This year’s college season showed us one thing—schools cannot manage without heaps of NIL money. Let’s take a look at North Carolina, who were high off a Sweet 16 trip the previous year. With a low budget for NIL, they ended up being unable to find a quality big man in the transfer portal. That one mistake cost them a shot at a deeper playoff run this year.

However, programs all have a limited amount of money that they can put into the teams. For example, big names like Arkansas and Kentucky are in the upper echelon, being able to put over $10 million dollars for next year’s NIL deals. The teams below them include big names like UConn, Auburn, and defending champions Florida.

But there’s one team that has escaped scrutiny this off-season—Texas Tech. Grant McCasland proved that his concept works this year. Before this Elite Eight run, the Red Raiders head coach had very little to show in terms of postseason success. However, now? Texas Tech is giving his program the big bucks to make sure they can hang a banner up in the bleachers.

On The Field of 68: After Dark, show hosts Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman discussed how people are sleeping on the Texas-based team. “I think Texas Tech should have a very real case to be the pre-season number one team in college basketball.” Dauster said, talking about how good Christian Anderson, and JT Toppin are, the returning core for the Red Raiders.

Anderson was instrumental in Texas Tech’s narrow victory over Arkansas, hitting a couple of crucial shots in the clutch to send John Calipari home. His twenty-two points sealed the deal for his team, and that’s why Dauster believed that he will be a player to watch out for.

This pre-season assessment was a real blow for both Kentucky HC Mark Pope and his Arkansas counterpart John Calipari. Regardless of the season that Texas Tech might have had, both the coaches have heaps of experience over McCasland, but their teams aren’t faring as well in preseason predictions.

Nonetheless, Rob Dauster continued in his assessment of the program. “They found a way to be able to rebuild this roster in the vein of a program that wants a point guard with a five-man who can rim run, and a bunch of playmakers and shooters around those two.” He said, and they don’t lack the means to construct it!

Considering that the Red Raiders are in the top tier of NIL funds for the 2025-26 year, they possess the opportunity to build the team however they want it. So how has their off-season been looking so far? Let’s find out!

Texas Tech puts giants Mark Pope and John Calipari on alert with energetic off-season moves

There is no doubt that the Red Raiders were a fantastic team this year. This was only McCasland’s second year as head coach, and an Elite Eight appearance is nothing to scoff at for sure. Even though Texas Tech didn’t make a Final Four appearance, they certainly put the world on notice that they were here to fight.

Unfortunately, only two people out of Texas Tech’s nine-man rotation are coming back for the next season: Christian Anderson, and JT Toppin. Even Federiko Federiko, the former Pitt center, decided to enter the transfer portal during this off-season. However, things aren’t looking bleak for the Texas-based team.

In this off-season, they’ve added versatility in the form of Washington State transfer LeJuan Watts, and UNC Greensboro transfer Donovan Atwell. Both are combo guards around six-foot-six inches tall, and average close to 13 points. Watts is a more holistically developed player, however he averages some solid rebounding and assist stats as well.

If their off-season keeps on building like this, Texas Tech will truly be formidable opponents in the coming season. According to CBS Sports’ early pre-season rankings, the Red Raiders are ranked as the #5 best team in the nation. There’s no doubt, however, that they can climb even further up!