Swatting shots, blocking bugs: This Big 12 star has the perfect NIL deal as March Madness begins

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs is leading Baylor into the NCAA Tournament and has a new NIL deal with Raid.

Spring is here, which means two things. March Madness is underway indoors, on college basketball courts across the country. And outdoors, it’s getting warmer, and the bugs are out.

To help promote its ant and roach killer 13-week protection spray, Raid enlisted the assistance of a pair of college basketball stars. Their last names are a big reason why, but coincidentally, they both now play for the same school and both are dancing in the NCAA Tournament.

Baylor’s Darianna Littlepage-Buggs and Jeremy Roach — see? Get it? — are the stars of a new Raid commercial through a Name, Image and Likeness partnership the two players inked with the insecticide-producing company. Roach previously played for four seasons at Duke, but joined the Bears this season as a graduate transfer.

Littlepage-Buggs, meanwhile, is enjoying her best season yet for the Lady Bears, averaging career-bests in points, rebounds, assists and blocks per game, while shooting 53.5 percent from the floor. The 6-foot-1 junior from Oklahoma City is the only player in the country this season who is averaging at least 14 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and one block per game while shooting north of 50 percent from the floor. She was voted to the All-Big 12 First Team this season and her play is helping Baylor host games during the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend in Waco, Texas for the second time in Nicki Collen’s tenure as head coach.

She missed eight games with a knee injury, but is expected to be a full-go for the Big Dance.

When it comes to NIL deals, it’s typically Littlepage-Buggs’ skills on the court that make her marketable. But of course, for a company like Raid, her combined surname – Littlepage from her mom and Buggs from her dad – certainly helps.

“It never crossed my mind,” she told SB Nation when asked if she thought her last name would help her land an NIL deal. “I’m happy that I have though, It’s made me love my name even more.”

Between blocking bugs and swatting shots, Littlepage-Buggs caught up with SB Nation to talk about her hilarious commercial with Roach, her impressive play at Baylor, and what’s ahead for the Lady Bears in the NCAA Tournament.

This conversation has been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.

Let’s start with this NIL deal. When Raid approached you about a partnership, what was your reaction?

Littlepage-Buggs: “Initially, last year, I was a little skeptical. I was like, ‘Eh, bugs, Raid, I don’t know.’ But I decided to take the deal and it was just up from there. It’s been really fun to get out of my comfort zone a little bit and record videos and stuff. This year was even better. I had a really good time this year and was totally excited that they reached out and decided to partner with me.”

What was like working with Jeremy Roach on this commercial?

Littlepage-Buggs: “Last year, we didn’t really get to do any face-to-face or anything aside just him sending in his video… But this year was fun, having that face-to-face interaction, and just him being at Baylor, going to the same school, was even better. I feel like that helped with the filming. So it’s been great. It’s been fun.”

Pivoting to the NCAA Tournament, y’all had a nine-game win streak earlier this season and you’re 14th in the AP Top 25 Poll. What’s the ceiling for Baylor?

Littlepage-Buggs: “However far we want to go is honestly and truly up to us. I was out a few games and I think people kind of doubted us, but we didn’t. We know what we can do. My team showed a lot of heart and strength and grit because they were undersized without me. They had people that are way shorter than I am playing at my position and having to really battle down there, but I think just having me out helped people step up and let them show a lot more grit and focus, which is really good, especially going into the tournament. And since I’ve been back, I think they just carried that over, and that’s just something that we’ll definitely need for March Madness.”

I think some people might say you’re kind-of undersized for your position, but it hasn’t mattered – you’re averaging a double-double and you’re 15th in the nation in rebounding. How do you feel like your game has grown this season?

Littlepage-Buggs: “It really just started with mindset. I just know that I’m getting into the last few years of my collegiate career, and I need to do good and step up in many ways and honestly just leave it out there. It’s grown from that standpoint, just having confidence and not being denied. It’s been very physical for me this year… Just powering through that and just having confidence from my teammates too. I get beat up, but I get encouragement from them and my coaches, who have also been very motivating. They’ve helped me push through this.”

When you committed to Baylor, Coach Nicki Collen was pretty new there. What was it about her and Waco that made you want to come?

Littlepage-Buggs: “I’m very big on atmosphere, environment, family – this is essentially a home away from home. When I got here, it felt really welcoming. And then on the basketball side, I mean, it’s a program that wins. I wanted to come in and win. And given that Coach Nicki was a WNBA head coach, that was also something I was looking at. She pours her knowledge into us everyday, she lets us know right and wrong, and has that kind of high expectation of what it’s going to be like at the next level. That was something I took pride in when I committed.”

Do you feel like she’s really helping you prepare for the WNBA?

Littlepage-Buggs: “Absolutely. And even just hearing from former teammates too. One of the big things is terminology. I’m not sure about everywhere else but hearing from them, people don’t know a lot of the terminology (when they get to the WNBA). And if you know the terminology, you can get things down quicker. She’s definitely put it out there. I’m not saying she won’t let us mess up, but she keeps us on our tiptoes.”

Your first round opponent is Grand Canyon. What can we expect from y’all against them?

Littlepage-Buggs: “We’ve watched a little film on them. What to expect is just a high level of competitiveness. They’re a really good team. We just got to come in and play and stick to what we know and just really focus on those details.”