Once derided as “Regional Glasco” for never breaking out of the NCAA Regionals at Louisiana, Gerry Glasco has finally done it – and he did it in Lubbock. Under Glasco’s first Texas Tech team, the Red Raiders exploded onto the national scene in 2025, winning Tech’s first-ever Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles. The turnaround is stark: Texas Tech stormed through conference play 20–4 (far beyond its previous best of 13 wins), won the Big 12 Tournament, and earned a No. 12 national seed in the NCAA Tournament. In short, “Regional Glasco” is history – Tech’s coach of the year and the nation’s hottest recruiter. How’d he do it? Simple: he poached the Louisiana roster (and even some coaches) and signed college softball’s first $1 million pitcher.

The Five Former Cajuns Powering Lubbock

Glasco’s Texas Tech staff wasted no time raiding his old program. Five Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns players followed their coach through the portal to Lubbock: outfielder Mihyia Davis, infielders Lauren Allred, Alexa Langeliers, Victoria Valdez, and pitcher Chloe Riasetto. Each has been a major contributor in 2025:

• Mihyia Davis (OF, UL ’24 Sun Belt POTY) slashed an eye-popping .387 batting average at Tech. She led TT with 82 hits, 61 runs and 26 RBI (10 doubles, 5 homers)  and was a unanimous First-Team All–Big 12 pick. (Davis was the 2024 Sun Belt Player of the Year at UL, so her breakout in Lubbock was no surprise.)
• Lauren Allred (INF, UL ’24) immediately boosted the offense. Allred hit .377 with 61 hits, 53 RBI, 10 doubles and 9 homers for Tech, earning All–Big 12 Second Team honors. (At Louisiana she had been an All–Sun Belt performer, so this wasn’t a fluke.)
• Alexa Langeliers (INF, UL ’21) also starred, batting .325 with 49 hits and 40 RBI. Like Allred, Langeliers was named All–Big 12 Second Team.
• Victoria Valdez (C/OF, UL ’23) contributed both at the plate and in the field. She tallied 34 hits (28 RBI) with a .364 OBP and paced Tech’s defense as the catcher. Valdez’s impact was recognized with an All–Big 12 Defensive Team nod.
• Chloe Riasetto (P, UL ’23) bolstered the Tech pitching staff. Riasetto went 8–3 with a 2.17 ERA in 2025, providing a seasoned second starter. (At UL she was a Sun Belt all-conference pitcher, and she’s continued to pitch well in Lubbock.)

Together this “Cajun Five” has formed the core of Tech’s lineup, blending Louisiana’s grit with Texas Tech’s newfound resources. (For context, Allred and Riasetto’s UL stats are instructive: Allred batted .354 with 6 HR for the Cajuns, and Riasetto was 11–2 with a 2.21 ERA in 2024.)

The $1M Ace and the Big 12 Domination

On top of that roster haul, Glasco quietly pulled off college softball’s biggest recruiting coup: persuading Stanford ace NiJaree Canady to transfer to TT. Canady – the reigning USA Softball National Player of the Year – signed a reported $1,050,024 NIL deal with Texas Tech, making her the sport’s first “million-dollar” player. The payoff was immediate. Canady led the nation with a microscopic 0.89 ERA and won Big 12 Pitcher of the Year, spearheading Tech’s historic season. She was the linchpin of a staff that posted a 1.84 team ERA (and struck out a staggering 381 batters). In the Big 12 Tournament she shut down Baylor and Arizona State (including an 18–0 rout of ASU) to clinch the title. Tech ended the year with a 48–12 overall record – and a long-awaited conference crown – proofs that Glasco’s combination of top-tier pitching and a Cajun-laden lineup paid off in spades.

The numbers tell the story: Tech far outpaced Louisiana in offense (507 hits and 57 homers vs. 402 hits and 22 homers at UL), and its pitching staff held opponents to just a .206 batting average (versus UL’s staff ERA of 3.79). It’s no wonder Tech cruised to both the regular‐season and tourney titles while Louisiana’s Sun Belt squad settled for a middling finish.

The Cajuns’ New Era: Coach Habetz Steers the Ship

Back in Lafayette, Alyson Habetz has the unenviable task of rebuilding after Glasco’s departure. The UL Hall-of-Famer (a 25-year Alabama assistant with 12 WCWS trips and a national title) was hired immediately after Glasco left. In the span of a few weeks UL lost its coach and key players: along with the five who followed Glasco, star pitcher Sam Landry defected to Oklahoma and slugger Brooke Ellestad went to Alabama. Habetz has already started stocking the roster – for example, she grabbed transfer pitcher Sage Hoover from the portal – and is hoping players like Mallory Weaver and Dayzja Williams can carry on the Cajun pride.

It’s a painful off-season for Cajuns fans, but there are reasons for hope. Habetz is a savvy recruiter and coach (think 12 WCWS appearances at Alabama), and she’s getting a blank slate of roster and staff to shape. The Sun Belt is always competitive, but if anyone can restore Louisiana to national relevance, it’s Habetz and her faithful holdovers. Texas Tech’s rise may sting in Lafayette, but the Cajuns have never been strangers to scrappy comebacks.