Texas Tech Baseball Midseason Report: Surprises, standouts and second-half predictions

With a 15-4 wrecking of the Abilene Christian Wildcats on Tuesday, March 31, the Red Raiders entered April 17-11 on the season.

Rewind to a year ago, and Texas Tech had yet to reach double-digit wins, limping to an 8-16 start. Overall, the Red Raiders would win just 20 games in 2025, a mark this year’s squad is just three wins away from attaining with 27 regular season games left on the docket.

So what caused the big turnaround?

The easiest answer to that question is in the lineup, where five qualified players sport an OPS over 1.000, compared to just two the year prior. Robin Villeneuve (1.160 OPS, 9 HR) and Logan Hughes (1.238 OPS, 9 HR) have carried over their success from last season, leading the Red Raiders’ in home runs. In D1 Baseball’s midseason positional rankings, Hughes was ranked as the 10th-best outfielder in the country.

No. 17 first baseman Villeneuve was joined by the rest of the infield in the rankings, as catcher Matt Quintanar, second baseman Tracer Lopez, shortstop Linkin Garcia and third baseman Connor Shouse slotted in at 26, 44, 25 and 11th, respectively.

Caden Ferraro is perhaps the most underrated member of the team, as he was ranked the 91st best outfielder in the country. The Blinn College transfer leads the Red Raiders in OPS with a whopping 1.280.

Overall, the offense has been elite, ranking second in the nation in runs per game. It’s a major step up from 2025, as the Red Raiders are now scoring 10.7 runs per game compared to their previous 6.5.

Rather than players from last year’s roster taking a big step up, it’s been freshmen and transfer bats making the difference. Notably, Jesse Rusinek has shown astounding plate discipline for a true freshman, walking more than striking out and recording a .540 OBP over 21 games.

The offense playing at an elite level has been necessary, as the pitching is anything but. A team ERA of 7.53 ranks 252nd in the nation. Of regular starting pitchers, Lukas Pirko has the best ERA– a dreary 6.12.

Over the first 28 games, Texas Tech lived and died with its offense. They won close games against teams like Arizona and Kansas 12-10 and 10-9, but then lost to UTSA 9-8 and to TCU 10-9. Consistent delivery from Texas Tech’s offense is being unraveled repeatedly by their pitching.

The Red Raiders sit at 4-5 in Big 12 games, tied for eighth-best in the conference. With 21 conference games to play, there’s plenty of time for Texas Tech to propel themselves into contention.

The remaining Big 12 slate includes Houston, West Virginia, Utah, Oklahoma State, Baylor, BYU and Cincinnati. Of those teams, Houston and BYU sport losing records, making both series must-wins for the Red Raiders. 17-11 Oklahoma State is just 3-6 in Big 12 games, promising to be a favorable home matchup.

The other opponents are more threatening. West Virginia at 7-2 and 20-5 overall is second in the Big 12, whereas the Utes, Bears and Bearcats have each had solid seasons. Add that Texas Tech has to play all three on the road, and the path to the Big 12 tournament looks more daunting.

Texas Tech is currently 14-3 at home, one of the best marks in the conference. Factor in their elite offense, and the Red Raiders should be able to comfortably make the top-12 threshold of the Big 12. Once they get to the tournament, however, Texas Tech’s lack of pitching very well could be what holds them back from the program’s first College World Series berth since 2019.

Note: Team pitching stats were last updated on March 31, 2026.

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