Texas Tech University Athletics
Officially Signed: Darrion Williams
August 07, 2026 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland has officially announced the signing and return of Darrion Williams who will join the Red Raider program for the 2026-27 season. Williams transfers back to Tech after playing last season at NC State where he led the Wolfpack with 14.0 points per game along with adding 151 rebounds, 92 assists and 35 steals.
A 5th year forward, Williams played two seasons at Texas Tech after beginning his college career at Nevada as a freshman. Williams helped lead the Red Raiders to the 2025 NCAA Elite Eight and earned All-Big 12 First Team honors during his junior season (2024-25) where he averaged 15.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. As a sophomore (2023-24), Williams led the Red Raiders with nine double-doubles, 7.5 rebounds per game and finished his first season in Lubbock with 11.4 points per game where he earned All-Big 12 Third Team and All-Big 12 Newcomer Team honors. During the 2025 NCAA Tournament, Williams led the Red Raiders by averaging 21.0 points per game, including going for 23 points in the Elite Eight matchup against Florida and scoring a season-high 28 points against Drake in the NCAA Tournament Second Round. Among his career highlights as a Red Raider, Williams went off for 30 points in a home win over No. 6 Kansas where he went 12-for-12 from the field with four 3-pointers during his sophomore season.
Through four seasons in college basketball, Williams has produced 1,601 points, 825 rebounds, 387 assists, 163 steals and 14 double-doubles. During his two seasons at Texas Tech, Williams averaged 13.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game.
Williams earned All-ACC Honorable mention last season at NC State. He scored a career-high 32 points against UNC Greensboro and finished the season scoring 20-plus points in eight games. His final game at NC State came in the 2026 NCAA Tournament where he went for 21 points in a loss to Texas. Williams finished the season with 78 made 3-pointers (40.4 percent) in 33 games played.
A Sacramento, California native, Williams began his collegiate career at Nevada where he earned 2022-23 Mountain West Freshman of the Year after averaging 7.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals per game. A four-star prep player at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Williams was named the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year following his senior season after averaging 15.2 points,10.1 rebounds and 4.0 steals per game. Before transferring to Bishop Gorman, Williams played two varsity seasons at Capital Christian in his hometown of Sacramento where he averaged 11.2 and 7.8 rebounds as a sophomore.
Texas Tech is coming off its third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament under McCasland and a 23-11 overall record. Through three seasons under McCasland, the Red Raiders are 74-31 after a season where the team earned a program record four wins over Top 10 teams. Tech was ranked throughout the 2025-26 season for the first time in program history – ranking as high as No. 10 and finishing the season at No. 21 in the AP Top 25. Williams is the seventh newcomer to join the Red Raiders for next season's roster following the signings of transfers Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (UNLV), Cruz Davis (Hofstra), Damarion Dennis (Wyoming) and Jamichael Stillwell (UCF) along with incoming freshmen DaKari Spear (The Colony, Texas – Dynamic Prep) and Trey Hall (Crowley, Texas – North Crowley HS).
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