Maya Peat’s story of self-growth and confidence

For Lady Raider basketball fans, the number 54 is pretty special. The last Lady Raider to wear that number was Plenette Pierson from 1999 to 2003, who would go on to have a storied career collegiately and professionally. Now in 2024, that number will belong to Maya Peat, who has a special place in her heart for 54.

“54 holds a lot of weight for me personally… For Coach P to be able to wear 54, and then I’m the next to wear 54, I don’t take it lightly at all,” she said.

In fact, during her recruiting process this year, Maya kept seeing the number 54 everywhere. On clocks, on her phone battery… It just kept appearing and appearing, so much so that she told her family about it, not knowing what it meant yet.

“I kept seeing 54. I would see it everywhere, and then I came here and saw that Coach P wore number 54. After that, in my head, it clicked,” she added.

This number holds a lot of significance for Maya personally as she’s been familiar with 54 since before her teenage years.

“In middle school, I was a big girl. I couldn’t fit into the jerseys that were on the girl’s side, so I had to go to the boy’s side, and the only jersey that was left was number 54,” Maya said. “At first, I was kind of like, ‘I don’t want to wear 54, this is a big number.’ So, I was embarrassed by it at first, but then, when I started my self-growth journey, I was like, this is something that I need to embrace.”

“So, I kind of just ran with it and kept wearing 54. People bug me about it and say, ‘Why are you wearing a football jersey number? You’re a basketball player.” But that’s my number, that’s who I am. So, I embrace that part of me that I used to be embarrassed by,” she said.

Embracing self-growth is something Maya has stuck into her daily routine. From repeating daily affirmations to reading self-growth books, this has been something she takes a lot of pride in, especially with the challenges she faced as a kid and teen.

“I feel like my whole journey has been about self-growth. Growing up, I was bigger. I came a really long way from my physical appearance. I used to be about 350 pounds in eighth grade, so you can imagine how that is for a little girl. I’m proud of myself. It’s kind of surreal where I’ve taken myself in this journey. So, I just feel like self-growth is so important to me because I know how I felt in that moment, and I know how I feel right now. I’m an advocate for self-growth because I want other little girls to be proud of themselves, to walk in their purpose and know themselves,” she said.

Maya said her purpose in life is to uplift everyone and spread light upon people. She wants people to keep showing that light no matter what circumstances revolve around them. This is something she’s taken away from not only things that have happened in her life, but also from her family.

“I feel like I might be biased because they’re my parents, but just seeing how strong of a foundation they had, I feel like it just reflects how strong of individuals each of their kids are,” Maya said. “They really set a standard… Not even forcing us to do certain things or being a certain way. They just filled us with love and respect and appreciation, and I feel like that is a lot of the reason why we are how we are.”

Maya is one of seven children to Todd Sr. and Jana Peat, all of whom played sports in some capacity – and some still do – during their lives. Her oldest brother, Todd Jr., is 32 years old and played collegiate football at Nebraska. Her second oldest brother, Andrus, started out playing football at Stanford before getting drafted in the first round of the 2015 NFL Draft. Now, he currently plays for the Las Vegas Raiders.

Next is Cassius, who is 28 years old and a Michigan State football alum. Following him is sister Leilani, who played collegiate basketball at Seattle University and the University of San Francisco. Only 24 years old, Leilani is currently working as a sports agent at KLUTCH Sports after getting a postgrad degree in sports law.

Maya follows Leilani, coming to Texas Tech from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff to finish her collegiate basketball career. Her second youngest brother is Keona, who is redshirt freshman on the football team at Arizona State. Last is Koa, an incoming senior at Perry High School in Arizona and five-star basketball recruit for the class of 2025.

Fans might be wondering if Maya and her siblings have any significance behind their names – and yes, they do. Todd Jr. is named after their father, while Andrus is named after their grandfather. Cassius and Leilani are family names as well, with Leilani being named after both of her grandmothers, then Maya was named after Maya Angelou. Maya’s mother, Jana, is native Hawaiian, so both Keona and Koa have Hawaiian names. Keona means “God’s gracious gift” and Koa means “strong warrior.”

“We are very, very close knit. I mean, there’s seven of us, so it could be hard for all of us to be so close, but I feel like everybody has their different relationship with each sibling. I could go to my older brother if I needed advice on something, or I could go to my sister if I needed advice on basketball or relationships. So, it was like everybody kind of understood each other,” Maya said.

Each member of the Peat family is used to playing sports at a high level, including her parents. Her father, Todd Sr., is a former NFL offensive lineman and her mother, Jana, was a high school standout in basketball. Growing up in such an athletic family, one could only imagine how competitive things were in the Peat household. However, Maya’s parents and siblings didn’t let things get out of hand when it came to competitions among one another.

“I feel like we did a really good job separating the competitiveness with actual family time. So, it wasn’t always so competitive like you would think it would be, since we were so serious about ourselves and about sports. But I feel like when we were at home, it was just that space where it was a lot of love and a lot of fun,” Maya said.

Maya added that she looks up to her older sister, Leilani, crediting her for a lot of her inspiration.

“I feel like it’s always been like that. I wanted to be like my big sister. Everything that she did, I wanted to do, or everything that she put on, I wanted to wear. How she did her hair, I wanted to do my hair. Even our tattoos are in the same place. Sometimes I wonder if she gets tired of me, but she loves it. I feel like me and my sister are like this. Not even feel like, I know me and my sister are like that. Very close,” she said.

Her self-growth journey is something she tries to share with her siblings to help them with their purpose. Her older siblings have helped her out growing up, so she feels like she can give back to her younger brothers in the same way, especially with Koa who is currently going through the recruiting process for college.

“I always tell Koa to stay grounded and stay humble, because apart from the game, you’re still a person,” Maya said. “I tell him never to forget to actually be a kid and I kind of just remind him that it’s okay to have fun and take yourself away from the game for a little bit.”

“I feel like this discovery of self, especially for me in general, is pretty new because it’s like a spiral, and it’s a continuous journey. I feel like not until recently, I started kind of talking to my siblings about it. If I read books, I’ll tell them about the books. With both of my little brothers, I’m always asking them, how are you doing outside of basketball? Because it’s not always about sports. So just checking in with them and checking in with my older siblings as well is really big for me,” Maya added.

Todd Sr. and Jana always let their children decide what sports to take on growing up, never pressuring them into anything. Maya credits her parents for letting her and her siblings be their own people when it came to anything, especially athletics. Maya competed in a myriad of sports including softball, tennis, swimming, kickboxing, flag football and even karate, achieving a brown belt in the process., until finally she was able to find the sport that she loved and flowed in – which was basketball.

“I feel like it was inevitable that I was going to play sports growing up. Just seeing my older siblings doing what they do, and they were so good at it, I was like, I want to be better than them. Especially being a big sister, I feel like if I’m not doing my best, then I fail as a big sister and I feel like all of my older siblings were like that,” Maya said. “So that was a big part of my drive. I was like, ‘I want to play sports, and I want to be the best I can be… Surpass my siblings, surpass my parents, and be more than just my last name.’”

Finishing up her high school career at Chandler High School in Arizona, Maya’s recruiting process was pretty different than most as it happened during COVID-19, all while just a very small number of schools reached out to her. It wasn’t until the head coach of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Dawn Thornton, called Maya that she knew where she was going to spend her next four years.

“I was bigger in high school, so I feel like colleges were kind of hesitant, especially with COVID, because they couldn’t really see me in person. I had people talking to me, but there wasn’t really an offer. But Coach Thornton at UAPB was kind of the first coach that didn’t care about weight. So, I was like immediately, she understands me, so I’m going go there. It’s like they believed in me, so now I’m going believe in myself and go there,” Maya said.

Now, Maya will close out her collegiate career in Lubbock thanks to the recruiting efforts from the Texas Tech coaching staff.

“Texas Tech was actually the first school to call me immediately. When I was in the portal, I got a call from Coach DeRoo, so I got on the phone with him, and I could tell he was very genuine. And then just talking to all the other coaches after that, it was all the same… I never felt uncomfortable,” she added.

The 6-6 center describes herself as soft-spoken, quiet, an observer and full of love, just like her father. But, on the court, she flips a switch that allows her to go out there and play freely and with tons of confidence – something she has heightened thanks to her self-growth journey.

“I feel like on the court, my confidence is all the way up. I’m a person who plays off of energy, especially within myself. I have to be right within myself. So, I have pregame routines where I’m talking to myself in the mirror, writing down what I’m going to do in that game, journaling, meditating… So, confidence is my whole game. I love to be physical. I love to talk. I love to be energetic. Confidence is a huge part of my success on the basketball court.”

Release Provided By Casey Montalvo Texas Tech Athletics