New Year’s is supposed to be about reflection, about looking back at the choices that brought you here and deciding what comes next. For Texas Tech senior Jada Malone, that reflection doesn’t take long.
She’s already done it.
“I actually reflect on this quite often,” Malone said when asked about her decision to leave the SEC and spend her final year of eligibility at Texas Tech. “I didn’t think so much about the history of the program, I was thinking about the future.”
That future now includes a 14–0 start, a top-25 ranking for the first time since 2012 and a role on one of the most connected and improved teams in the country. All of it required Malone to bet on herself and on a program that has not made the NCAA tournament since 2013.
But for Malone transferring from Texas A&M wasn’t about chasing comfort or familiarity. She arrived chasing belief and wanting to be surrounded by a staff and players that shared that. Head coach Krista Gerlich sold her on what Texas Tech could be, not what it had been.
“She talked to me about the future,” Malone said. “Like, ‘Hey, we have not had the best history recently, but we’re going to be something next year, and I want you to be a part of it.’ So having a coach that thinks forward like that, why would I not come here?”
That belief has paid off on the court. Malone is shooting 68 percent from the field, the fourth-best mark in the conference among players with at least 100 minutes played and the highest efficiency of her career. A number made even more impressive by the fact she arrived in Lubbock already known as one of the country’s most reliable finishers.
What Malone perhaps didn’t necessarily envision was coming off the bench.
That adjustment and her willingness to embrace it have become a defining part of her season and a reflection of this team’s identity. But the buy-in didn’t happen overnight.
“When kids transfer, they’re not bought in the day they walk on campus,” Gerlich said. “There were early games she didn’t play much and I know she was probably questioning, ‘Did I make the right decision?’”
That doubt slowly gave way to trust. As the season unfolded, Gerlich said Malone revealed layers of her game the staff itself didn’t even fully anticipate, particularly her defensive versatility, patience on the block and feel for the game in critical moments.
“We didn’t know to the extent of how smart she was,” Gerlich said. “Her ability to pass the basketball and her patience on the block are unique traits.”
For Malone, that growth came from being given time.
“I know what I can do. I know what I can produce,” she said. “And she [Gerlich] took the time to be patient with me and let me kind of figure things out. So, I mean, match made in heaven.”
Even as her confidence has grown, Malone has remained fully bought into her role, starter or not. Gerlich said that acceptance is emblematic of this entire roster.
“She understands the rotation. She understands her role,” Gerlich said. “We probably have seven or eight kids who could start, and they don’t care. They just want to win.”
That mindset was central to Gerlich’s pitch when Malone visited campus in the spring. Beyond minutes or production, the message was about legacy and helping Texas Tech take the next step.
“I talked to her about being one of the ones that comes in and helps us take that step,” Gerlich said. “Because that’s a legacy.”
Even as a new member of Red Raider and Lady Raider nation, Malone is already fully bought in on the pride, both now and when her playing days are done.
“I don’t want to come back somewhere that I’m not proud of,” she said. “I think we’re all doing that.”
Yes they are. They’ve gone from picked to finish near the bottom of the conference, forgotten and perhaps circled on a team’s schedule as a ‘get right game’… to a team in the Top 25 and now seen as a resume building chance for their opponents. That rise could cause a group to lose focus, especially coming off Christmas break. That’s not something Malone worries about however because of who this team is as individuals outside of the court.
“I think we just have amazing individuals,” Malone said. “We’re amazing basketball players, but we’re even more amazing people. I don’t think any of us get complacent. We’re all very organized, we’re all forward-thinking, but we also know that whatever we’re going to face, even when things get hard, we have each other. And when you have that, it pretty much makes everything easier.”
That connection isn’t just player to player either. It extends to the entire staff and of course the head coach that brought them all here. When Texas Tech earned its first national ranking since 2012, Gerlich didn’t gather the team together or make a speech. In fact, she couldn’t as many of the players had already left campus for the holiday break. Instead, she texted them as a group and soon there after she started getting individual texts back herself.
“I got texts from kids saying they were excited for me, not for themselves,” Gerlich said. “That’ll get me emotional real quick.”
For Gerlich, it was confirmation of everything she envisioned when she took the job in 2020. A job that was not easy. Fixing a culture that had fallen so far off the cliff and onto the front page of USA Today from what it was when she won a National Championship here as a player. It took time, it took trust and a whole lot of belief. Players along the way have helped pave the path, Gerlich made sure to note, but it’s led to a team that doesn’t just buy into a system but into the people, the place and the program itself.
“I love this team so much,” Gerlich said. “Because I think they love Texas Tech as much as I do.”
What’s Next: #21 Texas Tech vs. UCF 12/31, 6pm in Lubbock
Texas Tech returns to action on New Year’s Eve against UCF, a matchup that will demand discipline and physicality from the opening tip. Head coach Krista Gerlich said the Knights present a challenge built around pressure at the rim and second-chance opportunities.
“They’re very big, they’re very athletic and they pound it inside,” Gerlich said. “We have to do a great job of keeping the ball out of the paint, but just as important, we can’t relax when the shot goes up. We’ve got to put a body on somebody and finish possessions by rebounding the basketball.”
For Jada Malone, the approach stays simple. Physicality matters, preparation matters, but the mindset never changes.
“It’s important to set the tone,” Malone said. “But every game is 1-0. It’s not about being 2-0 or anything like that. We need to win the next game and focus on that.”
First tip is scheduled for 6pm with the game stream on ESPN+.
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