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The NBA decisions of JT Toppin and Darrion Williams loom large, but here's a look at who is leaving, who has a decision to make, and what Texas Tech needs to target in the transfer portal.
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Coming off of a No. 2 finish in the loaded Big 12 and a road that led them to the second weekend of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, one thing is becoming clear after two years of Grant McCasland at Texas Tech -- the Red Raiders have found a rising star to lead their program.
Now that their season has come to an end, they have a lot of things to figure out. With no high school signees, they'll undoubtedly be active in the portal. But, they'll also have to sweat out a very important NBA decision from their star JT Toppin while figuring out how to replace some really productive seniors.
To set the stage for Texas Tech's offseason activities, we are taking a look at who is leaving, who has decisions to make, who is coming back, and what the red Raiders will need to prioritize in the transfer portal as they look to further establish themselves as a player on the national landscape.
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UNC Baseball Notebook: The Tightrope
Lockdown starting pitching carries UNC to first home ACC series victory but offensive inefficiency costs Heels the sweep.
Grace Nugent11 hrs
North Carolina took the series against visiting Miami while walking a tightrope - the thinnest of lines between wins and losses in all three contests.
During Friday's speedy game, the only runs were scored by UNC in the fifth inning, just two, but enough to support an outstanding pitching performance by Jake Knapp. On Saturday, it was similar; the Tar Heels put up a four-spot in the fourth and relied again on pitching to keep the Canes at bay.
Sunday, however, the long tightrope walk ended in a bad step. Defensive errors and an offensive inability to plate runs led to UNC failing to capitalize on a prime sweep chance. Even with the final game disappointment, the weekend produced that first ACC home series win and a 21-7 overall, 6-6 ACC record for a team fighting for an offensive identity heading into April.
"Honestly, I'm just thankful that we won the series, because I'm unsure if we hit over .200 - I know they probably didn't either, but at the end of the day, we won the series," head coach Scott Forbes said after Sunday's 4-2 loss. "We had a chance to sweep, but didn't get it done.
“I still don't think we're playing close to what we're capable of top to bottom."
The Arms
On both Friday and Saturday, Forbes used the "best-case scenario” to get the series in hand. He's had the tendency to match pitchers together and create some bullpen and starting duos.
On Friday, it was Knapp, then freshman Walker McDuffie. Saturday was Jason DeCaro straight into freshman Ryan Lynch.
"That was exactly how we wanted it to work out," Forbes said after Saturday’s 4-2 win. "In a perfect world yesterday, we wanted to go Knapp, McDuffie. In a perfect world today, we wanted to go DeCaro, Lynch. It's not always a perfect world, but it worked out like that.”
With a stellar arm-heavy team, Forbes has been able to cherry-pick how and when he uses his relievers a bit more since he doesn't have to use that many. They've had the luxury of starters going far into games, which helps with arm management in the pen and will be a boon down the stretch.
Jake Knapp (Photo: Jim Hawkins, Inside Carolina)
On top of that, two of their best bullpen arms have been those freshmen who can show up in situations with a little margin for error. Both McDuffie and Lynch logged saves in the winning games. McDuffie's two scoreless innings with four strikeouts on Friday marked the first time a true freshman has had multiple saves in a season since Trent Thornton in 2013.
"Those two guys remind me of a Trent Thornton or a Dalton Pence, they're not just one-inning closers," Forbes said. "They can be multiple innings, and we would like to use them like that - one guy pitches this day, the other guy pitches the next day."
But the bread and butter for the Tar Heels has been the length and ability of their starting rotation.
Jake Knapp went seven scoreless on Friday with a season high 10 strikeouts while walking none. It seems to be a regular trend thus far for Knapp, who now holds a 1.63 ERA.
"The changeup has been the biggest difference maker for me," Knapp said. "It goes back to pre-injury. I was a little worried that not being able to pitch for a year, that's such a feel pitch.
”And I'm glad it's been a tool I can use, but I mean being able to throw at 3-2 and just keep hitters guessing. It's been a game changer.”
The biggest positive from the pitching this weekend had to be DeCaro's positive steps and mindset. Coming into Saturday's contest, he had struggled with his command, strikeout numbers, and innings during ACC play. It was all a sharp turn from the almost unhittable mound presence of the early season. At Boston College, he logged six innings but still struggled with hits and mistake pitches.
While it's a small number difference from that game to Saturday’s win, he only allowed two earned runs on three hits while striking out six. It was the lowest number of hits he's allowed since a lone knock against Texas Tech. He also matched his season-high strikeouts, which, ironically, was also against the Red Raiders.
"It's just trying to give the team length even when you don't have your best stuff," DeCaro said. "I didn't do a good job with that the two weeks before, but I learned a lot from those two games, and really tried to take that in and think it made me a better pitcher."
It was metrically one of his best, if not his best, start since Opening Day. This is a positive step forward for DeCaro and the whole starting pitching staff, which has taken the brunt of the weight as the offense has struggled.
Offensive Woes
This Carolina offense has been either feast or famine. The Tar Heels can slug out 12 hits and turn that into 13 runs, or they can only manage a handful and find themselves in tight down-to-the-wire games.
Coming into Chapel Hill, Miami had allowed 10+ runs in seven out of its last 11 games. However, the Diamond Heels cobbled together only eight runs in three games, and in Sunday’s loss managed zero hits with runners in scoring position (0-7) and only five hits on the day.
There are positives, of course. The series win counts and you play to win the games…
"Nobody cares how many hits you got, good or bad," Forbes said after Saturday's 4-2 victory. "The most important thing is that we won the game, and they're starting to figure that out a little bit."
But Forbes says his offense is just doing "okay" and that the upside is there. They have flashes of brilliance and have been able to produce when they can string hits together.
(Photo: Jim Hawkins, Inside Carolina)
On Saturday, the Heels capitalized on a Miami error with back-to-back-to-back singles and that crooked number that was enough to carry the day. But on Sunday, none of that was available to them. They bookended the game with lone runs in the fist and the ninth but it wasn't enough.
"That all goes back to the timely hitting," outfielder Sawyer Black said. "You've got to just be able to take advantage of that. And, for us we have to be able to limit the other team taking advantage of our errors."
A series win, with standout pitching performances, but the struggle with timely hitting - and hitting in general - ultimately cost North Carolina a needed sweep.