Texas Tech packed July with draft wins, recruiting fireworks, Hall of Fame honors and fresh belief that the Red Raiders are ready for a national breakthrough.
Texas Tech athletics didn’t spend July quietly waiting for football season. The Red Raiders turned the middle of summer into a full-scale statement, stacking professional draft picks, recruiting victories, Hall of Fame honors and enough preseason hype to make Lubbock feel like the center of the Big 12.
The biggest message? Texas Tech isn’t thinking small anymore.
Four former Red Raiders were selected in the first round of four different professional drafts - the NFL, NBA, MLB and Athletes Unlimited Softball League.
Texas Tech said it was the only school in the country to accomplish that feat during the 2026 draft cycle.
Baseball added another major moment when Logan Hughes went 17th overall to the Houston Astros.
More Red Raiders followed during the MLB Draft, continuing the program’s growing reputation as a destination for professional talent.
Football, however, remains the main event.
Linebacker Ben Roberts enters the 2026 season as one of the most complete returning defenders in college football.
He earned a 90.5 coverage grade and an 86.4 run-defense grade last season, making him the only returning linebacker with marks above 85 in both categories.
That versatility could be critical as Joey McGuire’s team chases another Big 12 championship and a possible College Football Playoff berth.
Texas Tech is also bullying its conference on the recruiting trail. Defensive lineman Jalen Brewster, a Red Raiders commitment, climbed to No. 1 overall in Rivals’ updated 2027 rankings.
Tech also owns several of the Big 12’s highest-rated pledges, providing further evidence that McGuire’s aggressive roster-building model is working.
McGuire described Texas Tech’s recruiting operation as closer to an NFL personnel department than a traditional college setup.
Position coaches can concentrate on development while the personnel staff handles much of the evaluation and acquisition work.
Basketball supplied its share of fireworks, too.
Former Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith, who led the program from 2013 through 2016, was selected for induction into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
Current star JT Toppin is also expected to play during the 2026-27 season after suffering a torn ACL in February.
Before the injury, Toppin was averaging 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds while producing First-Team All-American numbers.
Throw in a Players Era matchup against Louisville, eight new Texas Tech Athletics Hall of Fame inductees and a Canadian exhibition tour for the Lady Raiders, and July became more than a news cycle.
It became another warning.
Texas Tech is building across the board—and the Red Raiders increasingly look like a program preparing to crash college sports’ biggest stages.
