Alisa Sneed just couldn’t allow her high school basketball career to end that way.
As one of the top softball recruits in the nation with an offer in hand to play at a powerhouse program like the University of Texas, most wouldn’t blame Sneed from tapering down on other sports in order to focus on her future.
But that’s just not Alisa Sneed, an ultimate student-athlete competitor who’s well-respected around the halls, gymnasium, softball field and the track at Conroe High School.
As Conroe girls basketball coach Tamisha Houston said best, softball is what butters Sneed’s bread. Her future is in that sport. Quite possibly playing at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, wearing burnt orange within the next couple years.
But basketball has been an important part of Sneed’s high school career, too.
Sneed made Houston’s varsity team as a freshman in 2021 and, last February, she missed the playoff game against Spring – a 58-47 loss – to conclude her junior season.
Not helping her team that night was Sneed’s biggest reason to return as a senior.
“It was a big motivating factor,” she said. “I was kind of deciding and on the edge of playing basketball this year. I just wanted to focus on softball and signing and everything.
“When I was deciding, I thought that I didn’t even get to play in my last basketball game last year. I can’t let that happen. I need to finish off with a good game.”
Conroe has made the playoffs six straight times. All three of Sneed’s varsity seasons, including a memorable freshman year run where the Tigers raced all the way to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2007.
“We’ve been talking about it a lot,” Houston said. “I think she wants to be another kid that makes it to the playoffs all four years in high school. I think that’s special for anybody to say they’ve been able to do. I think that’s something she wants to accomplish.”
PLAY IT ALL
Alisa Sneed didn’t know it at the time, but playing baseball in the Conroe youth leagues was the beginning of her path to college softball.
Sneed said she played baseball because her older brother Mikey did and the path of youth baseball turned to softball.
“It’s kind of always been my No. 1 sport,” Sneed said. “I just grew up watching my brother play baseball and I wanted to follow his footsteps. Then he moved over to basketball and I was like, ‘I might want to do this in high school.’
Along with baseball/softball and basketball, Sneed also dabbled in gymnastics, soccer, volleyball and track growing up.
Around the time high school was approaching, Sneed would have to make some tough decisions.
It started with cutting volleyball in the fall. Sneed had some knee concerns from the wear and tear of diving and landing on her knees in that sport, so she didn’t go out for it.
“I knew I wanted to do basketball and I knew I wanted to do softball,” Sneed said. “Track was something I knew I wanted to do, but I wasn’t sure how it was going to be. I was kind of scared.”
Sneed was dominant in long jump in junior high, so ultimately she gave that a try in high school.
As a freshman, Sneed made varsity in basketball, softball and track and field.
A BUSY CONROE TIGER
Sneed first made varsity with the basketball team in October.
“I knew that she was a pretty phenomenal athlete and I knew that she was going to be able to adjust to the speed of the game,” Houston said. “There was a spot at the guard position that I knew she wasn’t going to hurt us. I knew it would take some time for her to adjust and become a varsity-level guard. But I knew with her speed, athleticism and her work ethic in general that she would quickly make the adjustment.”
It was just the beginning of the story of Sneed’s high school career. Ultimately, she felt her freshman year was very memorable, but didn’t really feel the weight of her classmates looking on and seeing what’s possible.
“My freshman year for basketball, it was me and another freshman,” Sneed said. “I don’t feel like anybody looked up to us. I went to school with a bunch of the freshmen at Stockton and Washington. They all already knew me.”
Conroe went to Dallas that February and played state power Duncanville in the Region II-6A semifinals. Sneed was a role player off the bench and watched Kennedy Powell, an NCAA DI softball recruit signed with UCLA (now at Texas A&M) playing point guard.
“We’re different in our own ways, but we’re similar,” Sneed said. “Just being the point guard and a D1 softball recruit.”
Conroe went 25-8 that year.
“I feel like my freshman year was probably the most impactful,” Sneed said. “Because you don’t think of a freshman making varsity and having that amazing group go so far. It’s not known for us at Conroe.”
Softball was a struggle that spring. The Tigers won just six games and lost 10 in-a-row to end the year.
But in track, Sneed made waves in long jump by qualifying for the region meet.
SOFTBALL PLAYER ON THE RISE
The last two high school softball seasons, Sneed has really taken off.
Her stock rose on the recruiting scene as her middle seasons were spent crushing the ball to a school-record amount of home runs while being a steady force defensively.
In her sophomore year, Conroe won its first playoff round since 2010.
Last year, the Tigers were co-District 13-6A champs and reached the area round again.
Sneed was co-Defensive MVP in the district and second-team All-Greater Houston with a .473 average, 11 homers and 30 RBIs.
Sneed enters her senior year – after basketball season ends – with 31 career homers and an eye on bigger accomplishments as a team. After verbally committing to the Longhorns her junior year, Sneed officially signed back in November.
“At first when I was a kid, I just wanted to play,” Sneed said. “I never really thought about college until I was like 14-15 and getting into high school. I never really had a dream college. I was just kind of in shock. I didn’t know if I could get a scholarship anywhere. So I was just going to keep trying to ball out.”
Last spring in track, Sneed once again qualified for regionals in the long jump and was a member of a successful 4X100 relay.
ONE LAST GO AT IT
It’s now January of her senior year and Sneed and her basketball teammates are in the midst of a playoff push. Seven straight seasons in the postseason is the goal. The Tigers entered this week tied for fourth place in District 13-6A with Oak Ridge.
It’s been a busy ride.
Sneed, who is very active in the summer with her Texas Riptide softball team, has a quieter fall at Conroe.
“For me, the beginning of the fall is kind of weird because I’m not staying after school as much,” Sneed said. “It’s kind of weird because I don’t feel that busy. But I’m just trying to get on top of work. I push myself harder in the fall so I’m in shape when the season start.”
Since basketball season started, Sneed’s athleticism is on display nightly. As the point guard, she brings a hard-nosed mentality. She can distribute to her teammates (3.1 assists per game), she’s a menace as an on-the-ball defender (4 steals) per game, she can hold her own in the paint (4.8 rebounds) and is averaging 8.1 points per game.
In four out of the past five games, Sneed has led the Tigers in scoring and the Tigers have won six of their last eight games to get back in playoff contention with a big game on horizon this Friday against Oak Ridge.
“I feel like it starts with practice,” Sneed said. “I feel like our chemistry is getting a little better now that we are getting the kinks out more. We’re working on our defense. We’re polishing our plays a little more. We’re looking inside and it’s helping a lot. We’re taller than most of the teams in our district and it’s helping a lot.”
Sneed’s offensive stats won’t blow you away, however. In her high school career, she has just over 650 points. But she brings more than statistics to the table.
“She’s not vocal,” Houston said. “She’s just one of those that’s just going to go do it. She’s going to put her head down and get the job done. No matter how many times I’ve threatened to convince or coerce her into becoming a vocal leader, that’s just not her personality. She’s a lead by example type of kid.”
As a major softball recruit, Houston gets a smile on her face when Sneed is still putting in the extra work for basketball. Sneed has shown up in the pre-dawn hours to put up shots on her own. She’s known for watching game film and always takes initiative.
“She’s respectful,” Houston said. “I don’t think she’s ever rolled her eyes, frowned her face. Definitely hasn’t talked back. She’s just a joy to coach, so I’m going to miss having a kid that welcomes accountability and will go out and work on her own.”
While still active with basketball, Sneed has yet to join her softball teams when practice started two weeks ago. She gets filled in on what’s been covered and will jump in with the team in February.
Houston looks forward to turning on ESPN in the near future and seeing Sneed playing softball for the Texas Longhorns.
“Hey, I coached that kid!” Houston said.
Sneed’s presence will be missed around the basketball team when the season is all said and done.
“(What I’ll miss about Sneed) is having a player that can play almost the whole game and her rarely asking to come out,” Houston said. “She’s a special kid and I tried not to put too much focus on one kid over another. Today’s kids want your attention, too. It’s been a pleasure to coach her. She shows up nearly all the time. She rarely misses basketball. She actually asked me to be a little more tougher on her.”
Hopefully, that last game is in the playoffs.
“For basketball, It’s kind of been like a tradition with Coach Houston is to make the playoffs,” Sneed said. “I feel like that hasn’t been overlooked. It’s a reputation (here).”
Conroe senior Alisa Sneed (3). (Chris Zorzi/SportCast Media)
