The Sky is the Limit For Lady Raider Freshman Bailey Maupin

You might call it returning to their roots.

In this era of the transfer portal and nationwide recruiting, the Texas Tech Lady Raiders stayed in West Texas to land its most recent talented basketball recruit. Texas Tech head coach Krista Gerlich knows all about the importance of recruiting the top talent in the South Plains and the Texas Panhandle. Gerlich played her high school basketball at Spearman and was a member of the Lady Raiders’ 1993 national championship team, a roster that was West Texas homegrown including small-town players from Brownfield, Nazareth, Loraine and Sweetwater, as well as Lubbock.

The latest West Texas standout to join the Lady Raiders is 5-10 freshman Bailey Maupin from the small town of Gruver at the top of the Panhandle. Gruver may be just a Class 2A school, but Maupin isn’t just any small-town basketball player.

She was named Miss Texas Basketball by Dave Campbell after leading Gruver to a perfect 33-0 record, the first in school history, and the Class 2A state championship last year. Maupin scored 22 points a game and 7.5 rebounds per contest a year ago and was named the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches’ Class 2A Player of the Year. She scored 16 points and had 14 rebounds in the state championship game was named the Most Valuable Player in the UIL Class 2A state tournament. A three-time district MVP, Maupin was a McDonald’s all-American nominee. She was ranked as the No. 14 prospect at her position and No. 54 overall recruit in the nation by ESPN.

Last summer, she played on the San Antonio Finest team that won the Adidas national championship.

Maupin, who has moved into the Lady Raiders’ starting lineup, has made the adjustment from Class 2A to major college basketball look easy.

“Honestly, it has not been too bad,” Maupin said of the transition to the college game. “It helped that I came in here this summer and worked out with the team. The biggest difference (between high school and college basketball) is the physicality and speed of the college game.”

Maupin is scoring in doubles figures as the Lady Raiders’ third-leading scorer through the team’s non-conference schedule, averaging 11.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in helping Tech to 11 straight wins and a league-best 12-1 record. Twice, Maupin has been named the Big 12 Freshman of the Week.

“Bailey has adapted to the college game really well and very quickly,” Gerlich stated. “Her explosiveness has been really evident, and that is what I like most about her, how she can change gears, speed, agility, jumping, all those things. She is shooting the ball well, too, a big-time scorer, and her defense continues to get better. That is the biggest transition – the defensive effort, just how to defend people who are bigger than you are and faster that you are. She is really gelling and coming into her own. The sky is the limit for her.”

Like most small-town athletes, Maupin did more than just play basketball in high school. She was a state champion in track and field, taking home the gold medal in the high jump and also earning a silver medal in that same event. She has two bronze medals in the triple jump and was a state qualifier in the 4x200 and 4x400 relays. As a member of the Gruver tennis team, she advanced to the regional quarterfinal.

“Doing track kept me in shape,” Maupin said, “and tennis helped my hand-eye coordination. It was a fun way to stay in shape, and I got to play (mixed doubles) tennis with my brother.”

Maupin, who is majoring in business and marketing, said she considered a lot of schools but decided that “Texas Tech was the best fit for me. It was close to home (although Gruver is four hours north of Lubbock).”

Asked to describe the strength of her game, Maupin replied, “My ability to attack inside and shoot the 12-15-foot jumper. I can shoot the 3-ball, too, if left open.”

Maupin said she is feeling good about the start of her collegiate career.

“Of course, it feels good when you are winning games,” she said. “We have played a lot of good teams. Going 12-1 is not easy. We take pride in that. This team has good chemistry and we are looking forward to a good season.”

For Maupin, the Lady Raiders’ latest in a long line of West Texas recruits, it is the first of what she hopes will be four good seasons at Texas Tech.