Texas Tech added three-star guard Amari Barrett, a two-time Oklahoma state champion, who gives Grant McCasland another athletic piece for 2026-27.
Texas Tech basketball just added another intriguing piece to a roster that’s being rebuilt with serious depth.
Head coach Grant McCasland officially signed 6-4 guard Amari Barrett for the 2026-27 season, giving the Red Raiders an athletic freshman with winning pedigree, defensive production and five years of eligibility.
Barrett arrives from Millwood High School in Oklahoma City, where he helped deliver back-to-back Oklahoma Class 3A state championships.
He wasn’t just along for the ride.
As a senior, Barrett averaged 17 points per game while Millwood closed the season with 20 consecutive victories. A year earlier, he produced 16.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, showing the kind of versatility Texas Tech could eventually use on both ends of the floor.
His AAU numbers suggest there’s more to his game than scoring.
Playing for Mokan Elite on the EYBL circuit, Barrett averaged 9.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game. That defensive activity and rebounding from a 6-foot-4 guard should fit nicely into a McCasland program that has made toughness and physicality part of its identity.
Barrett is rated as a three-star prospect and the No. 48 shooting guard in the 2026 class by 247Sports. He had originally committed to Ball State and also held offers from UT Arlington and SIU Edwardsville before Texas Tech entered the picture.
Now he becomes newcomer No. 8 for a Red Raiders team coming off another strong season.
Texas Tech finished 23-11 in 2025-26 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year under McCasland. Through three seasons, he’s 74-31 in Lubbock, and last year’s squad set a program record with four wins over Top 10 opponents.
The Red Raiders also spent the entire season ranked for the first time in school history, climbing as high as No. 10 before finishing No. 21 in the AP poll.
Barrett joins a massive incoming group that also includes transfers Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, Cruz Davis, Damarion Dennis, Jamichael Stillwell and Darrion Williams, plus freshmen DaKari Spear and Trey Hall.
That’s a lot of new faces.
But Barrett brings something Texas Tech should value immediately: length, toughness, defense and a history of winning.
For a program trying to stay nationally relevant, that’s not a bad place to start.
