Sports Illustrated named the five best athletes from every state, and two from the Texas list are proud Texas Tech alums. We curate a list of five more of the best Red Raiders who grew up in the Lone Star State.
LUBBOCK - The United States Men's National Team's electric run through the FIFA World Cup and America's 250th anniversary of independence has patriotism flowing throughout the country.
As a result, Sports Illustrated compiled a list of the five greatest athletes from each state. The rules: each player either lived there primarily as a child, went to high school there, or "showed flashes of the greatness to come" in their respective state.
The Texas group reads as follows: Simone Biles, Patrick Mahomes, Sheryl Swoopes, Shaquille O'Neal and Clayton Kershaw.
Two of those, of course, are proud Texas Tech alums in Mahomes and Swoopes.
The former is a future NFL Hall of Famer with three Super Bowl rings. His signature logo now rests on his alma mater's football jerseys, along with his nameplate emblazoned on Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock and numerous donations benefiting the Red Raiders' new facilities, which are dedicated in his honor.
Mahomes, a native of the Tyler area before tripping to Lubbock for college, has been instrumental in the recent growth of Tech Athletics after he starred in the Scarlet and Black and became a first-round pick of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Swoopes took stardom to an unseen level at Tech as she led the 1993 Lady Raiders to the school's first team national championship. Outside of track and field, it remains Texas Tech's only national title in school history.
The West Texas native - who grew up in Brownfield and briefly attended South Plains College before transferring down the street to Tech - went on to have a Hall of Fame WNBA career that included three MVP awards, six All-Star appearances and three Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Who are other legendary Red Raiders to hail from Texas?
Inspired by SI's list, and excluding the obvious frontrunners named above, we select five more of the best Texas Tech athletes from the Lone Star State.
Michael Crabtree - Football
Before Mahomes was Tech Football's most iconic alum, it was the star wide receiver from Dallas who put together perhaps the greatest freshman receiving season in college football history.
Crabtree was a two-time All-American at Texas Tech and led the nation with 134 receptions, 1,962 yards, and brought in 22 touchdowns. A year later, he etched his name into history with one of his 19 touchdown grabs coming in the final seconds of the Red Raiders' dramatic win over No. 1-ranked Texas.
Zach Thomas - Football
And before that, Thomas turned an All-American career at Texas Tech into a Hall of Fame tenure in the NFL. Many still believe the Pampa, Texas native is still the greatest defensive player in school history.
Thomas was a five-time All-Pro, seven-time Pro Bowler and 2000s All-Decades Team honoree with the Miami Dolphins from 1996-2007. His 1,107 tackles are the seventh-most in NFL history.
Andre Emmett - Basketball
The Dallas native Emmett is Texas Tech men's basketball's all-time leading scorer. His time in Lubbock (2001-2004) included three All-Big 12 Conference selections and a consensus All-America nod in his senior season.
Emmett, a 6-5 guard with supreme aggressiveness, averaged 21.8 and 20.6 points per game over his last two years at Tech, respectively.
Donny Anderson - Football
From 1963-65, Donny Anderson was one of the best running backs in the nation. The Borger, Texas, product finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting after posting 16 touchdowns from scrimmage. The year prior, Anderson led the Southwest Conference in rushing with 966 yards.
The Texas Sports Hall of Famer eventually with the Green Bay Packers after being drafted No. 2 overall in AFL Redshirt Draft. He eventually became the No. 7 pick in the NFL Draft and won two league championships and two Super Bowls.
For the sake of including more than just football, an honorable mention from the gridiron goes to do-everything linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, who is the reigning national defensive player in the year and the newest member of the Dolphins.
Jarrett Culver - Basketball
Culver is a somewhat recent addition to the list as the 2018-19 Big 12 Player of the Year helped Texas Tech reach its first national championship game in program history.
The Lubbock native built on a solid freshman year with a breakout second season, in which he averaged 18.5 points per game and was named an All-American. Culver was the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
An honorable mention for the men's hoops squad goes to Dallas' Tony Battie, who put together a 14-year NBA career after averaging 18.8 points and 11.8 rebounds in his junior season at Texas Tech in 1996-97.
Battie (No. 5) and Culver (No. 6) remain the highest-drafted NBA players from Texas Tech in program history.
West, Texas? Nah ... Best, Texas
