The itch to play basketball never went away for Laci White.
A 2023 graduate of Levelland High School, White’s dreams of playing college ball took a hit when she dislocated her knee her senior year. She filled the void with intramurals when she got to Texas Tech.
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Her next chapter on the court will include a little bit higher stakes.
A student manager for the Texas Tech women’s basketball team, White will suit up with the Lady Raiders when they play in the Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire’s World University Games this week in Germany.
“I was pretty stoked initially, a little nervous, for sure,” White said. “But just really grateful for the opportunity. Definitely a God thing. And I’m really just thankful for coach (Krista) Gerlich and the staff for believing in me to take this role for them.”
Texas Tech women’s basketball student manager Laci White, as seen Sunday, July 6, 2025 at the Womble Basketball Center, will join Tech’s roster for the World University Games in Germany.
Gerlich was in search of players to fill the roster that will make up Team USA. The Lady Raiders’ four international players weren’t eligible. Guard Bailey Maupin will also miss the Games with an injury, so Gerlich had to get creative. The sixth-year Tech coach added West Texas A&M’s Kenadee Winfrey and former Auburn and Texas forward DeYona Gaston.
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Gerlich didn’t have to look far with White.
White said the coach floated the idea a couple of months ago. Once the decision was solidified, White started to ramp up her preparation.
“We wanted to make sure this was a Texas Tech experience,” Gerlich said, “but we also want to represent well, too. … Laci was one that we knew was here that could immediately practice with us. We could use her in our practices and she already knows our system. Obviously, we know she’s a great high school player.”
White enjoyed plenty of success at Levelland, where she was salutatorian and also a regional qualifier in shot put. The Loboettes reached the regional quarterfinals all four years she was in school.
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“She’s a fantastic, coachable kid,” Gerlich said. “First of all, she can shoot it, which is fantastic. She understands her role and she plays super hard, gives us everything she has. She’s a great teammate and very coachable. She can be a leader in a lot of ways, and she’s doing all those things for us.”
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White agreed the familiarity has helped. She’s been a manager for more than a year, so she’s seen up close how Tech operates.
“It’s still a transition,” White said, “just a different level of play from high school to Division I basketball. But I think I’ve had an advantage, definitely, just being around the culture and around the team for a year now.”
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White said the experience is a blessing. She only got to play half of her senior basketball season at Levelland, derailing her pursuit of collegiate athletics. Not long after enrolling at Tech did she realize how much hoops meant to her.
“I thought I was going to (play in college), and then some things kind of switched my senior year,” White said. “I had a pretty big injury, so I decided to forgo that and just focus on my education and decided to come to Texas Tech. Then a year went by and I decided I missed athletics and basketball, being around it. So I decided to be a student assistant.”
The other Lady Raiders are happy to have her on Team USA, too. White said the team “welcomed me with open arms.”
“She’s really been a lot of help for us,” guard Denae Fritz said. “Honestly she’s been a great practice player before that. Now having her on the team, I think she brings a lot of energy. A high-motor player.”
Levelland’s Laci White shoots while defended by Big Spring’s Kortney Moore in a district girls basketball game Friday, Jan. 15, 2021, in Levelland.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Levelland’s Laci White to join Texas Tech for World University Games
