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12th Man Killer In the Lead

Bullish on the Big 12 Coach Coleman Hits by the Bunches

Heart for Softball

Grant McCasland

Proven Winner

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12THMAN KILLER

12THMAN KILLER

BY TERRY GREENBERG

Rodney Blackshear didn’t think he would stay in Texas to play college football – but his mom’s chicken and Spike Dykes lead him to Lubbock.

The late Tech football coach made a recruiting visit to Blackshear’s Houston home.

“One of the biggest reasons I went to Tech was my mom fell in love with him – he was so down to earth,” said Blackshear.

“The first thing he told my mom is, ‘my wife Sharon has me on a diet so I can’t eat too much food. But you can just set a plate in front of me and I’m going to make sure we have a good conversation.’ As he was talking, he not only ate all of his food, he asked my mom if she was going to finish her food. She said no. So he ate that too,” said Blackshear.

By the time Dykes walked out the door, his folksy style had won over the family.

“Other coaches were more business-like,” Blackshear said.

He became a Red Raider.

Another selling point – he wanted to play for Robert Ford, one of Dykes’ assistant coaches. Dykes had been Ford’s high school coach. Ford later won Super Bowl rings as tight end coach for the Dallas Cowboys.

Blackshear’s Red Raider career landed him in the Texas Tech Athletics Hall of Fame after

setting a record that cannot be broken and he’ll forever be remembered as the “12th Man Killer.”

After Tech, he played seven seasons in the Arena Football League followed by 13 years of coaching football. Now he’s “having the time of my life” teaching physical education at Lake Highlands Elementary School in Dallas.

Hall of Fame Career

Blackshear played for Dykes from 1987-91. His favorite game was the last – in his hometown – when the Red Raiders beat Houston 52-46.

He caught five passes for 251 yards and two touchdowns – setting a Southwest Conference record for receiving yards in a single game.

A few years later, the Southwest Conference ended, immortalizing the record. (The all-time Tech record is now 261 yards by Antoine Wesley in 2018 – ironically against Houston.)

It was even more special to Blackshear because his family was there. It was the first time his dad saw him play college football in person. His longest catch that day was a 95-yard touchdown pass. Robert Hall hit Blackshear around midfield and he raced the final 50 yards.

It remains the longest reception in Tech history. Blackshear was in Lubbock years later to see Jakeem Grant almost break his record. Blackshear was sitting with former teammate Tyrone “Pappa Smurf” Thurman when Grant

caught a pass from Patrick Mahomes.

“Because I have the record, I’m always conscious of where they are on the field,” said Blackshear when the Red Raiders start drives a few yards from their end zone. “I just assume it’s going to happen, even though it hasn’t yet.”

Mahomes connected with Grant when Tech had the ball inside its 5-yard line.

“He was zigzagging down the field. I looked at Tyrone and said, ‘he managed to break my damn record,’” said Blackshear. But Grant was forced out of bounds short of the end zone –and short of breaking Blackshear’s mark.

The 12th Man Killer

The Red Raiders were playing Texas A&M in College Station in 1990 when Blackshear was about to go on the field to return a kickoff.

Dykes gave him a direct order.

“’Blackshear, I don’t care where they kick it, your --- better get the ball’ and I said, ‘OK coach,’” Blackshear said.

Blackshear and Scottie Allen were deep to receive the kickoff. Blackshear apologized to Allen in advance if he ended up catching a ball kicked toward Allen, who told him not to worry about it. Blackshear was on the right side, the Aggies kicked to the other side. Blackshear came over to Allen’s side, caught the ball and took off.

Ben Kirkpatrick threw a block around the 30yard line and Blackshear ran down the sideline.

“As I’m going down our sideline, Leric Eaton and Brian Dubiski are in front of me looking for someone to block. Leric was playing on a bum ankle, so I blew by him,” Blackshear said.

Dubiski was between Blackshear and Aggie Derrick Frazier.

“I used Brian as a body shield and pushed him into Frazier, they both went to the ground, I jumped over them and then jogged the final ten yards into the end zone untouched,” he said.

The 19th-ranked Aggies won the game, 28-24, but it was the end of A&M’s famous 12th Man squad.

In the 1980s, former Aggie coach Jackie Sherrill started the 12th Man Kick-Off Team composed of regular students through open tryouts and they performed well.

The idea was abandoned after Blackshear’s return.

Now the 12th Man means the students supporting the Aggies at games at Kyle Field.

Back in Lubbock, Dykes told Blackshear he had some mail from College Station – death threats.

“One said he was a state trooper,” said Blackshear, who added the man had details about where Blackshear and his other family members could be found.

“He wrote ‘don’t you ever get caught coming through College Station. If you do, your mommy will never see you again.’ Another one said I don’t know anything about tradition and ‘if we catch your --- in Central Texas.’ I got three or four of those,” Blackshear said.

A dozen years later, Blackshear was in College Station as a member of Mike Leach’s Tech staff for a then-Big 12 game against the Aggies. Leach asked Blackshear to go for a walk.

“We’re walking around the outside of the stadium,” said Blackshear, who had those threatening letters on his mind. Outside the stadium is a statue of Reveille, A&M’s Collie mascot. Leach looked at Blackshear and said:

“You know what we should do? We should get a statue of you with the dog Reveille on his back in a submissive position and you with your Guns Up shooting at the dog,” Blackshear recalled, laughing.

“If you get that going, I would pose for any picture you want me to take,” Blackshear said he told Leach.

Arena Football Career

His favorite arena game was the 4th of July in 1996 when he caught seven passes for 168 yards and five touchdowns for the Texas Terror, which became the Houston ThunderBears.

“It was the most touchdowns in one game I ever had in my career,” he said. The game was also memorable for Blackshear because his brother was battling a fatal disease and watched him in person that day.

“My brother was so excited to be able to get out of the house and see me play. For me, it’s all about family,” Blackshear said, who grew up with seven brothers and two sisters.

Blackshear spent most of his AFL career with the Houston team, catching 204 passes for 2,482 yards and 45 receiving touchdowns. He was also the team career leader in tackles with 129 because they played both offense and defense.

He finished his arena football career with one season in 2001, playing for the Grand Rapids Rampage in Michigan – the year the team won the league title. Around the time he entered the Tech Hall of Fame he was also inducted into the Grand Rapids Sports Hall of Fame for his year with the champion Rampage.

Next Up, Coaching

Blackshear came back to Tech to finish his telecommunications degree when he spent the 2002 season on Leach’s staff, which helped him transition to coaching.

Blackshear always knew he’d be a coach. His mom saw it when he got his first playbook in middle school, where he was going to play quarterback.

“When I got home, I grabbed cousins and neighborhood kids and made them run routes to learn the reads,” he said.

When he played arena football, coaches leaned on Blackshear to explain to new players what they needed to know.

He talked former teammate Lemuel Stinson into returning to school to get their degrees.

“We both moved back in the summer of 2002,” he said, getting his degree a year and a half later.

It was also a chance to reconnect with Bill Dean – who he first met during his recruiting visit after Dykes ate his mom’s chicken.

“He’s the face of Tech. We used to call him Tom Landry (legendary Dallas Cowboys coach), because he looked like him,” said Blackshear of the popular professor and former leader of the Texas Tech Alumni Association.

His favorite Tech game since playing was when he was on the sidelines for the 42-38 win over Texas in Lubbock in 2002.

The Red Raiders were trying to run out the clock when quarterback Kliff Kingsbury tossed a lateral to Mickey Peters, who hit Wes

Welker for a 35-yard play putting the game away and ruining the third-ranked Longhorns chances for a Big 12 and national titles.

“There was a photo in Sports Illustrated of Wes running down the sidelines and you can see me in my white sleeves and red shirt in the background,” said Blackshear.

Along his coaching journey, he led the Arena Football 2 League’s Lubbock Renegades for two years and Lubbock’s Trinity Christian High School for one year in 2015.

Loves Lubbock, Loves Tech

“I became a man there,” said Blackshear of arriving in Lubbock a few weeks from his 18th birthday.

He loves getting his teammates together for a game at Jones AT&T Stadium.

“It’s like we never left campus when a bunch of the guys get together. It’s like we’re all 19-year-old kids again,” Blackshear said, mentioning James Gray, Shawn Jackson, Lloyd Hill, Thurman and Hall, the quarterback who connected with him on the record-setting play.

“I’m the one who pushes everybody to come back and visit,” said Blackshear. He also likes to play in the Double T Varsity golf tournament.

Teaching Kids

Blackshear got his teaching certification as a backup plan and ended up sticking with it. He enjoys teaching kids how sports can help them in life.

He’s also started a non-profit, Education Through Sports, which educates students and their parents about scholarship money available for students with good grades. Kids can still go to college and play sports even if they don’t get an athletic scholarship.

“A lot of parents in this city don’t know all the options out there,” he said

Blackshear tries to be realistic with parents, stressing getting a college degree is vital because not every student athlete is going to sign a multi-million-dollar contract to play pro sports.

The Right Way

Blackshear is impressed with Joey McGuire’s leadership of the Tech football program after an 8-5 record his first season.

“He’s recruiting the way I always felt we should recruit,” said Blackshear. “We didn’t always go for the top recruits – the assumption was we couldn’t get those kids to come to Lubbock. Robert Hall and I have had the conversation that Lubbock is a great place to play football and get an education.”

McGuire will go after any player, Blackshear said.

“He’s not afraid to go into any home and talk to those kids about being a Red Raider. That’s what’s going to put us over the top. He’s building the program the right way,” he said.

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BY TERRY GREENBERG

IN THE LEAD

Caylene Caddell played Lady Raider basketball from 1970-73 – prehistoric times for women’s college athletics.

Prehistoric?

The Lady Raider media guide lists season results starting in the 1975-76 season. So, in that sense, kind of prehistoric.

Her parents would drive 200 miles to watch her play at Tech.

“Sometimes, they were the only ones to watch,” Caddell told an audience celebrating National Girls & Women in Sports Day.

“Women’s athletics didn’t exist at that point. Everything we had we had to fight for, scratching and clawing. We had to buy our own uniforms my freshman year for basketball. The coach went to a Ford dealership here in Lubbock and begged for a van for us to travel in. We drove everywhere. We went to Houston one weekend, played four games and drove back to Lubbock,” she said.

It was almost a decade after Caddell’s final season that women’s sports came under the NCAA.

It’s important for Caddell to support Texas Tech women’s sports.

“I had some of the best years of my life at this school – running track and playing basketball. So I’m trying to do whatever I can do to help Texas Tech be its very best. For me to be able

to donate money or time or whatever to show support for these women who are playing now is very important,” she said.

Caddell was on one of two panel discussions held in Lubbock’s Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts on January 27. Later that night, a dinner celebrated the 30th anniversary of the 1993 Lady Raiders winning the national title.

More events were held the next morning before the Lady Raider-Baylor basketball game, where all Lady Raider alumni came onto court at halftime to huge applause. One of those was Sheryl Swoopes, who scored 47 points in the ’93 title game in Atlanta to defeat Ohio State. Swoopes went on to win multiple Olympic gold medals and WNBA titles.

We Need Strong Leaders

Kirby Hocutt, Texas Tech’s Director of Athletics, spoke before the panel discussions.

“I’m fortunate because I get to represent 168 female student athletes,” he said.

Hocutt wants those student athletes to have a world-class experience at Tech that takes what they do in competition and in the classroom to prepare them to be future leaders.

“We need strong female leaders today more than ever,” he said.

“They also accept the responsibility serving as role models for girls in our community, to

show girls in Lubbock and the surrounding areas and those daughters of the Red Raider Nation that they can play sports. They can attend and graduate from Texas Tech University,” Hocutt added.

And after graduation?

Brandi Stuart, Tech’s Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator, implored the women in attendance to give back once they’ve moved on.

“Never lose that connection you have with Texas Tech, the time you spent here and the people who poured into you while you were here,” said Stuart.

There are many ways to give back, said Andrea Tirey, Senior Associate Athletics Director/Development – to support Tech’s 168 female student athletes with scholarships, nutrition, academic support, training, mental health and more.

“You can be a donor, buy tickets to women’s sports events and be a Red Raider Club member,” she said.

Stuart came up with the idea for the celebration and hosted one panel. Former Lady Raider Zuri Sanders, now part of Krista Gerlich’s Lady Raider staff, hosted the other.

Their guests talked about who supported them as they developed as athletes, how they impact the future and some stories from Gerlich and one of her teammates of that magical Lady Raider season 30 years ago.

Because of Athletics

Caddell told a story about how sports turned one young girl’s life around.

Caddell taught and coached for 34 years at Lubbock’s Estacado High School. She would contact coaches at Estacado’s feeder schools, asking if they had any athletes who could compete at the varsity level as ninth graders.

One coach mentioned a girl.

Caddell – who kept tabs on athletes at feeder schools – had never seen her compete and asked why. She was told the girl couldn’t compete because she was being disciplined.

The girl had a hard life, raising her 12-year-old sister and dealing with being abandoned by their grandmother at one point, Caddell said.

The girl came to Estacado:

• State champion in the long jump her junior year.

• Scholarship to compete for Kansas, where she got her degree.

• She now teaches in the Metroplex.

“It was all because of athletics,” Caddell said.

Stuart asked Caddell if she passed on life lessons to this athlete during their time at Estacado.

“Absolutely. We still talk occasionally. She has two young daughters who are fantastic. They think I’m their grandmother,” said Caddell, getting a warm laugh from the audience.

Natasha Watley, winner of gold and silver Olympic medals for the U.S. softball team, played softball with Stuart growing up in Southern California. (Stuart went on to play softball at Florida State and is in that school’s Hall of Fame.)

Watley shared a story about speaking in South Los Angeles, showing off her medals and telling young girls how sports can open opportunities. One girl then asked what softball was.

“This was 45 minutes away from where I grew up and she had no idea what softball was,” said Watley, who started a nonprofit to make softball more accessible.

Taylor Limbaugh, a Tech track runner, talked about how she can be an example.

“The biggest thing as a student athlete is our platform and being able to set a good example for little girls all over the state, country and world to show they can achieve their goals whether that’s in or outside of sports,” said the sophomore.

She enjoys volunteering with kids in elementary schools.

“I show them they can do what they want to do even with people going against them, telling them they can’t do that because they aren’t worthy,” said Limbaugh.

Empowering women is one of Gerlich’s primary goals, especially when they deal with social media attacks.

“It’s so difficult for young girls and young women to be confident in what they do because the moment they make a mistake it gets blasted on social media and that never goes away. I’m thankful we didn’t have that when I played,” she told the crowd.

“We tell our kids from day one how much we believe in them and – this is one of my favorite things I say to them and I’m sure they’re like, ‘whatever coach’ – I wish they could see them-

selves through my eyes. Because I brought them here for a reason. I see greatness in them, the potential they have and the sky’s the limit,” Gerlich said.

Tech softball player Abbie Orrick echoed Gerlich’s comments, saying even on a bad day she reminds herself she’s good enough to play Division I sports at a school in a major conference.

“My coach always believes in me. I’m here for a reason,” she said.

Limbaugh says support from her coaching staff helps keep her grounded.

“Everyone has an opinion on what you should do, how you should perform, what you should look like, how you should act, especially in sports. So knowing there are a lot of people who truly support us, want us to be here and know we can succeed is really reassuring and empowering,” she said.

Having confidence and trust in yourself is what golf’s about, said JoJo Robertson, who’s led the women’s program at Tech since 2010.

“You learn through preparation. We try to have our team the most prepared we can be. Then, as a coach, when we get to a tournament, we basically turn them loose. You have to trust your own decisions. In golf, you’re the only person out there and the only one responsible for your score. It’s all about preparation and believing in yourself,” Robertson said.

You also learn through failure, said Orrick.

“Softball is a game of failure,” she said. The top players hit safely four or five times out of every ten trips to the plate, which means they fail half or more of the time.

Gerlich agreed.

“It’s so true in any sport. You’re gonna fail more than you succeed. You learn so much more from a failure than you do from a win. It’s about that journey of going through that,” she said.

Panelists told the crowd – many of them Tech female student athletes – to enjoy what they’re doing now, understand failure is part of growth and not to give up.

“Be where your feet are planted, be patient, give yourself some grace,” said Stuart.

Family Impact

Women on both panels talked about support they had growing up from family and beyond.

Limbaugh told the story of her mom running the Chicago Marathon with a stress fracture in her foot and qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

“Stories like that just set the bar for – wow – I can do hard things and my mom is so cool,” she said.

Gerlich said her parents modeled two kinds of love and support.

“My dad was my coach in high school. He taught me how to be tough because he was tough on me,” said Gerlich of her time at Sudan High, where they won a state title.

“My dad taught me what tough love was all about and how I could do hard things and that I didn’t have time to feel sorry for myself. My mom was always the unconditional supporter who had my back and took me shopping every time I had a bad game,” she said.

Ashleigh Williams, member of Tech’s soccer squad, said her mother has inspired her, instilling in her daughter the belief she can be successful. She played sports with her “guy friends” growing up and learned if you prove yourself, you gain respect and confidence.

National Champions

Marsha Sharp, who led the Lady Raiders to that ’93 title, also had a huge impact on Gerlich, empowering her to be accountable.

Gerlich was going through a shooting slump early in her Tech career.

“Coach Sharp pulled me aside after practice and asked me, ‘what got you to be a Division I basketball player?’” said Gerlich.

Gerlich told Sharp she was in the gym all the time. She grew up in the gym.

“So why aren’t you in the gym all the time now?” Gerlich said Sharp asked her.

Gerlich answered they’d already been in the gym for three hours. Sharp suggested she do four hours instead of three.

“It hit me like a ton of bricks. When you get to college, your mom and dad aren’t there to say ‘hey, why aren’t you training? Why aren’t you putting in the extra effort?’” she said.

Gerlich had no plans to coach, but Sharp’s leadership changed that.

“I want to impact people. I want to empower young women. I want to teach them to be confident in their field, their craft and learn how to win,” she said.

Janice Farris Legan was asked how it all came together the year the Lady Raiders won the title, with Sharp sitting in the front row.

“I’d say this even if Coach Sharp wasn’t sitting right here, but coach was the mastermind. She was great at communication,” said Legan.

Sharp told players what their role was.

“As long as we embraced that role, then things started clicking. Buy-in is huge,” she said.

When the Lady Raiders returned to Lubbock with the national championship – they were surprised by a packed Jones Stadium welcoming them home.

That West Texas support for women’s sports runs from generation to generation, Gerlich said.

“It’s empowering. It’s important. It teaches so many life lessons. I think that’s why there are so many strong women in West Texas to this day,” she said.

West Texas has been for girls and womens’ hoops, Gerlich said.

“You can see that by going to girls’ games today. It’s crazy how many people are in those gyms watching girls’ basketball,” she said, adding how when a small-town team made it to the state finals, the whole town went with them.

Legan also told some funny stories about refereeing, which she started after she stopped coaching. There was a critical need for referees and it kept her close to basketball.

“Some girls are just learning. In one game a girl looked at me and she was so tired. There’s 40 seconds left in the game and she asked me, ‘which basket is ours?’” Legan told the audience.

Legan’s generally impressed at the quality of young coaches and how they work with young athletes.

“They’re positive and pouring into these kids,” she said.

Refereeing has made her more sensitive to those in striped shirts.

“You don’t realize how much you think you know in the stands until you step on the court and make those calls,” she said.

She felt differently 30 years ago, describing how Sharp battled with officials. “She’d battle for us and stand up for us like coaches do,” she said.

The Lady Raiders created a t-shirt with a list of “Coach Sharp’s Top Ten Ref Slams.”

“She had some great ones and whatever she said, they deserved it,” said Legan.

BY TERRY GREENBERG

After Dusty Womble (pictured, left) attended the first meeting of the Big 12 Conference Business Advisory Board, he said, “I’m sure nobody went home after that meeting and told their buddies, ‘Hey, Dusty Womble was at this meeting.’”

Among the roughly three-dozen members of the board are:

• Country superstar Garth Brooks.

• Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd.

• High-ranking executives in business, entertainment and sports from companies like Allstate, Nike, the NBA, Molson Coors Beverage, Albertsons, Lowes and Hard Rock International.

“When you read their bios, you really appreciate how significant it is for them to be on that committee and to be on the committee with them,” said Womble, a major donor to his alma mater of Texas Tech – leading the way on the Dustin R. Womble Basketball Center and the soon-to-be-built Womble Football Center.

Kirby Hocutt, Texas Tech’s Director of Athletics, also attended that first meeting held during the Big 12 Football Championship game. After new Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark talked about the purpose and concept of the advisory board, he got into agen-

da items. Most of the members were there in person with others on Zoom.

Hocutt countered Womble’s self-deprecating humor.

“The first person he asked for his thought on a particular topic was Dusty Womble and Dusty provided such great insight. Dusty is a leader, a brilliant mind and he’s going to be a great resource for Commissioner Yormark to have on that advisory board,” Hocutt said.

Bullish on the Big 12

In the middle of 2021, Big 12 Conference members and fans were rocked by news that Texas and Oklahoma were leaving for the Southeastern Conference. Media reports had the Big 12 on life support, with then-Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby saying the value of the conference’s TV rights could be cut in half.

Fast forward to now.

Yormark negotiated a better TV deal than what was expected back in 2021, the conference is getting ready to welcome four new members and the future looks - “I’m very bullish on the outlook for the Big 12. I couldn’t be more optimistic about our future,” Hocutt said.

“From top to bottom it’s one of the most competitive conferences in the country. It is by far the most competitive men’s basketball conference in the country and all our other sports are just as strong,” Hocutt said.

He praised Yormark’s “fresh vision.”

Tech President Lawrence Schovanec is also impressed with Yormark, who he communicates with constantly as chair of the Big 12 Board of Directors, made up of the conference university presidents.

“The commissioner has been wonderful. He’s brought great amount of energy, launched a lot of initiatives and there’s so much more to be done. Most significantly he helped secure a new TV contract. Contrary to the prevailing thought we would take a big financial hit, we did not in the new contract. I have a positive outlook for the league,” said Tech’s president.

More than a week after Schovanec and Hocutt were interviewed for this story, it was announced Texas and Oklahoma will leave a year early, after the 2023-24 school year. The schools will pay the Big 12 $100 million to leave early.

“Finding a satisfactory resolution to this matter that is fair to all parties and best positions the Big 12 moving forward has been a top priority,” said Schovanec in a Big 12 press release.

“This agreement would not have occurred without the collaboration of the presidents and chancellors of all 10 Big 12 universities, and our tremendous partners at ESPN and FOX. I am very grateful for everyone’s efforts to make today’s announcement possible,” Schovanec said.

The League Will Be Fine Womble met Yormark (pictured, left) when he first visited Lubbock.

“I was supposed to spend 30 minutes with him and we ended up spending close to an hour together,” said the Lubbock businessman. “We talked about a little bit of everything. He’s had a very interesting career and is a high energy, charismatic guy. He’s from sports, but not necessarily college athletics. So his perspective of some things in college were a little different. But I love the guy. He’s great,” Womble said.

He's also impressed by the impression Yormark makes on people he knows who’ve spent time with the new commissioner.

Womble was also excited with that first meeting in the Metroplex.

“There was presentation from his staff – very choreographed, very rehearsed, very professionally done. Then we had probably 45 minutes or so of dialogue about specific topics,” Womble said.

Rebranding was discussed.

“Do we refresh and change our logo? And if so what would that do? That was probably one of the more interesting discussions,” he said. Womble will serve on the board’s rebranding/ redesign committee.

In addition, Womble said he’s shared with Yormark an idea about the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament he hopes will eventually be adopted but added it was too early to say anything more at this time.

Womble agrees with Schovanec and Hocutt about the conference’s future.

“I do think we were really concerned with the departure of Texas and Oklahoma, but we’ve caught our breath and realize how valuable the league is,” he said.

Womble also pointed out Texas and Oklahoma have not been the Big 12’s dominant programs since they announced plans to go to the SEC, with neither school playing in the last two Big 12 Conference Championship Football games.

“Do they have a rich tradition? Yes. But if you look at today’s snapshot, this league is going to be just fine,” Womble said, adding the Big 12 will not go backwards when adding Houston, BYU, Cincinnati and UCF – especially in men’s hoops.

“I think the coaches will tell you the league will be tougher, more competitive and highly regarded,” Womble added.

Womble pointed out the way the Big 12 Football Championship game was run as an example of Yormark’s influence with Ashanti singing the national anthem.

“Brett embraces marketing. He understands our image and how we are viewed in the younger demographics, which translates to viewership, which translates to dollars which translates to fan attendance,” Womble said.

People in Womble’s generation may question some things the Big 12 does, but that’s not the target audience.

“Brett’s not trying to embrace 63-year-old Dusty Womble. He’s trying to embrace the prospective college student, the recent college graduate, the young 30s crowd,” Womble said.

Womble also has concerns about the impact of Name, Image and Likeness and the transfer portal, but believes Yormark and other conference commissioners can find solutions.

Womble has no problem with student athletes earning money but is concerned how some schools can have an unfair advantage.

“The transfer portal is being used for leverage by athletes. It’s not only free agency every year but almost every week and it’s creating chaos. It makes it difficult for our coaching staffs to prepare these young men and women for life because once they get out of school that’s not the way real life is,” Womble said.

He used the example of someone getting a job at a major accounting firm, not liking an assignment and telling their boss they’re going to call a different firm.

“They’re going to find out real fast that’s not

the way the real world works,” he said.

“We’ve got some monumental issues we’ve got to address and leaders like Brett will help us do that,” Womble said.

Build & Expand the Brand

Schovanec is impressed with Yormark’s business advisory group as an example of his strengths.

“Brett is very astute in marketing and collaboration and this is just one example of what he’s so effectively brought to the conference. His range of contacts is amazing and he has deep relationships with these people he can call on,” said Schovanec.

Tech’s president also praised Yormark’s ability to build bridges and communicate.

“He’s always bringing new ideas and possibilities to the board and this is healthy for us. University administrators tend to proceed cautiously and Brett pushes the boundaries in ways that are healthy for the conference,” Schovanec said.

Yormark has also built strong relationships with the conference’s athletic directors, some – Schovanec said – who were initially cautious because Yormark didn’t come from a college athletics background.

Hocutt is excited about how Yormark’s ideas and network can expand the Big 12’s footprint.

“How can we build and expand our brand and create new revenue streams? He’s not thinking only across the country, he’s thinking across the world. How can we gain and have different opportunities. He’s challenging our athletic directors to think differently than we’ve ever thought,” Hocutt said.

Speaking of expanding, Hocutt said growing the Big 12 is always an agenda item.

Womble says things have been discussed about expansion.

“But I don’t think people at my level won’t know about it until we read about it in a press release or get a call from Brett,” he said.

Ty Coleman’s teammates at Texas Tech like to call him “Coach Coleman.”

After having shoulder surgery, Coleman was forced to be a designated hitter only last season.

“It almost like being a bench coach,” Coleman admitted. “Players would come to me during the game and ask my opinion. I would try to help them out.”

Wearing the title “Coach Coleman” is a family tradition.

COACH

COLEMAN COACH

BY AL PICKETT

His father David is the former head baseball coach at Midland College. His uncle Steve is the head baseball coach at Hardin-Simmons University. His cousins Chad and Brad are assistant baseball coaches at Abilene Cooper High School and McMurry University, respectively.

A four-year letterman and an all-state shortstop in high school at Midland Lee, where he was the District 2-6A MVP, hitting .440 with four home runs, 14 doubles and five triples as a senior in 2018, Coleman followed his older brother Hunter to Texas A&M. He played three seasons with the Aggies, although the 2020 season, of course, was limited to just 10 games before the season was halted because of the COVID pandemic.

He played well, making 31 starts in his second sophomore season, batting .246 with 25 runs, two doubles, four home runs, nine walks and 20 run batted-in. He hit .250 in the abbreviated 2020 campaign after appearing in 56 games as a freshman at Texas A&M in 2019, batting .241 with 28 runs, four doubles, five home runs, 14 walks and 33 RBI.

With two years of eligibility remaining, Coleman decided to transfer from Texas A&M to Texas Tech for what he only describes as “mostly personal reasons.”

Coleman played in 55 of the Red Raiders’ 61 games last season, making 53 starts at designated hitter and one start at first base. He responded with his best season as a collegian, batting .318 for the year with 14 doubles, eight home runs and 59 RBIs.

So why was there such a dramatic improvement in his batting average? He credits being a designated hitter only following his shoulder surgery.

“Not playing in the field, I was focused on just one thing,” Coleman claimed. “My mindset was hitting first.”

The numbers point out just how impressive Coleman was at the plate last season.

He ranked second in the Big 12 in RBI per game (1.07). He was third in the conference as the toughest to strike out, averaging only one strikeout per 8.6 plate appearances. His 59 RBI ranked seventh in the Big 12.

Coleman was third on the team with 20 multiple-hit games. He owned the longest hitting streak by a Red Raider in 2022, a 13-game streak from Feb. 22 - March 22. He also owned the team’s second-longest on-base streak a year ago, reaching safely in 20 consecutive games from April 10 - May 25. He posted career highs with four hits and five RBIs in a game March 29 against Stephen F. Austin when he went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and three runs scored.

In addition to his four-hit performance against SFA, he also had five three-hit games last season.

His remarkable season didn’t go unnoticed, either, as Coleman comes back for his fifth season of college baseball, taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted to all NCAA athletes because of COVID.

Coleman joined sophomore catcher Hudson White and sophomore pitcher Mason Molina on the All-Big 12 preseason team. He was also named a preseason All-American last month.

“That is pretty cool,” Coleman said. “It came as a surprise. It is a very humbling experience getting that honor. But it really doesn’t mean anything. I would rather have postseason honors than preseason honors.”

Although Coleman found success as a designated hitter last season, he hopes to be able get back on the field this spring now that his shoulder has healed.

“I hope I can play some second base or third base,” he noted.

Coleman, happy to join what he describes as Texas Tech’s “rich tradition of winning” last season, is looking forward to the upcoming season.

“We finished up short last year,” he said. “We want to get back (to Omaha) this year.”

And what about his future after this season? Coleman said he hopes to go into sales or possibly coaching. If it is baseball coaching that he chooses, he already has the title of “Coach Coleman.”

HITS BY THE

BUNCHES

Even Hudson White admitted there is an adjustment from high school baseball to playing college baseball.

“Time is the biggest thing,” said the Texas Tech’s sophomore catcher from Bryon Nelson High School in suburban Fort Worth. “It is a lot more time consuming. You go from playing two games a week to sometimes five games in a week. And, of course, there is a lot more travel, so you miss a lot more school. Once last year we were gone 10 straight days.”

An all-state selection in high school, White batted .469 as a senior with three home runs and 20 RBI. White then made the transition from high school to college look easy as a freshman last season. He was named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year, becoming the sixth Texas Tech freshman to earn Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors, and the third since 2017, joining Josh Jung (2017) and Gabe Holt (2018). White batted .260 with 11 doubles, six home runs and 40 runs batted-in last season.

White, who started the season opener behind the plate as a true freshman, was an iron man for the Red Raiders, starting 58 games and playing in 59 of the team’s 61 games, 39 at catcher and 19 at first base. But success didn’t come immediately for White.

“I started slow,” he said. “The big thing was just settling in, playing my first college game and trusting I was good enough.”

Despite his slow start, Texas Tech coach Tim Tadlock stuck with White.

“That was very encouraging,” White recalled. “I remember early in the season looking at the lineup card and wondering if I would be in there. But Coach Tadlock said he trusted me and knew I was a good hitter.”

White’s first collegiate hit didn’t come until the ninth game of the season with a single against Kent State on Feb. 29. But Tadlock’s faith in White’s ability soon paid off.

“After I got my first hit, they started to come in bunches,” he said.

White was exceptional in Big 12 play, posting a .337 batting average with a .435 on-base percentage. He finished the season with a .299 batting average over the final 45 games after the slow start to his freshman campaign.

There were plenty of highlights last season for White, including a game-tying home run against Dallas Baptist on March 1 and a fivehit, five-runs-scored performance against Kansas on April 2. But those are not what he remembers most.

“The highlights for me were the Friday and Saturday when we had two walk-offs (wins) versus Texas and the series against No. 2 ranked Oklahoma State when we swept them,” he stated. “I can get five hits and we lose. I would rather go 1 for 4 if we win the game.”

Although the Red Raiders made their sixth

consecutive regional appearance last year, the season ended in disappointment when Tech lost 2-1 to Notre Dame in the Statesboro (Ga.) regional final.

"We had had the talent to go to Omaha, but we got cold at the wrong time,” he said.

White is optimistic about the upcoming season, although he acknowledged the Red Raiders, who have been tabbed to finish third in the Big 12 Conference preseason poll, will be a much different team this spring

“We had a lot of older guys last year,” he said. “We really have only three running starters, so it will be a whole new lineup this season. We will be a lot younger.”

The accolades have been coming in for White after his stellar freshman season. He was named to both the Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game freshman All-American teams. He also received an invitation to participated in the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team training campa last summer, becoming the 11th Red Raider in program history to earn an invitation from USA Baseball.

He was one of the three Texas Tech players named to the All-Big 12 preseason team this season, joining senior designated hitter Ty Coleman and sophomore pitcher Mason Molina.

White said he doesn’t set any individual goals for the upcoming season.

“That will take care of itself,” he responded. “Our top goal is to get to Omaha.”

When a player enters the transfer portal, there are often a variety of reasons why he or she wants to transfer. For one of Texas Tech’s newest softball pitchers, it was the opportunity for new challenge.

“I really enjoyed my previous school (Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La.), but I was ready to take it to the next level,” said Sage Hoover. “I was ready for the challenge with a good team behind me.”

Hoover has hit the ground running with her new team. She was the Red Raiders’ winning pitcher in the season opener against Tulsa and has continued to impress in each of her subsequent outings.

Hoover has three years of eligibility remaining. She posted impressive numbers last season as a freshman at Northwestern State, but decided to enter the transfer portal in the summer and shortly later became one of new Texas Tech coach Craig Snider’s first commitments.

“A lot of schools contacted me, but I knew Tech was where I wanted to be,” she said. “I knew what Coach Snider had done (as an assistant coach at Florida State and Texas A&M), and I wanted to play for him.”

Texas Tech, Tulsa and Wichita State were at the top of Hoover’s list of schools that she was interested in.

“But when I came here to Lubbock for my visit, it felt right,” she claimed. “I committed on the spot. I met our pitching coach (Paige Cassady) over the phone. She told me what she liked about me and what she expected.”

Hoover had incredible credentials in high school. She was the Texas Sports Writers Association and East Texas Class 3A Player of the Year after leading Edgewood (a small school 60 miles east of Dallas) to the 2021 state championship. She was 24-0 during her senior season, compiling an incredible 0.32 earned run average. Hoover allowed just seven runs in 130 innings, striking out 287.

Hoover went 47-2 in the circle during her three high school seasons, striking out 287.

There were no offers from Big 12 schools coming out of high school, however, so Hoover signed with Northwestern State. In her first collegiate game a year ago, she tossed a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts. On April 12 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Hoover pitched 12 innings (222 pitches), striking out a program-record 18 batters. She didn’t give up a hit until the seventh

inning and allowed just one unearned run in the Demons’ 2-1 win.

Ten days later, Hoover one-upped that performance with her first collegiate no-hitter with eight strikeouts in a 1-0 victory over Incarnate Word. She finished the season with an 11-7 record and a 2.56 ERA, recording 175 strikeouts in 134 innings of work, an astounding 9.3 strikeouts per seven innings pitched.

“My best pitch is an up-ball spin pitch with a lot of high rise,” she said. “My goal is to strike everyone out.”

Hoover was named the 2022 Southland Conference Freshman of the Year and was a first-team All-Southland Conference selection last season at Northwestern State.

“Sage is an elite pitcher with a next level mound presence,” Snider said when he signed Hoover. “Her ability to get swings and misses in the strike zone will complement our pitching staff well.”

That is another reason why Hoover wanted to come to Texas Tech.

“We are blessed with eight good pitchers,” she said. “All are capable and can go in at any time. Everyone will have a bad game, so it is nice to know there is someone who can come in behind you. I want to be pushed.”

Hoover said she enjoyed her first experience as a Red Raider last fall.

“Fall ball was fun,” she remarked. “We all hang out together, but it was fun to finally see how they play on the field and how they do pregame warm-ups.”

Tech is looking to improve on last year’s 2227 record as Snider blends a cast of returning players with a number of new players, including Hoover.

The nutrition major wants to become a registered dietician.

“But my heart is in softball,” she exclaimed. “Even when I am done playing, I want to continue giving pitching lessons on the side.”

Asked about her goal this season, Hoover replied, “I want to have a winning record for our team and get to the World Series. Winning state in high school was an awesome experience. Even in the playoffs, you never know when it might be your last game. You have to keep pushing. It was a great feeling to win state, and I want that feeling again.”

PROVEN

PROVEN GRANT MCCASLAND WINNER

BY WES BLOOMQUIST

A proven winner who began his career as the Texas Tech men's basketball Director of Operations from 1999-2001, Grant McCasland is returning to Lubbock as the 19th head coach in Red Raider history after stacking success at various levels for nearly 25 years. Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt announced the hiring on Friday along with a sixyear contract.

"I want to thank President Lawrence Schovanec and Athletics Director Kirby Hocutt, and the committee for the opportunity to coach at Texas Tech," McCasland said. "The commitment and vision for Texas Tech has no limits and we look forward to loving our team everyday with a greater purpose. We will strive daily for excellence in every aspect of our program, do things the right way, winning championships that values relationships throughout. Our family looks forward to joining the Red Raider nation and can't wait to get started in Lubbock."

Most recently at the University of North Texas for six seasons, McCasland is 211-89 as a head coach after leading the Mean Green to a 31-7 record this season and the National Invitation Tournament Championship. His teams have led the nation in scoring defense the past two seasons after limiting opponents to just 55.7 points per game in both seasons. UNT held 27 of its 38 opponents under 60 points this season.

"We're excited to welcome in the next era of Red Raider Basketball under the leadership of Coach McCasland," Hocutt said. "This position received tremendous interest nationally as we firmly believe this program is one of the best jobs in college basketball. Our search committee was immediately impressed not only by Coach McCasland and his ability to win at every level of college basketball, all

while creating a positive culture built upon toughness, but also his passion for Texas Tech and his vision for our basketball program. We are pleased to welcome Coach McCasland, his wife, Cece, and their entire family back home to Texas Tech."

McCasland started his coaching career as the Texas Tech Director of Operations for two seasons under head coach James Dickey and took his first head coaching job at Midland College where he would win a NJCAA National Championship in 2007. The Red Raiders will be the 46-year-old McCasland's fifth head coaching job in a journey back to Texas Tech which includes leading Midland College from 2004-09, two years as the head coach at Midwestern State (2009-11), five seasons as an assistant coach at Baylor (2011-16), and one as the head coach at Arkansas State (2016-17) before amassing an impressive 135-65 (.675) record at UNT.

Texas Tech has advanced to four of the past five NCAA Tournaments, including reaching the 2018 Elite 8, 2019 NCAA Championship Final, 2021 NCAA Tournament Second Round and 2022 Sweet 16. The Red Raiders have a 117-22 home record over the past eight seasons and are coming off a year where the program averaged 13,222 fans per game which ranked No. 1 throughout the state of Texas, third in the Big 12 and 21st nationally.

An Irving, Texas native, McCasland is a Baylor graduate who played for the Bears from 1995-99 as a walk-on. He earned Academic All-Big 12 honorable-mention honors as a senior and graduated from Baylor in 1999 with a degree in entrepreneurship and management before getting his master's from Texas Tech in 2001.

At North Texas, McCasland led the Mean Green to three straight Conference USA titles (2020, 2021, 2022), their first NCAA Tournament victory, first NIT victories, most single-season victories, and most single-season league victories in program history among other achievements. Along with leading the nation by limiting teams to only 55.7 points per game, UNT ranked seventh nationally by holding opponents to 39.2 percent shooting.

During his final season in Denton, McCasland led UNT to a program-record 31 wins after winning the 2023 NIT Championship with a 68-61 victory over UAB in Las Vegas. The Mean Green were second in the C-USA standings with a 16-4 conference record and a 14-2 record on their home court. The program advanced to the NIT Finals with wins over Alcorn State, Sam Houston, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin to set up its matchup against UAB. The Mean Green earned the postseason championship by jumping out to a 37-27 halftime lead and limiting UAB to only 35.6 shooting throughout the night – capping the season with another dominant defensive performance. The Mean Green reached the NIT finals with a 56-54 win over Wisconsin in the semifinals by holding the Badgers scoreless over the final nine minutes of play and to only 13 second-half points. UNT trailed 41-29

at halftime before locking down on defense and limiting Wisconsin to only 24.0 percent shooting in the second half with its final basket coming with 9:07 still on the clock.

McCasland was named the 2020 C-USA Coach of the Year and has recruited and led UNT men's basketball student-athletes to 19 allleague honors, including two Conference USA Player of the Year selections in Javion Hamlet (2020) and Tylor Perry (2023). The Mean Green won the C-USA regular-season championship in 2020 and 2022 along with winning the C-USA Tournament in 2021. He led UNT to a 12-3 record in postseason games with the program having never won a postseason game before his arrival.

Under McCasland, UNT won its first NCAA Tournament game in program-history with a 78-69 overtime victory over Purdue on March 19, 2021. It was the program's fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament and its first since 2010. They earned their highest ever seeding in a NCAA Tournament with a No. 13 seed and their victory over the No. 20-ranked Boilermakers was their first AP Top 25 win since 1972. They earned the bid into the NCAA Tournament after securing the 2021 C-USA Tournament championship. The Mean Green won four games in four days to win their first

league tournament title in 11 years and their first since joining C-USA.

In 2021-22, North Texas had established the previous program record for wins after a 25-7 season. UNT won the 2022 C-USA West Division title with a 16-2 record. From Jan. 8-March 3, UNT won a program record 15 straight games in route to the 2022 C-USA Division title. The team led the nation during the season in scoring defense after holding opponents to an average of 55.7 points per game, which was also a Conference USA record. McCasland led UNT to a 20-18 record in his first season (2017-18) in Denton. The 20 wins in his first season were 12 more than the previous year for the Mean Green. That season, UNT set the school record for most points scored in a season (2,828) and most 3-pointers made in a season (302).

McCasland was the head coach at Arkansas State during the 2016-17 season where he led ASU to a 20-12 overall record before taking the UNT job. At ASU, McCasland led the program to a 10-win improvement, which was the second-best turnaround in Division I basketball that season. Prior to Arkansas State, McCasland was the head coach at Midwestern State from 2009-11 where he owned a 56-12 (.823) career record and led MSU to back-toback NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearances.

Prior to Arkansas State, McCasland spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Baylor under head coach Scott Drew. The Bears made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Bears also won their first-ever postseason title in program history in 2013, capturing the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) championship.

At Midwestern State, he led the Mustangs to a 31-3 record in 2009-10 and a 25-9 mark the next season. Both seasons resulted in Elite Eight appearances in the NCAA Division II Tournament. McCasland started his coaching career as an assistant coach at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado, before he was named the head coach at Midland College when he was only 27 years old. His Chaparrals won the 2007 NJCAA National Championship and saw six players earn a DI scholarship. He would also lead the program to the 2009 NJCAA finals before taking the position at Midwestern State and continuing his ascent in collegiate coaching.

While at Tech, McCasland met his wife Cece (Dillon), who was a former soccer player for the Red Raiders. Grant and Cece have four children: daughters Amaris and Jersey and sons Jett and Beckett (pictured, left).

2023 SPRING FOOTBALL

FOOTBALL PRACTICE

ABERG

TexasTech golfer Ludvig Aberg has had an oustanding spring. He is currently ranked No. 1 among college senior golfers. Below are some of the highlights.

April 4, 2023

Powered by four birdies in his final six holes senior Ludvig Aberg finished tied for fourth at the Calusa Cup hosted by the University of Iowa at Calusa Pines Golf Club.

After sitting at +2 for the day after 12 holes, Aberg caught fire, birdieing the par five 13th, par four 15th, par four 17th and par five 18 to record a two-under round of 70.

March 28, 2023

Senior Ludvig Aberg fired a final round 70 to close out his sixth career individual victory Tuesday afternoon at the Valspar Collegiate.

With the victory, Aberg recorded his second victory of the season and the sixth of his career. He is now the only golfer in school history to win multiple events in three season and passes Clement Sordet for the all-time individual victory mark in program history.

After recording an opening round 65 and a second round 67, Aberg finished with his third straight under-par round recording a 70. With the three rounds under par, Aberg recorded his 65th round of par or better to move into solo third place on the all-time list.

March 15, 2023

With less than three months remaining in the college golf season, Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg retained his No. 1 ranking this week in both the World Amateur Golf Ranking and the PGA TOUR University Ranking of the top seniors in college golf. Aberg will make his fifth TOUR start this week at the Valspar Championship, two weeks after he finished T24 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

March 7, 2023

Texas Tech senior Ludvig Aberg was named Big 12 Golfer of the Month for the month of February, the conference announced Tuesday. The honor marks Aberg's second of the year, after claiming the award in October.

The Swedish-born golfer kicked off his spring season with a win over No. 15 David Ford Feb. 10, which helped the No. 3 Red Raiders defeat No. 4 North Carolina at the ACC/Big 12 Golf Challenge.

Aberg maintained a 69.0 stroke average in February, and is the first men’s golfer to “three-peat” the individual title at The Prestige at PGA West. Aberg shot 1-under-par in the final round of the event Feb. 22.