Texas Tech Defense Preview 2025: Transfer Portal Rescues the Red Raiders
The defense killed the 2024 season. There was little pass rush, the D allowed 460 yards and 35 points per game, and only Tulsa allowed more passing yards.The Red Raiders allowed 35 points or more eight times, and the 453 total points were the most given up since 2016. But this is the transfer portal era, and WOW, did Texas Tech - potentially - fix the glitch.
X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN2025 Texas Tech PreviewTexas Tech Offense Breakdown Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season- You want more from your defensive line, Texas Tech fans? Here you go. Now, there's a whole lot more projection than proof on the edge, but David Bailey (Stanford) was one of the biggest gets in the portal, and Romello Height (UTEP) has a world of upside.The transfer combination of Lee Hunter (UCF), Skyler Gill (Northern Illinois), and AJ Holmes (Houston) is fantastic. Hunter is an All-Big 12 anchor, and Gill is a fantastic interior pass rusher.
- The linebackers did what they could. All team stats aside, the combination of Jacob Rodriguez on the outside and Ben Roberts in the middle did everything they could, combining for 210 tackles. They were 1-2 in stops, respectively, and both should be in the All-Big 12 mix. John Curry is a terrific backup option who made 35 tackles.
- The defensive front six/seven is relatively settled. And then there's the secondary. The safeties have a few key parts back in AJ McCarty and Chapman Lewis after combining for five picks, but they're still in a fight for their gigs. Mississippi State's Brice Pollack should step in at one corner job, and North Dakota State's Cole Wisniewski should shine at one safety after missing almost all of last year hurt. Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season 2025 Texas Tech PreviewTexas Tech Offense Breakdown
© 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
25 minutes ago
- USA Today
Texas vs Texas Tech softball score: Longhorns take Game 1 of WCWS finals
Texas vs Texas Tech softball score: Longhorns take Game 1 of WCWS finals Show Caption Hide Caption Why Texas Tech, Texas will win 2025 WCWS It's a Lone Star State Women's College World Series this year, and reporter Jenni Carlson breaks down one reason Texas Tech will win and one reason Texas will win the WCWS. Texas softball needed one swing of the bat to come away with a win in Game 1 of the national championship series against Texas Tech on Wednesday. Longhorns catcher Reese Atwood came up to bat with runners on second and third with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Texas trailed 1-0. Texas Tech and ace pitcher NiJaree Canady opted to intentionally walk Atwood, however, Canady's pitch in a 3-0 count got too much plate, and Atwood roped a single into left field to give Texas a 2-1 lead, which stood. The pitch was a brutal mistake for the Red Raiders, as Canady was having no issues with Texas' lineup until leaving a pitch meant to be out of the strike zone over the plate. Longhorns pitcher Teagan Kavan was also outstanding, allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts. Atwood's first hit at the 2025 WCWS came at a perfect time, and Texas moves one win away from its first national title in program history. Here are the highlights from Texas' 2-1 win over Texas Tech on Wednesday: TEXAS VS. TEXAS TECH: How WCWS finalists fared in regular season Texas vs Texas Tech softball highlights This section will be updated TEAM 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 F Texas Tech 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 Texas 0 0 0 0 0 2 - 2 Texas vs Texas Tech softball live updates This section will be updated Reese Atwood's two-run single is enough to win it, as Teagan Kavan shuts the door in the top of the seventh to secure Texas' 2-1 win. Kavan goes seven innings, allowing one run on three hits with three strikeouts. Wow, Texas Tech opts to intentionally walk Texas' best hitter in Reese Atwood with two outs and two runners on base, but Atwood swings anyway and drives in two runners on a single to left field. What a swing from Atwood, who gives Texas a 2-1 lead. Texas' social media account also threw some shade at the umpires in its post of Atwood's swing. Texas puts runners on 1st and 3rd base with 2 outs Texas puts runners on first and third after Kayden Henry and Mia Scott hit back-to-back singles with two outs. NiJaree Canady up to 5 strikeouts NiJaree Canady is now through five scoreless innings, allowing only one hit on five strikeouts. She is dealing against the Longhorns. Texas designated player Victoria Hunter blasts a pitch from NiJaree Canady over the left-field fence, but the ball narrowly falls left of the foul pole. That ball was crushed, but unfortunately for Texas was not in fair territory. An obstruction and an error come back to haunt Texas, as Mihyia Davis bloops a single into shallow right field that scores Logan Halleman from second base. Texas Tech leads 1-0 after the controversial call. Logan Halleman reaches first base with one out after an infield error by Kaydee Bennett before Halleman then appears to get thrown out at second base by catcher Reese Atwood. Halleman got to stay at second, however, as the umpiring crew found there was obstruction on the tag attempt. Texas Tech with a runner in scoring position with two outs in the top of the fifth inning. NiJaree Canady sets Texas down in order once again, raising her strikeout total to four on the night. Canady has been nails through four innings. Bailey Lindemuth also made a nice play on a groundball in the bottom of the fourth inning. Teagan Kavan and NiJaree Canady have been sensational so far, as the game is still tied at 0-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning. Kavan has allowed two hits with two strikeouts and Canady has allowed one hit with three strikeouts. One run for either team might be enough for a win at this rate. Former Georgia and Oregon softball player Geri Ann Glasco, the son of Texas Tech coach Gerry Glasco, was coached by now-Texas coach Mike White with the Ducks. Geri Ann tragically died in a car accident in 2019, which was set to be her first year on Glasco's staff at Louisiana. Now, her former coach and dad are facing off for a national title. Three-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Patrick Mahomes is giving back to his alma mater, as he sent a gift to Texas Tech softball that included a letterman jacket and Adidas shoes. Mahomes and the Red Raiders are both sponsored by the sports brand. NiJaree Canady hits Katie Stewart with a pitch but forces three outs on balls in play to get out of the second inning. Canady has faced seven hitters through two innings. No issues for Teagan Kavan to start the second inning, as she forces two groundouts and a flyout. Both pitchers for Texas and Texas Tech look good so far. NiJaree Canady gets a groundout and two strikeouts for an easy first inning, as she only needed 12 pitches. Mia Scott fields a groundball and fires home, getting out the lead runner before NiJaree Canady is thrown out by the catcher at first base to complete the 5-2-3 double play. Teagan Kavan then gets an inning-ending groundout, getting out of the early jam. Texas Tech squanders its opportunity. Hailey Toney follows up with another single, putting runners on first and third base with no outs. Texas Tech with an early scoring chance in the top of the first inning. Nice start for Texas Tech, as leadoff Mihyia Davis swings at the first pitch and ropes a single into left field. We're underway from Oklahoma City. As expected, Texas is starting Teagan Kavan and Texas Tech is starting NiJaree Canady in the circle. It's a rematch from their regular season matchup that went nine innings and ended with a 2-1 Texas win. RF Ashton Maloney CF Kayden Henry 3B Mia Scott C Reese Atwood 1B Joley Mitchell LF Katie Stewart SS Leighann Goode DP Victoria Hunter 2B Kaydee Bennett CF Mihyia Davis SS Hailey Toney 1B Lauren Allred P NiJaree Canady 2B Alexa Langeliers RF Alana Johnson LF Demi Elder C Victoria Valdez 3B Bailey Lindemuth Time: 8 p.m. ET 8 p.m. ET Date: Wednesday, June 4 Wednesday, June 4 Location: Devon Park (Oklahoma City) First pitch for Game 1 of the WCWS finals is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET from Devon Park in Oklahoma City. TV channel: ESPN ESPN Streaming: ESPN app | ESPN+ Game 1 of the national championship series between Texas and Texas Tech will air live on ESPN, with streaming options on the ESPN app (with a cable login) and ESPN+, the latter of which serves as the network's streaming service. WCWS schedule Wednesday, June 4: Texas vs. Texas Tech | 8 p.m. | ESPN (ESPN+) Texas vs. Texas Tech | 8 p.m. | ESPN (ESPN+) Thursday, June 5: Texas vs. Texas Tech | 8 p.m. | ESPN (ESPN+) Texas vs. Texas Tech | 8 p.m. | ESPN (ESPN+) Friday, June 6: Texas vs. Texas Tech | 8 p.m. | ESPN (ESPN+) * * If necessary The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports' newsletter.
Boston Globe
33 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
NBA working on plan for US-vs.-world format at All-Star Game next season, AP source says
Silver addressed the idea on March 27 as well at the league's most recent board of governors meeting, when he revealed that the NBA was scrapping the All-Star mini-tournament format that was used this season. At that time, the AP reported that the 2026 game — to be played Feb. 15 in Inglewood, Calif., just past the midpoint of the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics — will be moved from its traditional prime-time Sunday night slot to one that starts on Sunday afternoon. That's happening because the game will be aired on NBC under the terms of the new 11-year media rights deals that kick in next season. NBC is also the Olympic broadcaster in the US. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up So, NBC could show Olympic events in the morning and early afternoon, then the All-Star Game, then have prime-time Olympic programming. Related : Advertisement The move comes on the heels of a popular tournament, the 4 Nations Face-off, that essentially took the place of the NHL All-Star Game this year, as well as strong competition at the Paris Olympics, where the Americans won a fifth consecutive gold medal by rallying past Nikola Jokic and Serbia in the semifinals, then topping host France and Victor Wembanyama in the title game — Advertisement 'What better time to feature some form of USA against the world?' Silver said on FS1. 'I'm not exactly sure what the format will be yet. I obviously paid a lot of attention to what the NHL did, which was a huge success. . . . But also, going back, last summer, our Olympic competition was a huge success.' There is one big challenge regarding any US-vs.-world format. About 70 percent of NBA players are American, while 30 percent are international, so it would in theory be easier for an international player to make the All-Star team — if the rosters are the same size. International players, when asked at this year's All-Star Game if they would want a US-vs.-world matchup, sounded enthusiastic. 'I would love to. My opinion is that it's more purposeful,' Wembanyama said back in February. 'There's more pride in it. More stakes.' Added Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo, who's from Greece: 'I would love that. Oh, I would love that. I think that would be the most interesting and most exciting format. I would love that. For sure, I'd take pride in that. I always compete, but I think that will give me a little bit more extra juice to compete.' The Advertisement The
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The ‘weak link' secret to Thunder's historically elite defense
The post The 'weak link' secret to Thunder's historically elite defense appeared first on ClutchPoints. OKLAHOMA CITY — When Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein inked a three-year, $87 million contract, he knew he had an opportunity to compete for a championship in 2024-25. It factored into his decision-making process as a free agent. Hartenstein knew adding him to a talented Thunder defense, featuring All-Star forward Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, would give Oklahoma City a significant advantage in the Western Conference. Advertisement Add a group of defensive-minded guards, such as veteran Alex Caruso and Lu Dort, and Hartenstein says the unique defense of the Thunder separates them from any other team in the NBA. 'I think our defense is special because we don't have no weak links. Normally, a team can kind of go out and hunt one player. We don't really have that much,' Hartenstein said. 'For me, I can just adjust to whatever the team needs. What makes me different is that I can play different coverages, and I can play different roles throughout the defense. And I think multiple guys on the team can do that. 'Guys like Dub, Caruso, Cason, Lu, Chet, I mean, probably name the whole team, that can go from a certain style of defense to another style of defense. I think that's what makes us special,' Hartenstein concluded. The success has yielded the Thunder's defense to an elite level. Mark Daigneault says Sam Presti relationship influenced Thunder Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault discussed his relationship with Sam Presti, the Thunder GM who constructed a title-contending roster after promoting Daigneault to head coach and eventually signing Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein. Daigneault says his relationship with Presti has always been smooth due to their long-standing history, as Mark was the head coach of Oklahoma City's G League affiliate before becoming an assistant coach. Advertisement 'When I started as the head coach, I already had six years in the organization. So, that's a six-plus-year relationship that we already had,' Daigneault said. 'He knew me very well. I knew him very well. We had seen each other over the course of a long period of time in a lot of different situations. So, there wasn't a relational feeling out process there. It was a continuation of an existing relationship that we already had — which the communication between those two positions is essential — and I think that comfort helped with that.' The history between the two undoubtedly eased the transition for Daigneault. 'A lot of those challenges come from philosophical differences,' Daigneault added. 'And I was like raised here in professional basketball. I didn't work anywhere else in pro basketball prior to coming here.' Now, Daigneault is making the first NBA Finals appearance of his career.
