The Standard: Texas Tech Soccer 2025 Season Preview
“Making it to the NCAA tournament has been the standard ever since I came in freshman year,” said senior midfielder Peyton Parsons. “And that’s the standard for this year. We’re working towards that goal. We want to be there again. We want to be on that stage.”
There is always a refreshing sense of direction when you take in a Texas Tech soccer practice or hear from players and staff. That comes from having a head coach headed into his 19th season and a program that knows their identity versus trying to discover it. That was clear in Parsons words, and so was it in redshirt sophomore Sam Courtwright’s as well.
“We always say we’re thinking about the NCAA tournament,” explained Courtwright who returns in 2025 after missing last season due to injury. “So, the Big 12 is just going to come along with that. Like, we’re going to win the Big 12. It’s going to happen. And then it’s okay, how far can we go in the tournament? My freshman year was the second time we made the Sweet 16. And so this year to even go further than that, make the elite eight, make a run in the final four, see what damage we can do on the big stage.”
All-Big 12 Preseason Awards And Polls
The Big 12 conference announced the 2025 All-Big 12 Preseason team on Tuesday. Texas Tech leads the conference with five players represented on the team in Sam Courtwright, Peyton Parsons, Macy Blackburn, Taylor Zdrojewski and Faith Nguyen.
As a team Tech was picked second in the conference behind TCU, the Red Raiders received two first place votes.
Leaders Returning To The Pitch
Last season started out with a tough blow before the team even played their first game losing All-American sophomore Sam Courtwright for the year in training and it would soon become clear they would be without junior Kylie Bahr as well. Add in missing two-time All-American Macy Blackburn for the first few games and it was a season of transition and plugging holes on the fly.
They still came within one game of winning the conference because that is what Texas Tech soccer does but to say the return of Courtwright, Bahr and a fully healthy Blackburn is not massive would be a lie.
“Kylie, she’s the most fearless player I think I’ve had in many, many years,” said head coach Tom Stone. “I can’t underestimate the commentary about how much Kylie’s leadership and ferociousness is important to our team. She is literally scared of nobody. So, we miss that and we’re glad to have her back.”
There was a very realistic world in which Blackburn chose to take a pro opportunity this offseason as well but as Stone noted…she has some unfinished business at Tech and wasn’t ready to leave Lubbock behind just yet.
“She spent the summer training with pro teams and got some great experience there,” said Stone. “That’s where she’ll be going as soon as the season’s over. But Macy’s focused here. She probably could have left and gone and signed a contract somewhere and she’s like ‘Nope, I got work to do, I’m the captain. This is my team.’”
Those two pairing as outside backs alone will make for a relentless attack while also adding some more experience and stability on the backline. Lauren Woodruff, a redshirt-sophomore defender who missed last season injured too, will add depth at that position as well.
2024 Breakout Players Returning
With all of the transition from outgoing graduates and injured players, it left a lot of opportunity for others to step in. In total the team scored 45 goals last season, 38 of those came from players returning in 2025 including Kailtyn Giametta (5), Taylor Zdrojewski (10) and Peyton Parsons (10) who all posted career highs last season. In fact coming into last year those three players had scored a combined two career goals…they put 25 into the back of the net as a trio in 2024.
Freshmen To Watch?
“Raleigh Greason and Emma Torres came in with the biggest resume and they haven’t disappointed,” said coach Stone on this topic. “Emma’s better than we even thought. And Raleigh is one of the easiest freshman I’ve ever had to coach, ever gotten to coach. She is so absorbent, so eager for knowledge and she’s that’s special, too. They both came early. I think those leap out at you as people that could make a difference right away.”
Raleigh Greason is a midfielder from Arvado, Colorado who was a ECNL All-American and spent time training with the U.S Youth National Team after being selected to the USYNT Talent ID Camp this summer.
Emma Torres is midfielder from Austin, Texas where she was the District-25 Class 6A Utility Player of the Year and scored 27 total goals during her 2022-23 club season.
Read about the entire 2025 recruiting class here.
Incoming Transfers to Watch
Texas Tech added four transfers to the team over the offseason in Emilie McCartney (Miami), Chloe Japic (Virginia), Eleanor Hays (Clemson) and Sophie Neves (Alabama.) With Cassie Taylor graduating out there is a hole to fill at one of the centerback positions which McCartney and Hays will both compete for.
“McCartney played every single minute for Miami in the ACC, never came off the field that was amazing,” said Stone. “She has ties here, she’s a Texas kid. So happy she wanted to come home. Eleanor we really wanted in the first cycle so were thrilled she wanted to come back to Texas. Probably the best centerback in Texas coming out of high school.”
At the holding defensive mid position there are also a couple of spots to fill due to both graduation and injury where Japic will make an immediate impact coming in as a sixth-year senior from Virginia.
“That level of experience you can’t replace it,” said Stone. “What’s special about her….you get that sixth year. There is a lot of pomp an circumstance coming from Virginia and she could have walked in acting like she owned the show. She is the farthest thing from that. So humble, so appreciating, so excited to be here. And that’s a special person because it’s easy to mess it up….she isn’t messing up anything. She is all about it.”
When Does The Season Start?
The team is well into preseason camp right now and will take their annual trip to Denver on Thursday for an exhibition game, a trip that has become an important part of the culture here at Texas Tech. It’s where Stone himself started his coaching career and the state of Colorado itself has become a recruiting hotbed for this team during his time here. All of those things and more make it the perfect capper to preseason camp each year for this team.
“We have a lot of great players that have come from there,” said Stone. “And we’ve got a crew of Colorado kids here now. So we love going there. And then it became a thing where it’s a great way to break camp. The heat hasn’t been bad but it’s typical Texas. So we get to Colorado, play a really good team, we invite all the parents. Think we have over 100 people coming to the postgame party, which is really neat.”
After their exhibition with Denver the team will return to Lubbock for a week of training before they travel to San Diego State for their first official match of the season. Their first home game will be August 17, Sunday, at 6:30 pm. BE THERE, BE LOUD!
Watch our full season preview with more tidbits and information on YouTube here.
Join the conversation with other Red Raiders on the Inside The Double T forum.
Subscribe today to get the most in-depth Texas Tech sports and recruiting coverage.
Follow us on X: @RedRaiderSports
Like and follow us on Instagram @rrs_rivals & like us on Facebook.
