Texas Tech’s roster has gone from alarmingly bare to suddenly promising, and the turnaround has come with a little help from the courts.
For a stretch this summer, the Red Raiders were looking at a depth chart that bordered on uncomfortable. The roster sat at nine players, freshmen included, with JT Toppin - the team’s top player and a recovering ACL tear - also in the mix. If the season had begun at that point, Grant McCasland would have been working with just eight available players.
That picture has changed fast.
The NCAA is tangled up in a wave of eligibility lawsuits, and Texas Tech has already benefited twice. The first addition was Jamichael Stillwell, a former UCF forward who became part of a Georgia case involving Class of 2022 players. He played his first two seasons at junior colleges, at Miami-Dade in 2022-23 and Butler CC in 2023-24, and a judge granted him and several others a temporary injunction to keep playing.
Because Stillwell had already entered the transfer portal before the window closed, he was free to sign with any school. He officially signed with Texas Tech earlier this week, bringing nearly 12 points and nine rebounds per game with him.
Another player who had prepared for the possibility of an extra season was Darrion Williams, a familiar name in Lubbock. After helping Texas Tech reach the Elite Eight in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Williams transferred to NC State and averaged 14 points per game in what was supposed to be his final season. He was part of a Colorado case that granted relief to all Class of 2022 student-athletes seeking another year through a preliminary injunction.
Williams signed with the Red Raiders on Friday.
None of this is settled for good. The injunctions are temporary, and the cases could still be overturned.
But for the moment, Texas Tech has added two fifth-year players who combined to average more than 26 points per game last season. Both are now on the Red Raiders’ electronic roster.
And the number that really jumps out is still the simplest one: Texas Tech only has 11 players listed right now. That could change in a hurry.
In Other News...
Texas Tech May Have Found A Defensive Tackle Worth Watching Fast
Mateen Ibirogba has taken an unusual path to Lubbock, one that helps explain why Texas Tech coaches are already paying close attention. The Maryland native played both football and lacrosse in high school before beginning his college football career at Georgetown, then moving on to Wake Forest, where he developed into a 300-pound defensive tackle with the kind of size that naturally turns heads in the trenches.
Now at Texas Tech, Ibirogba did not arrive as a developmental project waiting his turn. He was immediately slotted into the starting lineup on the defensive line, and the early buzz around him has centered on the combination of physical tools and visible growth that made him stand out in the first place. For a Red Raiders defense looking for stability up front, he has already become one of the more interesting names to track. [Read more 🡒]
Will Hammonds Progress Suddenly Matters Even More For Texas Tech
Texas Techs first full-pad practice brought the kind of jolt every staff holds its breath over, even in a controlled setting. During the session, offensive tackle Jacob Ponton and defensive tackle Mateen Ibirogba collided and quarterback Will Hammond went to the ground, an unsettling sight for a player still working back from the season-ending knee injury he suffered last October. Joey McGuire has been encouraged by Hammonds recovery, and the same goes for running back Quinten Joyner as the Red Raiders keep moving toward more live football.
The timing makes Hammonds progress matter even more now, because Texas Tech is no longer just monitoring rehab reports - it is lining up for an intrasquad scrimmage and beginning to sort out what the offense can count on. McGuire said both Hammond and Joyner are coming along well, and the next stretch of camp should show how close they are to handling real football demands after months of rehab work. [Read more 🡒]
Will Hammond Suddenly Carries Texas Techs Biggest 2026 Question
Will Hammond has quietly moved onto the national radar as one of those names to file away for 2026, the kind of quarterback who can go from afterthought to talking point in a hurry if the team around him keeps climbing. His profile was enough to land him among the dark horse Heisman candidates in a recent look at the upcoming season, alongside players such as Michigan running back Jordan Marshall, Texas wideout Cam Coleman and SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings.
For Texas Tech, the bigger question is less about the award buzz and more about what Hammond can do with a larger stage if the Red Raiders are good enough to matter. The appeal is obvious: a young quarterback with enough intrigue to show up in a national conversation, and a program that would welcome a breakout at the position. What happens next will depend on how quickly Hammond turns that promise into production once the spotlight gets brighter. [Read more 🡒]