Tennis

Rankings Climb for Men. The men’s team climbs to #14 in the ITA rankings, while the ladies remain at #17 in the ITA rankings. The men play #75 Clemson on Friday at 2:00 p.m., while the ladies play #30 Fresno State and Abilene Christian on Saturday, matches to start at 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.

Lady Raiders Basketball

Lady Raiders Fall to Baylor. The #4 Baylor Bears easily took down the Lady Raiders, 69-43 in Waco last night (recap). This was actually relatively close, not a total blowout, at least in the first half. JaPreece Dean led Texas Tech with 17 points, while Leashja Grant had 11 points. Kansas is up next on Saturday and Texas Tech needs a win against the Jayhawks as they are the worst team in the Big 12 (I think). LAJ’s Nicholas Talbot recaps the game if you want to check that out.

Baseball

Gutierrez & Raley Named to Perfect Game Preseason All-Big 12. That title says it all as Eric Gutierrez and Cory Raley were named to the Perfect Game Preseason All-Big 12 team. Season is about 20 days away and I’ll be really interested to see how the pitching lines up. That’s my biggest question about this team as I think there’s plenty of offense. Can’t wait to figure out who pitches in the weekend series.

Football

Webb Talks Transfer. Davis Webb announced his transfer to Colorado yesterday and LAJ’s Don Williams talked to Webb, who discussed his decision on Colorado:

“The biggest reason is I feel like Colorado is very close to getting over the hump and getting back to where it needs to be,” Webb said, noting the number of narrow losses the Buffaloes suffered in a 4-9 season last year and their number of returnees.

And if you ever were curious as to how Kliff Kingsbury handles transfers, I thought this was pretty telling:

Webb said the thought of transferring “was in the back of my mind most of the season.” Then Webb said Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury called him into his office the first week of December and told Webb he wanted to see him realize his potential elsewhere.

Webb said Kingsbury commended him for working hard and being a good teammate while not playing much in 2015.

“He told me straight up, ‘I want to see you succeed somewhere else, showcase your ability on the field, have a chance to be a big-time draft pick and play 10 or 12 years in the NFL,’” Webb said. “‘And one day come back and coach with me or against me.’”

That’s pretty solid.

Commits on Whitt. Via RRS’s Mike DuPont and RRS’s Landon Wright, they talked to Clarence Henderson and Ivory Jackson about their recent visit to Texas Tech and they both talked about strength and conditioning coach Rusty Whitt. I’m pulling this bit from Henderson, but you can click on the link to read about Jackson:

“(Strength and conditioning coach Rusty Whitt) seems like he’s pretty intense and that’s really what I’m looking for in a college. I want a strength and conditioning coach that’s going to push us to our limits and I want someone that’s going to push me to my limit and make me the best athlete I can be so that’s just going to make it even better.”

Miscellaneous. DMN’s Mike DuPont has five players that are still deciding between Texas Tech and other teams. Not to spoil the ending here, but I would be surprised if Texas Tech nets any late recruits. Pleasantly surprised, but surprised . . .

Recruiting Updates.

Southmoore, Oklahoma’s Noah Jones.

Great to have Texas Tech. Head Coach @TTUKingsbury come recruit the 9-2 Cats today! pic.twitter.com/8MZ8U3ifrs

— Southmoore Football (@GoSouthmooreFB) January 27, 2016

This is the head coach at Cedar Hill, one of the better programs in the DFW.

2 of my favorites in the house today @CoachDavidGibbs & @TTU_Jones 🔫⤴️ #TTHL #GunsUp

— Joey McGuire 🌵 (@JoeyMcGuireTTU) January 27, 2016

Yassir Durant chooses San Diego State over Texas Tech and Rutgers.

https://twitter.com/YasirDurant_/status/692465407509270528