On the Diamond

Texas Tech softball defeated Oklahoma 3-2 in dramatic fashion. Just an incredible game all the way around. NiJaree Canady was fantastic for 6 and 2/3 innings and in the last strike in the top of the 7th, she gave up a 2-run home run to the Sooners. Tie ball game heading into the bottom of the 7th. Mihyia Davis singled, then Hailey Toney did it again by doubling to left field, moving Davis to 3rd. With the absolutely perfect woman in Davis to be on 3rd base because of her speed Lauren Allred got a sacrifice fly in the air to right field and Davis scored without a ton of drama.

I wrote yesterday that to be the best you have to beat the best and Texas Tech did just that, ending Oklahoma’s run of 4 National Championships. And to do this with Oklahoma essentially having a home field advantage is something else.

The Red Raiders will play Texas in a 3-game series starting on Wednesday, first pitch is set for 7:00 p.m.

One last thing, which is you may be wondering why I’m not putting up open threads for the softball team and really celebrating the softball team with their own posts and there’s no way in Hades that I’m changing anything I’m doing given the run that they are on.

On the Hardwood

Texas Tech’s sports information director Wes Bloomquist on the offseason with a bit of video at the link (also below) and there’s lots of quotes from the players, including the new players. Worth the read and Bloomquist is the one SID that enjoys writing big stories.

Committed to the work 💪 #TTW pic.twitter.com/l0YEiERByY

— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) June 2, 2025

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello with how the NBA Draft withdrawal changed the top 25 with Borzello having Texas Tech at No. 10:

Grant McCasland’s team had the biggest rise from the first iteration of our rankings on championship Monday to the mid-April update. The biggest move was the return of JT Toppin, a preseason All-American who dominated the second half of the season. And LeJuan Watts, a versatile and skilled wing forward, would be a seamless replacement for Darrion Williams should Williams opt to remain in the portal or declare for the NBA draft. Christian Anderson should also take a step forward in his sophomore season.

Don’t overlook the addition of VCU transfer Luke Bamgboye, who will provide an anchor defensively.

Projected starting lineup

Christian Anderson (10.6 PPG)
Donovan Atwell (13.3 PPG at UNC Greensboro)
Tyeree Bryan (10.4 PPG at Santa Clara)
LeJuan Watts (13.7 PPG at Washington State)
JT Toppin (18.2 PPG)

On the Gridiron

CBS Sports’ Brad Crawford has one thing each top 25 team needs to fix heading into the season:

21. Texas Tech Red Raiders Fix the secondary: Bad angles, missed tackles and failed opportunities. Texas Tech had a little bit of everything to blame for last season’s struggles against the pass as the Red Raiders finished last in the Big 12 in that department. Six players are back from last season’s two-deep, but expect heavy competition during fall camp with seemingly no starting spots determined just yet given 2024’s struggles on the back end.