Krista Gerlich and the Lady Raiders will tip off their sixth NCAA season together at 6 p.m. Monday against North Carolina A&T State University, with six games of international play in the summer helping to boost Texas Tech’s early-season cohesion.
The Lady Raiders claimed a silver medal in the 2025 FISU World University Games in July, where Gerlich had the opportunity to experiment with a team of six new faces and five new coaches. She used different seven- to eight-woman rotations in each of the games to help her determine a starting five ahead of Tech’s season opener.
Gerlich finished 2025 with a 19-18 record during a season in which she ran in-game rotations as deep as nine players. For 2026, Gerlich said the transfer portal acquisitions combined with growth in her returners has given her reason to shorten the rotation and increase workload.
“I don’t think that we’ll go as deep as we did last year,” Gerlich said. “I think we have some prolific scores on the court that need to be on the court the entire time.”
Ole Miss graduate transfer Snudda Collins is one of a few names Gerlich listed as a top offensive option. The 6-foot-1 guard led Ole Miss in three pointers made from 2020-24, according to Ole Miss Athletics.
While Gerlich didn’t exclusively list Collins in her starting five, other names such as Gemma Núñez, a Campbell senior transfer, and Sidney Love, a University of Texas, San Antonio senior transfer.
Collins was listed as a threat off the bench because of her versatility as a seasoned player. Collins played forward with additional reps at guard when she was at Ole Miss.
“We don’t have to have a one for one,” Gerlich said about bench rotation. “She (Collins) actually is probably a one for four. She could come in at any spot and help us.”
North Carolina A&T is a Coastal Athletic Association program, which historically, has never produced an NCAA Tournament champion, according to the conference’s website. Despite the presumed talent drop, Gerlich said the Aggies deserve her team’s respect.
The Aggies finished 2025 with a 19-11 record and a quarterfinal finish in the CAA Championship game.
“They should have been in the NCAA tournament last year,” Gerlich said.
Núñez, a 5-foot-7 guard who transferred from a CAA team, has been helping Tech in scouting ahead of Monday’s game, Gerlich said.
Because of the landscape of college sports, Gerlich said, it’s impossible to scout a team’s roster or plays to start the season, so she relies on transfers from the mid-major level to assist in preparation.
“It’s hard to go back with the transfer portal now and look at previous teams,” Gerlich said. “Because a lot of those players aren’t there.”
Gerlich’s starting five will include four returners in redshirt senior guard Denae Fritz, senior guard Bailey Maupin, senior forward/center Sarengbe Sanogo and junior guard/forward Jalynn Bristow.
Live statistics, streaming and ticket options can be found on the Tech Athletics website.