Texas Tech University Athletics
SPOTLIGHT: Jackie Lis
April 01, 2026 | Softball
LUBBOCK – Cursive script reading "later alligator" is inked along Jackie Lis' left forearm - a tribute to her grandfather and a reminder of the family legacy.
"When my parents went to work, I'd always go stay with my grandparents during the day," Lis says. "Every time I was leaving, I'd tell my grandpa 'See you later alligator' and then he would say 'After a while crocodile'. We'd reverse it and go back-and-forth with each other saying it. Every time. The tattoo is a really good reminder of him and my entire family and that this is bigger than just me. I've got this legacy from my family and I'm honored to live up to it every day. It's a blessing."
Everything Lis aspired to become can be traced back to her softball/baseball-obsessed family. Joe Lis, Sr. played professional baseball from 1964-79, including with the Philadelphia Phillies, Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians and Seattle Mariners. Her father, Joe Lis, Jr., played college baseball at South Florida, was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays and played five seasons in the minor leagues. Her sister, Jenna, played softball at Evansville and her aunt, Becky, played at Southern Illinois where she set records and has been inducted into its All-Sports Hall of Fame. Joe Lis, Sr. started training his three children in his garage before establishing the Joe Lis Baseball School in Evansville, Indiana – a facility Lis honed her skills in and the family continues operating after his passing in 2010 to carry on the legacy and help develop young players.Â
"I never got to play games with my grandpa watching but I remember after preschool he would pick my cousin and me up and take us to the baseball school," Lis says. "We would hit tennis balls in there for hours off the tee with a little pink tee-ball bat. That was always my favorite part of being done with school. I always knew he was waiting in the parking lot and we were going to go hit. He started it all for my family loving softball and baseball. He paved the way and set the standard for our family to live up to. He did so much to teach us about our swing and to always try to be the best. He started the baseball school for my dad, my aunt and my uncle and kept it going even after they were done for me, my sister and all my cousins. We loved going there to learn about the game and get better at it but he always made it fun for us. He was always learning about the game and passing it along to all of us."
Lis, a senior at Texas Tech who has played 199 collegiate games and is seventh among all active players with 52 career home runs, carries every lesson and the love of the game her entire family helped develop onto the softball field. "My dad was my travel coach until I was in 18U and taught me a lot about the game," Lis says. "My aunt is a hall of famer at Southern Illinois and takes credit for my swing. I would joke with my dad that I was going to listen to her and not him on my swing. They would tell me the same stuff, but I would listen to her more back then on it. I would go to all my sister's games and want to be just like her. She was a catcher and I didn't want to be a catcher but I still learned so much about being a leader on the field just by watching her."
Named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Tuesday, Lis is currently hitting .463 with eight home runs, seven doubles and 36 RBI for the Red Raiders who are 35-2 overall and ranked No. 2 in the nation. She's fourth in the Big 12 in batting average, third with a .546 on-base percentage and is currently in an unreal rhythm by going 13-for-16 at the plate with 14 RBI over the past six games. Through 12 conference games, Lis is 15-for-30 (.500) with four home runs and 13 RBI.
"I love her swing," Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco says. "I think it's as fundamentally sound swings in all of college softball. For me, I haven't changed anything with her swing. I just want her to do what she does. She's extremely intelligent and as good of a teammate than I've ever been around. I've never tried to change her swing, just get her comfortable and to be patient with her as she finds her comfort zone. She's settling in really good."
Lis, who is from Newburgh, Indiana and played three seasons at Southern Illinois before transferring, arrived at Texas Tech having already hit an SIU program record 44 home runs and with a .353 batting average and 141 RBI through 164 games played. A starting shortstop in all 164 games while at SIU, she earned Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year as a sophomore and was an All-MVC First Team selection last season. This season at Tech, Lis has started 21 games at first base, two at short stop and one in right field. "Knowing that our players on the field are going to make great plays and execute them takes a lot of pressure off me being out of position that I'm used to," Lis said. At Castle High School, Lis earned all-state as a junior and senior after having a .511 career batting average. Officially signing with Tech on June 13, 2025, Lis was the No. 29 ranked player in the portal according to Softball America and was named to the D1Softball Top 100 Players list prior to the 2025 season. Despite an already decorated career, Lis arrived to Tech ready any embrace role changes and continue developing.
"Coach Glasco has done a great job with me being more selective on pitches," Lis says. "He's helped me hit pitches that I wasn't very good at hitting until I got here. I've never been a great drop-ball hitter, my whole life. I'm better hitting the top half of the ball. Instead of changing my swing so that I can hit the drop-ball, he's helped me focus on hitting a different part of the ball when I know I'm going to get a drop-ball. He isn't really changing me, he's helping me mentally grow as a player to improve my game."
Through 37 games this season, Texas Tech is second in the nation with a .405 team batting average and is fourth with 76 home runs – already a single-season program record with 18 games remaining in the regular season. The daunting lineup is led by Kaitlyn Terry hitting .538, Mihyia Davis is at .472 and Mia Williams is hitting .453. With Lis at .468, the Red Raiders have four players in the top 50 throughout the country in batting average while six players already have seven or more home runs – led by Williams with 13 and Lagi Quiroga who has 11. Lis, who didn't appear in the starting lineup on opening day but still made an impact, had her first hit as a Red Raider in the season opener against McNeese State - a pinch-hit single through the right side of the infield in the fourth inning. Her first home runs of the season came against North Texas, the first a solo shot in the second inning and then a three-run bomb in the third inning from the eight-spot in the lineup.
"It takes a lot of pressure off knowing how many great hitters we have on our team," Lis says. "I'm used to thinking that if I don't hit then the team may not have a chance to win. But here, I've got three all-Americans ahead of me and two right behind me. If I don't have the best at-bat of my life, I've got someone right behind me ready to get the job done for our team. It helps you play more free, and when you're playing free, you're going to play better."
In Abilene on Tuesday night, Lis stepped in the batter's box with unconscious confidence. Just hours after earning Big 12 Player of the Week, Lis and the Red Raiders played a midweek matchup against Abilene Christian after sweeping Iowa State last weekend at home and stayed on a roll. In the first inning, Lis hit a double to drive in Terry and then in the third inning smacked a single through the left side of the infield to drive in Davis and Lauren Allred for a 6-0 lead. The game ended early with a 9-1 run-rule victory to extend a 10-game winning streak for the team. The win over ACU followed the weekend sweep of the Cyclones where she hit .818 with three home runs and reached safely in nine of her 10 plate appearances.
"I've been really focused on getting ahead of the count and if I don't, I still know they have to come try to get me," Lis says. "There's a lot of confidence right now. I'm making sure I get a good pitch to hit and I'm doing good things with them. We've been focused on getting a good pitch to hit. Not necessarily a strike, but looking for a specific pitch and when the pitcher throws it you don't miss it. I think that's been working well for me."
"She has really gotten comfortable and we're seeing the things we knew she could do and she knows she can do," Glasco said. "I think she's going to be a huge piece to our ballclub down the stretch. It's the right time. This is the time of the year when you want to see your players begin to feel comfortable and start peaking. I think she represents our ball club. I think our whole team is starting to feel comfortable playing together and understand who does what well and how to put the lineup out there each day based on the pitcher we're seeing. Jackie has been amazing."
Lis and the Red Raiders open their three-game set against BYU at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Tracy Sellers Field – staying present in the moment but building towards their ultimate goal.
"I think this team can go as far as we want to go," Lis says. "We want to go all the way. With all the competitiveness on this team, I don't know how we can't. Everyone on this team has that goal and comes here every day ready to work hard to get there. We're in a good spot but we just want to keep building on it. We all believe we're the best and we're going to keep showing it."
While Joe Lis, Sr. has passed, one can imagine after his granddaughter hitting a home run him saying, 'later alligator' and smiling with her family cheering on.
