Texas Tech sports news roundup: McCasland extension details, Mahomes update, more

Here is your Texas Tech sports news roundup for November 1st, 2024.

Grant McCasland's new contract details revealed

In early October, it was reported that Texas Tech basketball head coach Grant McCasland had agreed to a contract extension and raise with the Red Raiders. However, the details were not released at that time.

Now, according to Nathan Giese of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, we know the details. He reports that McCasland will make a total of $24.9 million and that his contract runs through the 2029-30 season.

McCasland's new deal extends his time in Lubbock for only one season. His initial deal was for six years and was worth $18.5 million. So essentially, he received a one-year extension and a raise of $6.4 million.

Texas Tech alum Patrick Mahomes applies for WNBA franchise

With the arrival of Caitlin Clark, the WNBA is more popular than ever and now former Texas Tech football great, Patrick Mahomes is trying to get in on the action. Mahomes and his wife Brittnay are trying to bring a WNBA franchise to Kansas City.

They already own the Kansas City Current of the National Women's Soccer League and now they want to bring a basketball franchise to K.C.

"We want to get basketball to Kansas City in general and then WNBA. The success that they've had this last season and these last few seasons, it's kind of a no-brainer,'' Mahomes said. "To try to get a WNBA team in Kansas City to this fan base ... the city of Kansas City is going to come out and they're going to fill the stadium.

"It was cool that we were able to get this soccer team, this women's soccer team here in the Current and they're going into the playoffs now and you see the support that they have. So let's try to get a WNBA team in here as well that same ownership group. They've done the Current the right way, and I want to continue to work with them to take that next step and get a WNBA team here.''

Mahomes, who also owns part of the Kansas City Royals and Sporting KC expressed his desire to get into sports ownership in an even larger role after his playing career is over.

Texas Tech baseball alum Josh Bard wins World Series Ring

One of the best Texas Tech baseball players ever, Josh Bard, has won a World Series Ring as the Los Angeles Dodgers' bullpen coach. It is his second World Series title with the franchise.

Bard was a three-time All-American catcher with the Red Raiders. He then spent ten seasons in the Major Leagues playing for Cleveland, Seattle, San Diego, Boston, and Washington.

He has coached two stints for the Dodgers (2016-17 and 2020-present) and in between he was the bench coach for the New York Yankees (2018-19). This is the third year in a row that a Texas Tech baseball alum has won a World Series ring following Parker Mushinski with the Houston Astros in 2022 and Josh Jung in 2023 with the Texas Rangers.

Texas Tech baseball schedule released

This week the 2025 Texas Tech baseball schedule was released. The Red Raiders open the season against North Carolina on February 14, 2025 in Chapel Hill. They don't play their first game at home until March 4th against UC San Diego.

Big 12 play opens on March 14 with a three-game series at Houston. In total, the team will play ten conference series with TCU, Cincinnati, Baylor, Arizona, and UCF all coming to Lubbock.

Intriguing non-conference games include a matchup with Texas in Las Vegas on March 1 and a game against Oklahoma in Frisco, Texas on April 1. The Big 12 Tournament will be May 21-25 in Arlington, Texas.

This week, the conference also announced the new format for the Big 12 Tournament. The top 12 teams in the regular season standings will advance to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

In the new format, the top four seeds will receive a bye while the No. 5-12 seeds play four single-elimination games in the first round. The winners will take on the top four seeds in the quarterfinals on Thursday, May 22 with a chance to advance to the semifinals on Friday, May 23. The Championship final will be played on Saturday, May 24. All games in the tournament will be single elimination. That is a change from previous years when the event was double-elimination.