Darrion Williams transferring to NC State: What it means for Texas Tech basketball

Darrion Williams will officially be playing his final year of college basketball elsewhere.

On3 reported Thursday that Williams has committed to NC State, bringing his time with the Texas Tech basketball team to an end. Williams previously entered the transfer portal and declared for the 2025 NBA Draft. He went through the combine earlier this month and withdrew from the draft earlier this week.

Williams left a big impression on the Red Raiders in his two years in Lubbock. The first player to commit to Texas Tech after Grant McCasland took over as head coach, he elevated himself into a first team All-Big 12 selection and etched himself into Texas Tech lore, hitting the game-tying 3 and game-winning bucket in Tech’s epic Sweet 16 comeback against Arkansas during the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Will Wade has taken over as head coach at NC State. Williams and the Red Raiders fell to the Wolfpack in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Shortly after On3’s report, which cited Williams as the source, Williams took to social media to send a message to Texas Tech fans.

“Thank you tech for everything!,” his post on X (formerly Twitter) reads. “I would’ve trade these last two years for anything, Lubbock is a second home to me and will always have a special place in my heart (red heart emoji) (black heart emoji).”

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What Darrion Williams’ departure means for Texas Tech basketball

While there was always a window for Williams to return to the Red Raiders after entering the portal, McCasland and his staff didn’t wait around hoping for his return. They built out a roster many pundits already see as a preseason Top 10 team without him in the fold.

The returns of reigning Big 12 player of the year JT Toppin and Big 12 all-freshman member Christian Anderson were the starting points. From there, Tech has brought in four notable transfers in LeJuan Watts (Washington State), Donovan Atwell (UNC Greensboro), Tyeree Bryan (Santa Clara) and Luke Bamgboye (VCU), who will all garner major minutes. Another addition in forward Josiah Moseley (Villanova) adds depth in the front court Texas Tech lacked last season.

Watts has been considered the ideal Williams replacement, sharing very similar body types and skillsets. Watts will certainly need to cut down his turnovers this season, but he averaged similar points, rebounds, assists, steals and shot better from 3-point range (in less attempts, granted) than Williams.

Texas Tech still has a few roster spots to fill out before finalizing the group for 2025-26 and fans can now turn their attention to non-Williams players.

While Williams’ departure wasn’t totally unexpected, he became a beloved member of the team and created some very memorable moments for the Red Raiders this season. And thankfully for Texas Tech fans, they won’t have to decide whether to cheer or boo him like they would have if he decided to go to conference rival Kansas.

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