These were the top 11 Texas Tech sports stories of 2023

There's always something going on with Texas Tech athletics, and that was certainly the case in 2023.

Trying to narrow down the biggest stories from the calendar year is an interesting exercise to say the least. It's never boring around the Red Raiders, for both good and bad. There was a fair share of good this year, though, which made whittling down this list of the biggest Texas Tech sports stories a bit challenging.

Here were the biggest angles for 2023, plus some extras that deserve a bit more attention.

What a strange trip it was for Texas Tech football

The 2022 Texas Tech football team's strong close to the season segued the team to its highest ranking in the preseason Big 12 poll in the current setup. Much was made about all the returning talent and what could've been a special season.

Even Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark got in on the act, telling Joey McGuire and the Red Raiders to "take care of business" against Texas in the Red Raider Kickoff Luncheon — which became a season-long story to certain softies in the state's capitol.

Losses out of the gate to Wyoming and Oregon, plus the season-ending injury to Tyler Shough, put the Red Raiders in a bind. Eventually, the team found its footing, winning three out of four games in November — we won't talk about the disaster in Austin — and closed with a win over California in the Independence Bowl.

In the midst of it all, McGuire and his staff snagged another Top 25 recruiting class for 2024, including five-star receiver Micah Hudson.

Mark Adams out, Grant McCasland in

Mark Adams had a tumultuous second season as head coach of the Texas Tech basketball team. In the midst of a 16-16 season, Adams was suspended just before the Big 12 tournament "in relation to the use of an inappropriate, unacceptable, and racially insensitive comment." Adams stepped down as coach after the tournament and reached a settlement. All of this happened within a span of a few days.

It would be a bit longer to wait for Adams' replacement as Texas Tech waited for Grant McCasland to finish up his NIT championship run with North Texas. McCasland was named the new coach in late March and is 10-2 in his first 12 games leading the Red Raiders.

Sweet season for Texas Tech soccer

A record-setting season for the Texas Tech soccer team saw the Red Raiders earn their highest ranking and NCAA Tournament seed while also securing the program's first regular-season Big 12 championship. Led by the conference's defensive player (Hannah Anderson), goalkeeper (Madison White) and coach of the year (Tom Stone), Tech hosted each of the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament before falling to North Carolina in the Round of 16.

Here comes adidas

Noted breaking news correspondent Patrick Mahomes informed the world, however coyly, that Texas Tech athletics will be switching from its current apparel contract with Under Armour (which expires this summer) and be joining the adidas brand.

Director of athletics Kirby Hocutt said Mahomes was a big part of Tech's new 10-year deal with adidas. Details of the deal aren't expected to be announced until the day it begins in July. On that day, look for some big adidas trucks unloading a bunch of new gear to Texas Tech facilities.

The rise of Ludvig Aberg

Few athletes in the world had as memorable a 2023 than Ludvig Aberg. The Texas Tech golfer picked up his second Ben Hogan national player of the year award, won the Big 12 tournament by eight strokes and earned his PGA Tour card all within a few months. Not to be outdone, Aberg began his pro career with a bang and earned a spot on the winning Ryder Cup team.

Long live realignment

The demise of the Pac-12 was the Big 12's gain.

In July, the Big 12 officially welcomed four new members in Houston, BYU, UCF and Cincinnati, a move made back in 2021. Later that month, Colorado's return to the Big 12 was announced, setting in motion another round of wild conference realignment.

By the end of it, the Big 12 added Utah, Arizona and Arizona State along with CU. Those four schools will join the fold this summer, when Texas and Oklahoma bolt for the SEC. The Big 12 will be a 16-team conference starting in July.

ICYMI: Other stories worth revisiting

* The Lady Raiders made the most of their opportunity, advancing to the Super 16 round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament, the team's first postseason appearance in a decade. Texas Tech knocked off UTEP and SMU before falling to Arkansas on the road to close out the campaign.

* Back in February, Tyree Wilson became the fourth Red Raider in 40 years to be a first-round NFL Draft pick when the edge rusher was taken seventh overall by the Las Vegas Raiders.

* The men's indoor track and field team claimed its third Big 12 championship in the past six years. The Red Raiders tallied 159 points behind five individual championships. Tech will once again host the indoor conference meet in February.

* Craig Snider's building something with the Texas Tech softball team. In his first year as head coach, the Red Raiders set the program record for home runs in a season and, more recently, signed the No. 2 recruiting class in the nation for 2024, which is considered the highest-ranked class across all Texas Tech sports.

* Former Texas Tech basketball coach Bob Knight died at the age of 83 on Nov. 1. Knight, best known for his time leading the Indiana Hoosiers, spent six-plus years guiding the Red Raiders, taking Tech to the Sweet 16 in 2005.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Here are the 11 top Texas Tech sports stories of 2023