QB Brendan Sorsby, top player in portal, commits to Texas Tech - ESPN

Former Cincinnati quarterback Brendan Sorsby, the top player in the NCAA transfer portal, is committing to Texas Tech, Sorsby told ESPN on Sunday.

Sorsby's decision comes in the wake of his visits to Lubbock, Texas, on Friday and LSU in Baton Rouge on Saturday — and after the Red Raiders' aggressiveness in the transfer portal led to the school's first Big 12 title.

He said he was blown away by Texas Tech's facilities and appreciated the culture set there by the coaching staff.

For 2026, Texas Tech lured perhaps the biggest — and likely most expensive — acquisition yet. Sorsby was No. 1 overall in ESPN's portal rankings. He'll project as one of the top quarterbacks in the country next season, as he earned second-team All-Big 12 honors last year.

Texas Tech has earned a reputation for being one of the sport's biggest spenders; ESPN's Max Olson reported that the Red Raiders spent more than $3 million on edge rusher David Bailey last year.

Sorsby was expected to be at or close to the top of the market this year, which sources predicted would project at around $5 million. It's unknown what Sorsby received, but the competition between two of the biggest spenders means it will be a surprise if he isn't atop the sport's highest-paid players in 2026 and surpassing that $5 million number.

Sorsby proved one of the country's most effective dual-threat quarterbacks in 2025, as he threw for 27 touchdowns on 2,800 passing yards and rushed for nine more scores on 580 yards. He projects as one of the top quarterbacks in a 2027 NFL draft crop that projects — for now, anyway — to be deep with talent.

Texas Tech's program leveraged its spending to finish the season as league champ and the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff, earning