Texas Tech shows interest in one of the top guards currently in transfer portal

Sure, the Texas Tech basketball team is still dancing with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line Thursday night. However, that doesn't mean the Red Raiders can afford to ignore the construction of next season's roster.

Being as the transfer portal for college basketball players has officially opened, even before the end of the NCAA Tournament, programs that are still playing must operate on two fronts by preparing for their next game but also trying to lay the foundation of their next team.

One of the top players in the portal this season will be New Mexico transfer guard Donovan Dent. As a junior this season, he averaged 20.4 points, 6.4 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game. Now, he's exploring his options as he prepares for his final season of college basketball, and the Red Raiders appear to be kicking the tires at the least.

According to high school and college basketball recruiting analyst Sam Kayser, Dent has already heard from a number of schools, including Texas Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, UCLA, North Carolina, Gonzaga, USC, and Tennessee.

It is easy to see why the California native is hearing from some of the most high-profile programs in the nation. He was the 2025 Mountain West Player of the Year, and he does just about everything well on the basketball court.

Dent shot 40.9% from 3-point range this season while shooting 78.4% from the free-throw line. Additionally, he came up 1.4 steals per game showing that he's a capable and willing defender as well.

Of course, Tech will need to add quite a bit of scoring punch this offseason. With starting guards Chance McMillian, Kerwin Walton, and Elijah Hawkins all set to exhaust their eligibility when Tech's NCAA Tournament ends, the program will have to replace around 30 points per game from the guard positions.

That Red Raider trio has been responsible for 182 of the team's 3-point makes this year. That's 53.8% of the Red Raiders' team total.

If Tech does land Dent, it will mark the second year in a row that the Red Raiders have taken an impact transfer from New Mexico. Last offseason, the program added JT Toppin after he won the Mountain West Freshman of the Year Award for the Lobos.

That worked out well for head coach Grant McCasland as Toppin went on to win Big 12 Player of the Year honors this season. Now, the hope is that another New Mexico transfer could come to Lubbock and become an All-Big 12 performer.

If Dent does decide to become a Red Raider, he might not play with Toppin next season, given that Toppin is expected to head to the NBA this offseason. Still, he could conceivably rely on his former teammate for insight about what it is like to play for McCasland.

While we hope that there are four more Texas Tech basketball games left in this season, there is still a reason for fans to keep an eye on off-court developments. The transfer portal is filling up with excellent players and Tech will certainly be fishing in that pond rather extensively this offseason, and who knows, Dent might be one of the biggest fish that McCasland and Co. try to reel in.