On the Diamond
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Texas Tech softball was voted as the preseason No. 1 team in the Big 12 and NiJaree Canady and Mihyia Davis were also voted as unanimous All-Big 12 selections.
1. Texas Tech – 100 (10 first-place votes)
2. Oklahoma State – 87 (1 first-place vote)
3. Arizona – 77
Arizona State – 77
5. UCF – 63
6. BYU – 55
7. Iowa State – 44
8. Baylor – 42
9. Kansas – 28
10. Utah – 21
11. Houston – 11
Preseason Team
Regan Shockey, Arizona, CF*
Sydney Stewart, Arizona, C/UTL*
Kenzie Brown, Arizona State, P*
Tanya Windle, Arizona State, OF
Brooklyn Carter, Baylor, OF
Ilove’a Brittingham, BYU, C/OF*
Lily Owens, BYU, UTL
Isabella Vega, UCF, P
Jessie Clemons, Iowa State, UTL
Rosie Davis, Oklahoma State, IF
Ruby Meylan, Oklahoma State, P*
Lauren Allred, Texas Tech, 1B
Jasmyn Burns, Texas Tech, C
NiJaree Canady, Texas Tech, P*
Mihyia Davis, Texas Tech, OF*
Alana Johnson, Texas Tech, OF
Taylor Pannell, Texas Tech, 3B
Kaitlyn Terry, Texas Tech, P/UTL
Double-T 97.3’s Jamie Lent is breaking down each position for Texas Tech baseball and thus far he’s done the following positions: catcher; first base; second base; third base; and shortstop.
On the Hardwood
The Lady Raiders fell to Iowa State, 84-70. A high scoring game where Iowa state scored 26 and 25 in the 1st and 3rd quarters respectively. Texas Tech had 4 players with 4 or more fouls and Bailey Maupin fouled out. The free throw disparity wasn’t all that out of whack, Texas Tech shot 20 free throws and Iowa State 22, but the Cyclones out-rebounded Texas Tech by 11 and the Cyclones also made 7 of 15 from deep. If you are curious, T-Rank thinks that the Lady Raiders lose 2 more games this year, TCU on Saturday (which is going to be a very tough game) and Oklahoma State in February. Lots of opportunity to finish strong.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf rank the best 50 players in the nation and he’s got Christian Anderson at No. 12 and JT Toppin at No. 6. Here’s the bit on Anderson:
The buzz about Anderson began last season, when the 6-foot-3 guard dropped 22 points in his team’s Sweet 16 victory over Arkansas. This season, he has blossomed into an All-America-level player. Averaging 19.8 points, 7.5 assists and 1.5 steals, he has a higher offensive rating than teammate JT Toppin, and he has made 44% of his 3s. And, in some of Texas Tech’s most difficult wins, he has risen to the occasion: 22 points vs. BYU, 27 vs. Duke, 26 vs. Arkansas. Tech hasn’t skipped a beat after losing all-Big 12 standout Darrion Williams after last season, and it’s largely because of Anderson. — Medcalf
GRIT.
On the Gridiron
ESPN has the best performers from day 2 of the Senior Bowl practice and Jacob Rodriguez shined:
Rodriguez was one of the most productive players in college football last season, posting 127 tackles, seven forced fumbles, four interceptions and a sack while also scoring three touchdowns. The playmaking that led him to the fifth-place finish in Heisman polling showed up Wednesday, as Rodriguez’s strength and power coming downhill as a tackler led to a forced fumble in team sessions. The 6-foot-1, 233-pounder is an easy evaluation. The thumping linebacker is a Round 3 player with the ability to impact a pro defense as a starting MIKE ‘backer. — Miller
CBS Sports’ Blake Brockermeyer has a new mock draft and he has David Bailey going No. 7 overall to Washington, Lee Hunter going No. 24 to Cleveland.