Texas Tech baseball team gets first pledge from transfer portal

The Texas Tech baseball team picked up its first known commitment from the NCAA transfer portal on Friday, June 5, when Nicholls State first baseman Caston Thompson announced his pledge to the Red Raiders on social media.

Thompson, who bats and throws lefthanded, hit .306 this season with 14 home runs and 43 runs batted in. His homers total was highest on the team, and his batting average and RBI totals were second. He also led his team’s regulars with a .590 slugging percentage and a 1.017 OPS.

<1 / 31

<2 / 31

<3 / 31

<4 / 31

<5 / 31

<6 / 31

<7 / 31

<8 / 31

<9 / 31

<10 / 31

<11 / 31

<12 / 31

<13 / 31

<14 / 31

<15 / 31

<16 / 31

<17 / 31

<18 / 31

<19 / 31

<20 / 31

<21 / 31

<22 / 31

<23 / 31

<24 / 31

<25 / 31

<26 / 31

<27 / 31

<28 / 31

<29 / 31

<30 / 31

<31 / 31

Nicholls State listed Thompson as a 6-foot-3, 235-pound junior. He started his career at Pearl River (Miss.) Community College after graduating from Brookhaven (Miss.) Academy. At Pearl River, he hit .362 with 8 homers and 38 RBIs in 2024, earning second-team all-conference recognition, and hit .370 with 4 homers and 68 RBIs in 2025, making first-team all-conference.

Nicholls State finished 25-26 this season with a 15-13 record in the Southland Conference. Thompson made 50 starts, all at first base.

<

Texas Tech was 27-28 and 10-20 in the Big 12, missing the NCAA tournament for the third year in a row and posting a sub-.500 record for the second year in a row.

The Red Raiders have a hole at first base. Robin Villeneuve, who started 45 games there, is out of eligibility. Primary left fielder Logan Hughes, who started the other 10 games at first, is expected to be a relatively high pick in the Major League Baseball draft, which is scheduled for July 11-13 in Philadelphia.

The transfer portal is open from June 1 through June 30 for undergraduates.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Nicholls State slugger Caston Thompson commits to Texas Tech baseball