Krista Gerlich (born November 16, 1970, in Spearman, Texas) is an American college basketball coach. She is the head coach of the Texas Tech Lady Raiders basketball team.
On September 18, 2006, Gerlich was named the women's basketball coach at West Texas A&M.
She inherited a 28âÂÂ4 Lone Star Champion Lady Buff program that lost in the South Central Region Tournament semifinals, including Lone Star player of the year Emily Brister.
Gerlich was named the head coach of the Lady Mavericks on April 11, 2013. She accumulated a program-best 121 wins with the Lady Mavs.
Texas Tech announced the hiring of Gerlich to lead the Lady Raiders on August 18, 2020, taking over following the scandal of the previous coach Marlene Stollings.
In Gerlich's first season in Lubbock, the Lady Raiders finished 10âÂÂ15 overall and 5-13 in the Big 12. She was able to get transfer Vivian Gray who previously played for the Oklahoma State Cowgirls as well as her daughter Bryn Gerlich who also played for Oklahoma State. They were not invited to the NCAA tournament or the WNIT.
In her second season, Texas Tech went 11âÂÂ19 overall and 4âÂÂ14 in the Big 12. Senior guard Vivian Gray was named to the All-Big 12 First Team.
In 2022âÂÂ23, Texas Tech made the WNIT and reached the Super 16 before falling 71âÂÂ66 to Arkansas. This was the first postseason appearance for the Lady Raiders since the 2012âÂÂ13 season.
In 2023âÂÂ24, Texas Tech started off non-conference play well before dropping consecutive games to Tulsa and Oregon State. In conference play, they sat at 5âÂÂ4 at one point but didn't win another game, as injuries had decimated the roster and forced Gerlich to adjust offensive and defensive philosophies. The Lady Raiders finished 17âÂÂ16 overall and 5âÂÂ13 in the Big 12.
In the 2024âÂÂ25 season, Texas Tech again had a winning non-conference record and sat at 11âÂÂ2 but immediately struggled when it came to Big 12 play, starting out 1âÂÂ5. They went 4âÂÂ14 in the Big 12. While they again failed to reach the NCAA tournament, they were selected for the WBIT and defeated Wyoming in the First Round and Virginia Tech in the Second Round before falling to Florida in the Quarterfinal. They finished with a 19âÂÂ18 record on the season. Despite many question marks surrounding her tenureâÂÂsuch as having a losing record in the Big 12 and never having a winning conference record in any of her seasonsâÂÂTexas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt announced that Gerlich would be retained.
The 2025âÂÂ26 season would prove to be Krista Gerlich's best season at Texas Tech. The Lady Raiders started out the season 19âÂÂ0 (6âÂÂ0 Big 12) after an upset of then-No. 15 Baylor, and they entered the rankings for the first time in 13 years. They were one of 3 undefeated teams remaining (along with Vanderbilt and UConn) before dropping 3 of their next four games: a 65âÂÂ59 loss to Kansas State at home, a 73âÂÂ61 loss to BYU on the road, and an 84âÂÂ70 home loss to Iowa State; they did beat Utah 77-49 in Salt Lake City during this stretch of games. After the Iowa State loss, the Lady Raiders rebounded by upsetting No. 12 TCU 62âÂÂ60 at home and after victories over Houston and Kansas, they surged up to No. 16 in the polls, which was their highest ranking since 2012. Because of the success during the season, Krista Gerlich was named to the Naismith Coach of the Year Watchlist and was the only Big 12 coach selected to the list. Texas Tech eventually finished the season 25âÂÂ6 overall and 12âÂÂ6 in the Big 12, which was their best record in 13 years.
Krista is married to former Red Raider linebacker Bryan Gerlich. They have a daughter, Bryn, and a son, Brayden.
Bryn played basketball at Texas Tech from 2020-2023 under Krista, after transferring from Oklahoma State.