tech in rebounds per game (barely at 5.7) and averaged 7.9 points. Jada Wynn and Loghan Johnson averaged more than four points per game.
Achol Magot and Kelly Mora set up as player that will be fighting for time this coming season. Magot did not play last season, but her Tech bio lists her as a sophomore entering next season.
What’s Left?
Nothing. The Lady Raiders have 15 players so they’re overflowing with talent (some of which are playing on their COVID waivers). What’s on paper is intriguing. Great continuity and a dash of need from the portal in terms of length and scoring ability. Tech projects as a team that should be on the league’s second tier and have a chance to finally get back to the NCAA Tournament.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
