SaRod Baker is one of the Red Raiders' premier 2027 commitments.
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech football will bring back each of its three top ball carriers for the 2026 season, and on Monday the future of the running back room got even brighter.
Four-star running back SaRod Baker announced his commitment to the Red Raiders on social media. The 5-10 195-pounder is a 2027 product of Texas high school powerhouse DeSoto in south Dallas and chose Texas Tech over in-state foes Texas and Texas A&M.
Baker was the Dallas Morning News' All-Area Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 3,096 yards and 45 touchdowns. He guided the Eagles to their third UIL 6A Division II state championship in the last four years and earned Offensive MVP honors in the title game this past season.
This commitment comes after Baker's recruiting exploded following a junior year that saw him climb into the top 10 in Texas high school football history for rushing in a single season.
But that was just the beginning. Baker is coming off arguably the most dominant postseason for a running back in state history after rushing for 1,557 yards and 20 touchdowns across six playoff games. That's an average of nearly 260 yards per game on the ground.
Baker is a consensus top-10 running back in the country in the incoming senior class, which also features numerous other highly-rated commits to Texas Tech.
The class is headlined by elite defensive line recruit Jalen Brewster from Cedar Hill, a five-star mauler who most publications have as the No. 1 player in the state and a top-10 talent nationwide.
Also planning on signing with the Red Raiders is 5-star EDGE Anthony Sweeney, 4-star quarterback Kavian Bryant, 4-star wide receiver Benny Easter Jr., and 4-star D-lineman K'Adrian Redmond (also from DeSoto).
Thirteen of the top 20 recruits in the 2027 class in Texas are committed to colleges, and five of those are headed to Lubbock.
It's no secret that Joey McGuire has connections galore in the high school scene, especially in the DFW hotbed.
But Texas Tech's rise into college football contention over the last two cycles is no joke.
That momentum is carrying over into next offseason's cycle. The Red Raiders currently have the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation, according to On3/Rivals.
Although J'Koby Williams, Cameron Dickey and Quinten Joyner (who missed all of 2025 with an injury) will be manning the backfield this upcoming season, the rushing committee won't skip a beat with a workhorse like SaRod Baker coming in.
