A Buggs' Life: How consistency, drive helped Darianna Littlepage-Buggs become a Baylor great

Darianna Littlepage-Buggs left her first practices at Baylor with more than a few bruises.

The Bears had just added Aijha Blackwell, a gritty, feisty forward from Missouri, out of the transfer portal ahead of the 2022-23 season, and Littlepage-Buggs was a lanky freshman from Oklahoma.

“It wasn’t in a mean way, but Aijha tried to bully Buggs on the floor, and she won a lot of battles,” head coach Nicki Collen said. “But Buggs always came back. She never backed down. That told me who she was as a freshman, that she was going to find a way.”

Since then, Littlepage-Buggs has become one of the most relentless players in Baylor history.

She ranks seventh in program history with 1,144 rebounds, is the only player in the Big 12 to average a double-double in back-to-back seasons, and is a four-time All-Big 12 award winner.

“I was determined to play,” Littlepage-Buggs said. “I was going to work hard to play. I was going to know how to do things so I could play, whether that was just rebounding or defense, I was going to be so good that I was going to play.

“I wasn’t going to be denied.”

It didn’t take long for her to find her footing. 

In her 10th game at Baylor, she poured in a career-high 30 points, outscoring the opposing Tennessee State team by herself. 

Baylor assistant coach Tony Greene saw that potential from the jump.

When he was an assistant at Ole Miss, he was the first college to offer Littlepage-Buggs a scholarship when she was in eighth grade. When he became an assistant coach at Marquette, he offered her a spot there. 

“She was exactly like she is now,” Greene said. “She’s a natural, hard-working player who plays every aspect of the game. She’s always had energy, and she’s always engaged and supporting her teammates. She was the engine.”

Littlepage-Buggs was named Gatorade Player of the Year in Oklahoma as a senior. She was a McDonald’s All-American. 

She could’ve gone just about anywhere in the country and went on visits to Baylor, Alabama, Texas A&M and Florida.

Baylor at that time was in a state of change. Kim Mulkey left after a legendary run that saw her win three National Championships in Waco, and Collen won a conference title in her first season coming in from the pro game.

Signing a class that included the five-star Littlepage-Buggs and four-star prospects Bella Fontleroy and Kyla Abraham was a sign that the Bears were not lowering their standards.

“I wanted to win,” Littlepage-Buggs said. “You can't be Kim Mulkey, but the standard here was winning. I just really wanted to go somewhere where I would win and be comfortable, but have somebody who could push me. And they definitely did that.”

Littlepage-Buggs was the unanimous Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2023 after averaging 10.6 points and 9.2 rebounds.

She’s been a team captain for the last three seasons, was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention in 2024, a first-team selection in 2025 despite missing seven games with a knee injury, and a second-team pick this season. 

“Of every kid I’ve ever coached at every level, she’s been one of the most, if not the most consistent, humans,” Collen said. “The way she shows up every day for her teammates and to practice, or coming back from a meniscus tear. 

“The one thing I’m sure of is the way she’s gonna show up.”

The triumphant trio

Nobody wanted to see Independence Charter Middle School girls’ basketball on the schedule.

Not only was Littlepage-Buggs grabbing every rebound, but Jordan Harrison and Micah Gray were running things in the front court. There are two team pictures on the wall at Independence to commemorate undefeated seasons.

That trio continued to tear up the courts on the AAU circuit.

“We were really good, and we knew it,” Littlepage-Buggs said. 

Harrison was always planning to go to Classen School of Advanced Studies, but Littlepage-Buggs and Gray were later to enroll at the school. 

When they got there, they won.

A lot.

In the four years that Littlepage-Buggs, Harrison and Gray were with the Comets, they went 91-9. 

Littlepage-Buggs averaged 15.5 points and 12.8 rebounds, and was named the Gatorade Oklahoma Player of the Year as a senior when Classen went 24-1 overall and won its first-ever state title. 

“They are going to go down as one of the best teams ever assembled in Oklahoma,” said Darius Buggs, Littlepage-Buggs’ dad.

While Gray originally went to Seton Hall and Harrison went to Stephen F. Austin, they eventually all ended up in the Big 12. Gray spent the last two years at Oklahoma State, while Harrison is at West Virginia.

“We play two different positions, so we don’t cross paths as much, but when we play, we’re not friends on the court,” Harrison said. “It’s strictly business.”

Head-to-head, Baylor and Littlepage-Buggs are 2-1 against Gray and the Cowgirls and 3-1 against Harrison and the Mountaineers.

“Love is never lost,” Littlepage-Buggs said. “We're competitors. We want to win. I don't even know if I'll call you before the game. I know you're my friend, but I'm still gonna beat you.”

Harrison’s dad, Gray’s dad, and Darius all coached the three stars at some point during their years in Oklahoma, so watching them go against each other now in college is a group experience. 

When Baylor lost early in the Big 12 Tournament this season in Kansas City, Darius stuck around to cheer on Harrison and West Virginia as they won the conference tournament title.

“Every last one of them has a unique skillset and a game, and to see them doing it in the same league and going to different games is amazing,” Darius said. “That’s what most coaches hope to experience. It’s been a joy. I’m happy for all of them to do what they’ve been doing.”

The first time Harrison played against her old teammate in college was two seasons ago, and the Mountaineers got the full Littlepage-Buggs experience when she finished with a double-double to snap West Virginia’s seven-game winning streak.

“She’s always been special,” Harrison said. “She’s always been athletic and competitive. For every team we played on, she was the Energizer Bunny.”

Finding her voice

This season was a new venture for Littlepage-Buggs.

Players like Caitlin Bickle, who was a key vocal leader during Littlepage-Buggs’ first year in Waco, and Sarah Andrews, who stepped into that role the last two years, were both gone.

This time around, it was Littlepage-Buggs’ team.

“I’ve had a lot of people back me up and assure me that you can do that and stand on it,” she said. “It still is pretty hard, and I’ve had to adjust a lot, but it’s been good, and it’s taught me a lot.”

Littlepage-Buggs was one of 21 players selected to participate in the USA Basketball Women's AmeriCup Team trials in June. She was an honorable mention preseason All-American.

While Littlepage-Buggs is stronger now than when she was a lanky freshman, her biggest growth has been her voice.

“The leader that she has evolved into has been such a joy to watch,” Greene said. “She was a little quiet that first year as a freshman… she supported her teammates, but that leadership role, she didn’t embrace because she was really young playing with a lot of older players.”

Littlepage-Buggs said she couldn’t imagine having as much success at Baylor without Fontleroy and Abraham.

While Abraham has overcome some injuries to carve out a crucial role on the team, Littlepage-Buggs and Fontleroy have been in lockstep from the moment they stepped on campus like Batman and Robin.

“She’s my favorite teammate that I’ve ever played with, hands down,” Fontleroy said. “I don’t know if there will be another person who cares about me as much as Buggs does. When I need her, I know she’s going to be there for me, and I’m the same with her.”

Collen has routinely called Littlepage-Buggs her “security blanket” over the last few seasons. 

“She may not make shots or get every defense assignment right, but she’s gonna go to the glass and be there for her teammates,” Collen said. “No one celebrates her teammates more than her, whether she’s having a great game or not. She cares about winning, and she’s a winner.”

Littlepage-Buggs has been on WNBA Draft boards since before this season. Her basketball career will not end when the final buzzer sounds on her Baylor career.

But, from her rebounding prowess and her near-daily double-doubles, the mark she’s left on the program is permanent.

Her legacy looms large.

“I always watched (Brittney Griner), and I got to have (Sophia Young-Malcolm) as a mentor and friend,” Littlepage-Buggs. “Now I’m like, ‘I’m up there with you!?’ That’s so huge to me. I didn’t ever think I’d get up there. I could see it a million times, and it’ll still be crazy. It’s been amazing to be at Baylor."