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Texas Tech baseball revs up for Oklahoma, Vandy, Arkansas gauntlet
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- Texas Tech baseball revs up for Oklahoma, Vandy, Arkansas gauntlet
Nearly everywhere a sports fan looks on the Texas Tech campus, teams are winning big.
This school year alone, Texas Tech has achieved national top-25 rankings from its football, soccer, softball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's track and field, women's tennis, and men's golf teams.
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The Tech baseball program, no stranger to national rankings, would like to get back to that level. The Red Raiders have made four College World Series trips since 2014, but missed the NCAA postseason the past two years, bottoming out last season with a 20-33 record. In the offseason, Tech coach Tim Tadlock shook up his staff, and Tech athletics director Kirby Hocutt ceased the annual automatic extension on the contract Tadlock signed in 2021, giving it a fixed endpoint after the 2031 season.
The Red Raiders start the 2026 season Feb. 13-15 in the Shriners Children's College Showdown in Arlington.
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Tadlock was asked during a multi-coach teleconference on Tuesday, Feb. 3, if there was pressure to measure up with what so many other Tech teams are achieving.
"As far as pressure goes ... we make the effort for our guys to be their best every day," Tadlock said, "no matter what's going around us. For our team, I think all we can do is help you, because it's expectations around the campus as far as winning goes.
"As far as pressure goes, I think you feel pressure when you're not prepared, and I don't think we've ever not felt prepared. Things happen. You've just got to get out, play each day, and compete the best you can."
The Shriners Children's College Classic brings together three Big 12 teams and three Southeastern Conference teams at Globe Life Field. Texas Tech draws Oklahoma (38-22 last season) at 11 a.m. Feb. 13, Vanderbilt (43-18) at 11 a.m. Feb. 14, and Arkansas (50-15) at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 15.
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Oklahoma State (30-25) and TCU (39-20) are the other Big 12 teams in the field and will each play a game against each of the SEC teams. All but Tech made an NCAA regional last year, and Arkansas advanced to the College World Series.
"Definitely the who's who of college baseball to kick things off for us at Globe Life Field," said Anthony Bartkowski, assistant vice president/major events for REV Entertainment, which puts on the event.
Head coach Tim Tadlock looks on during the Texas Tech baseball team's alumni game, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Rip Griffin Park.
"The first weekend of our season is a really good tournament," Oklahoma coach Skip Johnson said. "You're playing really good baseball teams. I mean, we were in that conference [the Big 12]. Every one of those teams is fundamentally sound. They're really talented."
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REV Entertainment is hosting six-team events at Globe Life Field each of the first three weekends, the other two under the banner of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series. Teams playing from Feb. 20-22 will be Auburn, Florida State, Kansas State , Louisville, Michigan and Nebraska. Coming in Feb. 27 through March 1 are Arizona State, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA and Virginia Tech.
REV is also sponsoring the College Baseball Series, a pair of four-team events Feb. 13-15 in Surprise, Arizona, and Feb. 27 through March 1 in Cleburne.
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn said the multi-team, early-season events are good to learn from, but he won't draw sweeping conclusions from the outcomes.
"One tournament, we went 3-0, and we didn't play that good that year (after) we beat some good teams," he said. "One year, we went 1-2, maybe 0-3 and ended up in Omaha. You just try to figure out a few things. ...
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"You can find out who can compete, who can handle the stage that we're playing on and you probably learn more about what you need to work on — the deficiencies, the little things. Compare yourself to other teams and where they're at at this time, and then you try to get better. There's a lot you can learn by playing outside competition, and the competition is strong this early."
Vanderbilt is coming off a shocking end to its 2025 season. The Commodores were the No. 1 national seed in last year's NCAA tournament and failed to advance past their own regional, falling to unheralded Wright State.
Stunning for a program that's made five CWS trips since 2011 and won two national titles, but Vandy coach Tim Corbin said it's in the past.
"I just think separation's really important regardless of year to year," Corbin said. "You could win the national championship, and you've got to separate that real quick, too. I think recovering from winning's just as important as recovering from losing.
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"What happened last year, happened last year . We grew as a team and played well towards the end, and we got stuck in our own regional. It won't be the first time that's happened before, but it doesn't really have a bearing on moving forward."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech baseball revs up for Oklahoma, Vandy, Arkansas gauntlet
