The Red Raiders finished the 2026 season with a losing record after going one-and-done in the Big 12 tournament.
LUBBOCK, Texas - Despite an underwhelming 2026 season that saw the Texas Tech Red Raiders finish sub-.500, veteran head coach Tim Tadlock will return as the program's head coach in 2027, according to a department spokesperson.
The Red Raiders, who have reached the College World Series four times since 2014 under Tadlock, finished the 2026 season 27-28 overall and 10-20 in Big 12 play with a first-round exit in the conference tournament, losing in run-rule fashion to BYU, 18-8 (7 inn.).
Texas Tech is 47-61 over the last two seasons.
Tadlock is the program's winningest coach with a 500-304 record in 14 seasons in Lubbock. The Red Raiders last made a trip to Omaha in 2019, and last won the Big 12 title in 2014 and 2019.
Just three years ago, Tech went 41-23 and reached the winner's bracket of the NCAA Regional. The Red Raiders won Game 1 over Florida the following series, but dropped the next two by a combined score of 13-1 to be eliminated.
Texas Tech has not made the NCAA tournament since, and two losing seasons raised questions about Tadlock's future. However, those will subside for at least another year.
"I told the guys, we appreciate the way they went about things," Tadlock said after falling in the conference tournament in Surprise, Arizona. "They showed up every day and made the effort to play the game the right way. Results, obviously, weren’t there. We’ve got some things we’ve got to get better at.
"I think there’s a lot of high-character guys, a lot of really good baseball players. We just weren’t good enough to kind of do what we wanted to do."
According to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Tadlock, 57, has five years remaining on his contract. He is due to be paid $1.5 million for this season, and $1.525 million for next season (terms beginning this fall).
The paper outlined that Tadlock's deal includes a "review every two years," with the next coming in September 2027, "to ensure Tadlock’s combined base salary and rights fees for outside athletics-related income remain among the top five of college head baseball coaches’ guaranteed salaries, excluding bonuses and other perks."
Tadlock believes Texas Tech's department-wide increase in scholarships will help. Next season, athletic director Kirby Hocutt has committed to increasing baseball scholarships 34, the maximum number after the recent House v. NCAA settlement.
In total, the athletic department will add about $2.5 million worth of scholarships to non-revenue sports, including baseball.
Tadlock believes that Texas Tech can still compete in baseball amid the numerous financial changes in modern college sports, such as NIL and revenue-sharing.
"It’s harder and harder in college athletics to retain really good players because of what’s going on. I think our resources have gotten better in the last six months. I do.
"But when you don’t win — like we’re not doing right now … It’s a lot easier to retain guys when you go to Omaha. Guys want to stay, right? They get a little taste of it, and they want to stay. They want to teach the next group how to get there. Right now, we haven’t been very good the last couple of years."
