Denmark guard Luka Malinka signs with Tarleton State Women’s Basketball

Malinka, who played college basketball in the United States at Roosevelt, Northern Colorado and Winthrop, earned All-Conference honors last season. The Rungsted, Denmark, native will reunite with Associate Head Coach , who was on Northern Colorado's coaching staff when Malinka played for the Bears in 2022-23.

"Luka brings a wealth of experience, leadership and versatility to our guard rotation," head coach said. "She possesses a high basketball IQ and strong playmaking skills that gives us added depth at point guard. She shoots the ball efficiently from all spots on the floor, allowing us to move her off the ball to provide a scoring punch. We are extremely excited Luka is a Texan and we look forward to seeing her in Purple!"

During her senior season at Roosevelt, Malinka was a second-team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection in 2024-25. Finishing second in the league in scoring at 15.4 points per game, Malinnka had seven 20-point performances. She scored a career-high 35 points against Purdue Northwest on Feb. 10 and set a school record by making 20 free throws against Michigan Tech on Feb. 22. Malinka capped off her Roosevelt career by being named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team.

Malinka scored 159 points in her first collegiate season at Winthrop in 2021-22, averaging 5.5 points per game. She scored in double figures on eight different occasions, including a season-high 15 points in the first round of the 2022 Big South Championship. Spending the next two seasons at Northern Colorado with Golden, Malinka competed in 16 games as a Bear.

Prior to coming to the United States, Malinka represented Rungsted Gymnasium in Denmark. She also competed for her country's youth national team for four consecutive years.

Malinka joins guard Caroline Lyles (Tulsa/Akron), forward Tessa Engelman (Mount St. Mary's), forward Allie Myers (Seward County CC), forward Jaylynn Brill (Chipola/Western Kentucky), forward Shadasia Brackens (North Texas) and guard Gia Adams (North Texas/UTA) in the Texans' 2025-26 transfer class. She will join three returning letterwinners and four freshmen on the Texans' 2025-26 roster.

Tarleton State is coming off a historic season in 2024-25. The Texans finished with a Division I program record 20 wins en route to its first-ever Division I postseason bid. Finishing second in the WAC, Tarleton State received an automatic bid to the WNIT and played its first-ever Division I postseason game at Wisdom Gym on March 23, 2025.