Desirae Spearman had a good, comfortable gig going for the New Mexico State softball team, where the Hanks alum was a mammoth fish in a mid-sized pond.
After her huge 2025 season opened up many doors, Spearman wanted more, and she knew exactly where that would be.
She could go anywhere she wanted, and Spearman wanted to go play for this year’s preseason No. 1, Texas Tech. Her road from El Paso to Las Cruces to Lubbock is coming full circle Wednesday, when her now-No. 3, 42-4 Red Raiders venture to Helen of Troy Field to take on UTEP in a doubleheader.
Spearman is thrilled to come home and thrilled to be doing it in a Texas Tech jersey.
“It’s super exciting, super fun, just to go back home and share my home with my teammates,” Spearman said. “I’m so excited.”
There is much to be excited about, starting with how well her transfer to Tech has worked out. She’s no longer putting up all-world numbers in the deep waters of the Big 12, but Spearman is batting .345 with nine home runs as a regular starter in the outfield for one of the nation’s elite teams.
This is why she transferred after two years at New Mexico State, where she batted a program-record .430 and posted an OPS of 1.583, leading CUSA by .240.
“My time in New Mexico State was fun, I loved it there, but it was time for me to grow,” said Spearman, who was the El Paso Times MVP in 2023, her senior season at Hanks when she was an All-American. “I had to leave in order to become the best athlete in the four years I had.
“It was kind of ‘no doubt’ that Tech was a place that I would want to be at. When I got to the offer I couldn’t pass it up. Texas Tech is where I wanted to be.
“I definitely wanted to stay in Texas, close-ish to home. Mostly, I wanted to have a chance to win a national championship.”
Texas Tech is where a lot of people want to be. The program made headlines last summer, right off its national runner-up finish, when it rewarded star pitcher NiJaree Canady with a $1 million NIL deal, a first for NCAA softball, establishing Tech as one of the biggest national players.
The Red Raiders began this season as the No. 1 team in the nation and were there last week before losing a midweek non-conference game to Texas State, dropping to No. 3.
For Spearman, the step up to the highest level has been a challenge, which is why she’s there.
“I’ve definitely never been on a team this good,” Spearman said. “There’s so many great girls, it makes me compete more, knowing the person next to you could take your spot.
“But they’re also my teammates. It makes us more competitive, but I think it makes us closer as a team. This is a new experience for me, but it’s great.”
Her high school coach, Shelley Prather, who is still at Hanks, always knew Spearman as a goal-setter, and soon enough, a goal-meeter.
“Every single year when I coached her in high school, she would come in with loftier goals every year and she really met them all,” Prather said. “Her goal when she left here was to be in the college softball playoffs and she felt like she could compete at the level on a team that has aspirations to go to the College World Series.
“To have this kind of success takes a special person, not just athletic ability, but the hard work and determination to reach it at the highest levels.”
She needed a few weeks early in the season to get up to a new speed, but that’s happened.
“It didn’t start how I wanted to start, but I’m starting to get my rhythm; it’s good competing against the highest level,” Spearman said. “Of course I’m not going to do as good as I did at a mid-major, but I’m having a lot of fun. And I see myself getting better.”
What’s also new is she isn’t pitching much. She was recruited to Tech as a two-way player, but as the season has evolved, she’s become a full-time outfielder. She pitched 4.2 innings earlier in the season.
“It was important for me to focus on the offensive side this year and get more comfortable in the outfield,” she said.
She’ll be patrolling the outfield at Helen of Troy Field Wednesday, which gives her a chance to be a liaison for El Paso as she explains to her teammates what they can expect.
“I’ve been talking about the mountains, the scenery, how scenic it is, and then the food,” Spearman said. “I don’t think my teammates quite understand yet how good the Mexican food is, but they’re excited.”
There is much to be excited about surrounding Spearman now.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Hanks’ Desirae Spearman makes mark for powerhouse Texas Tech softball
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
