Leading Off
Busy Weekend. A very busy weekend for Texas Tech this weekend. As noted below, the volleyball team is set to travel to Italy to play in an overseas tour and the video with Emerson Solano and Davide Moretti is funny, as was the video with the men’s tennis team. Entertaining. Softball is on center stage with their regional in Baton Rouge and baseball dropped game 1 to TCU.
Texas Tech Volleyball
With our trip to Italy right around the corner, we asked @davide25moretti from @TexasTechMBB to teach @emmygurrll some common Italian words and phrases. Witness the 𝔾𝕆𝕃𝔻 that is Italian 101. 🇺🇸🏐🇮🇹
🔴#WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/PQwNYitpsF
— Texas Tech Volleyball (@TexasTechVB) May 16, 2019
Texas Tech Track and Field
Same awards, different year!@WesKittley and @odudurudivine1 earn Big 12 end-of-year recognition for the second consecutive season! 📰⬇️
🔴#WreckEm⚫️https://t.co/h1zOegFsTr
— Texas Tech T&F/XC (@TexasTechTF) May 16, 2019
Texas Tech Tennis
You never know what will happen when you pile into a car with Bjorn Thomson…
🚗🎤
🔴#WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/7CeIdzYYpF
— Texas Tech Men’s Tennis (@TexasTechMTEN) May 14, 2019
Texas Tech Softball
Texas Tech vs. Louisana Tech. The ladies will face Louisiana Tech today at 2:00 p.m. and the rest of the schedule will play out depending on a win or a loss. Let’s Go!
Friday can’t come soon enough. 😤
🔴#WreckEm⚫️https://t.co/EzCxaoZ0YN
— Texas Tech Softball (@TexasTechSB) May 15, 2019
Another program record ✅🙌
🔴#WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/EcfCMKYwsW
— Texas Tech Softball (@TexasTechSB) May 16, 2019
Lady Raider Basketball
Good Luck to Brittany Brewer and Chrislyn Carr as they begin the @usabasketball team trials today!#WreckEm pic.twitter.com/f5LeTvGNDa
— Lady Raider WBB (@LadyRaiderWBB) May 16, 2019
Texas Tech Baseball
TCU 3, Texas Tech 1. A 14 inning affair, it was a true pitchers’ duel, no runs were scored until the 11th inning. The series thread is updated. The good news is that Oklahoma State hammered Baylor last night, so the top 5 teams are as follows:
Baylor 14-7
Texas Tech 14-8
Oklahoma State 13-9
West Virginia 13-11
TCU 11-11
So, Texas Tech needs at least 1 win and Baylor needs to continue to lose to win the Big 12.
Same place, same time tomorrow.
🔴#WreckEm⚫️https://t.co/vo4RsegYuU
— Texas Tech Baseball (@TTU_Baseball) May 17, 2019
Texas Tech Basketball
Texas Tech to Face Louisville. The Red Raiders will play Louisville in the Jimmy V Classic on December 10th, while UConn will play Indiana.
Back to the Big Apple. 🍎
We’ll face Louisville in the Jimmy V Classic, on Dec. 10, at MSG!
🔴#4To1 | #WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/aU7fSoUvqp
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) May 16, 2019
Clarke Official. Chris Clarke committed yesterday and it was official yesterday. Things move fast.
✍️ Welcome Chris Clarke to the Red Raider Family!
🔴#4To1 | #WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/mpEuEfxh0p
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) May 16, 2019
Texas Tech at No. 13. The best ranker in college basketball, CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish ranks the top 25+1 on a regular basis (every day during the season) has Texas Tech ranked at No. 13:
The moment the season ended, with that disappointing overtime loss to Virginia in the final game of the NCAA Tournament, Texas Tech coach Chris Beard knew he was losing four of his top five scorers from a 31-win team — namely sophomore Jarrett Culver (to the NBA Draft) plus seniors Matt Mooney, Tariq Owens and Brandone Francis. Consequently, it seemed clear that recruiting the graduate-transfer market would be necessary to keep the Red Raiders on the national radar.
So Beard started recruiting.
And, to the surprise of no one, for the second straight offseason, Beard has recruited the graduate-transfer market successfully. In recent days, Texas Tech has added T.J. Holyfield, a grad-transfer from Stephen F. Austin, and Chris Clarke, a grad-transfer from Virginia Tech. Both players are proven Division I contributors who project as likely starters. They’re among the reasons I’ve moved the Red Raiders to No. 13 in the 2019-20 CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 preseason college basketball rankings.
Miscellaneous. Via NBC Sports, former Red Raider Khavon Moore is off to Clemson, so good luck . . . also via NBC Sports, a 4-star 6’8″ forward from the DFW area Jalen Wilson has asked out of his letter of intent with Michigan. Texas Tech isn’t in the mix as of right now, but the Clarke commitment came out of the blue for me so don’t ever say never . . .
Texas Tech Football
Mic’d Up with DeAndre Smith.
🔴MIC’D UP⚫️
🎙@coachDLSmith1🎙“Great day to get better!”#WreckEm pic.twitter.com/9sZLawLLgu
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) May 17, 2019
Wells in Amarillo. Abilene Reporter-News’ Greg Jakiewicz reports on Texas Tech head coach David Matt Wells (ed. Apologies for the error, the head coach is, in fact, not the former Yankees pitcher. I am sure that I will continue to make this mistake, but my tally is 2 thus far.) in Amarillo, at the home of Board of Regent Scott Dueser:
“Matt Wells is the real deal, from being able to talk with the young kids that were there to the older ladies,” Dueser told me later. “He made special time for everybody. Not every Division 1 coach will do that. He made sure before he left that he had talked to everybody and had his picture made with them.”
Imagine having a Division I coach standing next to Joe Ed Canon between your kitchen and living room, which doubles as an art museum, and talking football. This wasn’t your mother’s Tupperware or Mary Kay meeting, or dad having the guys over beers and a ballgame and, oh, by the way, we could make some extra money selling Amway.
It was more like home church, because coaches, when they get on a roll, sound a lot like preachers. There were comments akin to “amen” when Wells talked about what Tech football could be and his emphasis on building a foundation on peer leadership, doing the right things off the field and making “The Jones” the toughest stadium in the Big 12 for an opponent.
I also heard some “Well, we’ll see …” and “We’ve heard this before …” You can’t blame Red Raiders fans. Texas college football overall has been up and down in recent years.
Miscellaneous. WVMetroNews reports that former Bowling Green quarterback Jarret Doege will transfer to West Virginia. Jarret’s brother Seth played for current WVU head coach Neal Brown so that’s the connection . . .