Krista Gerlich leads Texas Tech to first Top 25 ranking in 13 years

By Canadian Press on December 23, 2025.

Krista Gerlich knows about success at Texas Tech, having starred there back when the team won the national championship in 1993 alongside Sheryl Swoopes.

So getting the Lady Raiders ranked for the first time in 13 years on Monday was extra special to her.

“it’s a longtime coming. When I took the job in 2020 during COVID, never in a million years did I dream I’d take over the program in the state it’s been,” she said. “It’s been such a long process to get to this point, but well worth it. It takes that long to get it right with the state it was in.”

Texas Tech (14-0) is one of a dozen teams still unbeaten after the Lady Raiders beat then-No. 15 Baylor 61-60 on Sunday. It was the school’s first win over the Bears since 2011 and first win over a ranked team this season.

That victory helped propel Texas Tech into the Top 25 for the first time since 2012.

“It’s a huge goal of this program.” Gerlich said of being ranked. “We have to celebrate things we haven’t done before. This is one of them. Celebrate small victories when rebuilding a program as you get going they turn into larger victories. To crack the Top 25 for the first time since 2012 that’s a huge feat. Our kids deserve the opportunity to celebrate.”

The team, like the rest of the country is off until Sunday for the holidays.

Texas Tech, which is off to its best start since the 2012-13 season will play next on Dec. 31 against Central Florida.

“They can’t be saitisfied and rest. We got here by keeping our nose to the grind and keeping our head down and working,” she said of her team.

Gerlich still keeps in touch with a lot of her former teammates in a group text. The 1993 team that won the title was put in the school’s Hall of Honor earlier this season against Arkansas. She sees a lot of that team in her current one.

“This team reminds me of us. Reminds me how unseflish they are, how driven they are,” she said.

The road ahead won’t be easy with the Lady Raiders one of four unbeaten teams in the Big 12. TCU, Arizona State and Iowa State have all gotten off to strong starts.

“It’s a gauntlet. Not only do we have historical good teams like Iowa State, TCU and Baylor,” she said. “Kansas State my be down a little bit right now because they have so many new kids, but they have tradition and coaching, they’ll get there. There are also so many new coaches to the league. What Molly Miller is doing to Arizona State is so great for the league.”

NET ratings

No. 1 UConn still holds the top spot in the NET ratings Monday. The Huskies are followed by South Carolina, Texas, UCLA and LSU. The Big Ten has six of the top 12 teams and Texas Tech is 22nd.

The NET is just one tool the NCAA selection committee uses to figure out which teams make the NCAA Tournament and where they are seeded. It has predicted the winner pretty accurately since it first was used in 2021. Four of the five national champions were No. 1 in the NET on Selection Sunday

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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

Doug Feinberg, The Associated Press

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