The Morning Stake | 2020.01.14

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Podcasts. Check out your guys, Spencer and Michael, on 23 Personnel Podcast, a Texas Tech athletics podcast where food and sports clash at the goal line, as well as Keith Patrick and Dinger Derby, the only, yes only, podcast about Texas Tech baseball.

Meet Najiah Knight, the 13-Year-Old Girl Upending the World of Professional Bull Riding. Via Vogue (you can tell your loved one later today that you were checking out the latest edition of Vogue and ran across this article . . . ):

And then you meet Najiah Knight, who aims to join their ranks—all 4-foot-10 and 70 pounds of her. Najiah, a Native American of Paiute and Klamath ancestry who hails from tiny Arlington, Oregon (population 586), is in her fourth season on the Mini Bull Riders tour, the junior version of the PBR for kids aged 8 to 13. Fear—whether that means worrying about what other people think or worrying about what a thousand-pound bull might do to her (MBR bulls, while fully grown, are lighter than PBR bulls, with shorter legs)—isn’t part of her vocabulary.

“I started riding sheep when I was three and moved up to bulls when I was nine,” she says. “In between that, I rode steers.” Why sheep? “My dad is a bull rider,” Najiah continues, “and every time I saw him ride I was like, ‘Dad, just put me on one!’ He was like, ‘You’re too little!’ And I was like, ‘Well, just put me on something!’ And so he put me on a sheep.”

Lady Raider Basketball

Texas Tech Baseball

THE Top Senior. Via Perfect Game, texas Tech senior pitcher John McMillon was named as the top senior in the country.

Preseason No. 6. Via D1Baseball, they’ve released their Preseason Top 25 and Texas Tech checks in at No. 6, with the next Big 12 Oklahoma State at No. 22, and Oklahoma at No. 24.

Texas Tech Basketball

Vanilla Ice Halftime Against Iowa State. No lie. The Vanilla Ice will be performing on Saturday during halftime. Hell yeah.

Game Tonight. Don’t forget that tonight, Texas Tech is in Manhattan and taking on Kansas State tonight at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+. Also, the video below has Terrence Shannon looking good in warmups, so maybe his back is going to be okay.

No. 23. The AP Top 25 has Texas Tech at No. 23, dropping one spot after dropping games to No. 2 Baylor and No. 12 West Virginia on the road. Need a win tonight and Saturday in the worst way.

Texas Tech Football

McNamara Named FWAA Freshman All-American. Congrats to punter Austin McNamara.

Mid-Term Enrollees. InsideTheRedRaiders’ Jarrett Johnson has a list of the incoming players this spring semester, which includes some preferred walk-ons that I didn’t know. There’s write-ups and links to Hudl video, but here’s a list (preferred walk-on’s are noted):

  • Defensive End Daniel Bailey (6-5/260): Preferred walk-on from College of the Redwoods.
  • Linebacker Brandon Bouyer-Randle (6-2/235): Michigan State graduate transfer.
  • Offensive Lineman Ethan Carde (6-8/325): From Coffeyville C.C.
  • Wide Receiver Joseph Carter (6-0/196): Preferred walk-on transfer from Navy.
  • Defensive End Devin Drew (6-3/260): From Iowa Western C.C.
  • Defensive Lineman Jon King (6-2/290): Preferred walk-on transfer from Army.
  • Linebacker Christian LaValle (6-0/230): Preferred walk-on transfer from Utah State.
  • Linebacker Krishon Merriweather (6-0/230): From Garden City C.C.
  • Wide Receiver Ja’Lynn Polk (6-2/185): Freshman from Lufkin.
  • Tight End Jackson Pace (6-3/238): Preferred walk-on from Kligore College.
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