Malikah Willis - Women's Basketball Coach

Malikah Willis

Title:
Assistant Coach

Malikah Willis joined the Lady Raider staff as an assistant coach on April 22, 2019.

Willis brings more than 18 years of collegiate coaching experience to the Lady Raiders including eight years at the BCS level with four of those years at Big 12 rival West Virginia.

“We are incredibly excited to add Malikah to our Texas Tech family. Her background in recruiting top notch talent and developing student athletes both on and off the court has been a staple throughout her career,” Head Coach Marlene Stollings said. “Malikah has extensive international ties and has helped produce multiple WNBA draft picks. She is a tremendous asset to our Lady Raider program.”

A seasoned recruiter, Willis has had seven recruiting classes in the Top 25, including four while at West Virginia and three at Georgia Tech. She has signed two McDonald’s All-American and coached 14 student-athletes to all-conference honors during her time in the Big East, Big 12 and ACC. In addition, Willis has coached five WNBA draft picks.

"I am beyond thrilled to join the Lady Raider family. It’s an absolute honor and a great time to be in Lubbock. The community and atmosphere is electric,” Willis said. “I would like to thank Coach Marlene and the Texas Tech Athletic Department for this opportunity to build on the legacy, greatness and tradition of such an esteemed program. The passion and vision Coach Marlene has, coupled with the support and investment of administrators and the community, equals an undeniable formula for success."

Willis knows Big 12 Women’s Basketball as she spent four years as an assistant coach at West Virginia. There, she helped lead WVU to four NCAA Tournament appearances including 20 win seasons in three of her four years, including a program-best 29 victories in 2009-10. In only her second year, Willis and the Mountaineers posted the best start ever for a WVU team as the Mountaineers began the 2010-11 season 19-0 and had the No. 1 ranked scoring defense nationally for five weeks. Willis was an integral part in developing the 2009-10 All-Big East Freshman Team unanimous selection Asya Bussie and 2 time Big 12 All-Defensive Team selection, Lanay Montgomery.

A native of Queens, N.Y., Willis was recruited to the University of Iowa by Hall of Fame head coach C. Vivian Stringer where she was a part of the No. 1 ranked recruiting class. The Hawkeyes won the 1995 Big Ten regular season title and consecutive Big Ten Tournament titles in 1995 and 1996.

A four-year letterwinner at Iowa, Willis earned bachelor's degrees in media studies and African-American studies in 1998. She played professionally for Color Cap Tybnik of Poland and Tapiola Honka of Finland in 1999, and Brazil's Santa Maria Club in 2000.