Darrion Williams is back at Texas Tech after one season at NC State, giving Grant McCasland a proven star and major boost for another March Madness run.
Darrion Williams is coming home, and Texas Tech basketball just became a whole lot more dangerous.
The Red Raiders announced Friday that Williams will return to Lubbock for the 2026-27 season after spending one year at NC State, reuniting one of the most accomplished players of the Grant McCasland era with a Texas Tech program that has every reason to think big again.
Williams isn’t some mystery transfer Texas Tech hopes can fit.
He’s already proven he can thrive in McCasland’s system, handle Big 12 competition and deliver when the NCAA Tournament lights get brightest.
During the 2024-25 season, Williams averaged 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists while earning First-Team All-Big 12 honors. Then came March, when he elevated his game even further.
Williams averaged 21.0 points during Texas Tech’s run to the 2025 Elite Eight and poured in 23 points against eventual national champion Florida in the regional final.
That’s the player coming back to Lubbock.
Williams transferred to NC State for the 2025-26 season and remained productive, averaging 14.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists while earning All-ACC Honorable Mention recognition.
Now he’s reversing course. And for Texas Tech, it could be one of the biggest portal wins of the offseason.
Williams has played 133 college games and owns career averages of 12.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.2 steals. He’s also been extremely efficient, shooting 43.8 percent from the field, 38.8 percent from 3-point range and 77.3 percent at the free-throw line.
His first Texas Tech stint showed exactly how versatile he can be.
After transferring from Nevada, Williams averaged 11.4 points and 7.5 rebounds in 2023-24, led the Red Raiders with nine double-doubles and earned Third-Team All-Big 12 and Big 12 All-Newcomer honors. Across his two previous seasons at Tech, he averaged 13.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
McCasland now gets that experience back without having to teach Williams the program from scratch.
He joins a rebuilt Texas Tech roster that also includes transfers Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn from UNLV, Cruz Davis from Hofstra, Damarion Dennis from Wyoming and Jamichael Stillwell from UCF, along with high school signees DaKari Spear and Trey Hall.
There are portal additions, then there are players who can change the ceiling of a season. Williams has already helped Texas Tech reach an Elite Eight, now he’s back to see if the Red Raiders can finish the job.
