Amid 24‑66 Conference Woes, Texas Tech Bets on Continuity: Krista Gerlich to Pilot Lady Raiders Into a Sixth Season

When the spring dust finally settled on the South Plains, one of the biggest open questions in Lubbock sport was whether Krista Gerlich had steered her last game for the Texas Tech Lady Raiders. On 21 June 2025 that question was answered with a firm “No.” Athletic director Kirby Hocutt confirmed that Gerlich will be back on the sideline next season, extending a tenure that began in 2020 and has produced flashes of promise but just a .267 winning percentage in Big 12 play.

Gerlich’s conference ledger—24 wins against 66 losses—has become the lightning‑rod statistic at the heart of the debate. The program’s own postseason notes list her overall mark at 77‑83 through five seasons, illustrating the broader climb she still faces if Texas Tech is to reclaim national relevance.

Yet the administration sees reasons for optimism. In 2024‑25 the Lady Raiders cobbled together a 19‑18 record, reached the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals and pushed all the way to the same stage of the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT). Those incremental gains convinced Hocutt that stability, not upheaval, is the pathway forward—even after another 4‑14 conference grind left Tech near the bottom of the league table.

Gerlich herself wasted little time signaling that “continuity” does not mean “complacency.” Just two weeks after Hocutt’s vote of confidence, she reshuffled the staff: longtime associate coach Ashley Odom and three‑year aide Plenette Pierson departed, while operations stalwarts Jordan Vessels and Mitch Vanya returned to behind‑the‑scenes roles. Gerlich framed the shake‑up as a recommitment to the rigorous standards set in the Marsha Sharp glory days and a step toward recapturing an NCAA tournament berth that has eluded Tech since 2013.

The fan base, famously vocal on social media, erupted in a predictable split. Threads on r/NCAAW were peppered with exasperation—“BRUHHH SHE IS 24‑66 IN BIG 12 AND THEY ARE KEEPING HER WTF,” read one highly‑upvoted post—alongside measured arguments that Gerlich’s recruiting victories and improved non‑conference chops warrant another swing.

From the administration’s vantage point, the case for patience begins with talent retention. Six of last season’s top seven scorers are eligible to return, including back‑court dynamo Jasmine Shavers and two‑way wing Bailey Maupin. Tech’s 2025 signing class also features 6‑6 rim protector Maya Peat and 6‑2 forward Jalynn Bristow, each of whom brings immediate size the roster sorely lacked against the Big 12’s upper crust. Off the floor, Gerlich’s program leaned into a new 10‑year adidas partnership that funneled NIL resources to players through Patrick Mahomes’s “Team Mahomes” initiative—an advantage administrators believe will pay recruiting dividends in the portal era.

Still, hurdles loom. The Big 12 has only deepened since the last round of realignment, and Tech’s 4‑14 league mark shows a team that often hung tough for three quarters before wearing down. Gerlich has vowed to address depth and late‑game execution by targeting a defensive‑minded guard and a stretch‑four in the transfer portal, jobs now posted under the retooled staff’s watch. Whether that translates into a top‑eight Big 12 finish—and the NCAA selection‑committee attention that would follow—may define her legacy.

Context matters, too. Texas Tech isn’t newcomer territory for Gerlich; she captained the 1993 national‑championship team. That personal history has bought her a level of goodwill, but it has also sharpened expectations. Fans who celebrate 50 years of Lady Raider basketball want more than nostalgia—they want March success. For them, 73‑81 overall feels out of step with a program that once lived in the Sweet Sixteen. Gerlich’s retention, then, reads both as a sentimental choice and a calculated gamble by an athletic department that already faces competing financial priorities across football and men’s hoops.

The path forward is unambiguous: flip enough of those 50‑50 conference games to claw back above .500, fortify the résumé with a marquee non‑conference scalp or two, and make Selection Monday a Tech tradition again. Fail to hit those benchmarks, and the patience currently extended could evaporate quickly—especially with an invigorated fan base ready to argue every coaching decision in real time. Succeed, and Gerlich will have authored one of the more deliberate turnarounds in the modern Big 12, proving that sometimes the surest route out of a rut is the road already traveled.