Texas Tech center Stephanie Okechukwu wrote her name into the record books on Thursday night when she won the opening tip in the Lady Raiders' 64-37 win over Charlotte, and officially became the tallest player to play in an NCAA Division I women's basketball game. Okechukwu, a 7-foot-1 center who hails from Nigeria, finished with six points, 10 rebounds and three blocks on 2 of 6 from the field in 21 minutes. Okechukwu is the first 7-footer to play NCAA women's basketball; the tallest player previously was 6-foot-11 Marvadene Anderson, who played nine games for Pittsburgh.
Okechukwu was born in Umunneochi, Nigeria. One of seven siblings, her hobbies outside of basketball include "swimming, reading and social media," and she speaks English, Igbo and Japanese. As a teenager, she left Nigeria for Japan, where she attended Fukuchiyama Seibi High School and gained significant basketball experience.
Okechukwu, who has a 7-foot-4 wingspan and can dunk easily, signed with Texas Tech in January, but did not play in a game last season. In April, she participated in the Nigerian national team's training camp, though she was not a part of the country's final roster for the 2026 FIBA Women's World Cup. "Just a couple of years ago our program took a deep dive into the international recruiting space," Texas Tech associate coach and general manager Erik DeRoo said when Okechukwu signed with the program.
"The international game has grown exponentially, which now provides prospects globally for us to recruit, and clearly with our current roster, it has already paid off. The relationships built over the last two years gave us an opportunity to recruit and eventually sign Stephanie." Okechukwu was initially granted two years of eligibility, but the NCAA reversed that decision on Wednesday, just over 24 hours before Texas Tech's first game. The program shared a video of Okechukwu learning the news, which brought her to tears.
"I did my interview earlier and I started crying afterward. A positive cry, because obviously this story is really special to me," DeRoo said. "Right after I got done, I got a call from the NCAA that said that they granted you all four years of eligibility to play at Texas Tech.
Which means you'd be here four years to get your degree." "Stop," Okechukwu said. I literally think about this every day. Oh my god." "I don't think people know how much you want to get your degree," DeRoo said.
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