OKLAHOMA CITY — Lauren Allred’s biggest fan just so happens to be Joey McGuire.
The Texas Tech softball team’s veteran slugger and the football head coach were born in the same hospital, an instant connection between a player and coach of different generations. McGuire regularly sports an Allred jersey (red, of course) for games, posting a picture of himself wearing it after Allred’s game-tying grand slam against Ole Miss during the Lubbock Regional.
In Texas Tech’s historic two-year run, Allred has been at the center of some of the biggest moments. It was her walk-off sacrifice fly in last year’s Women’s College World Series that sent the Red Raiders to the finals against Texas. And in the second game of the 2026 semifinals against Alabama (after hitting her first WCWS home run in the first game), Allred made what Gerry Glasco called an “elite” catch to secure Tech’s return to the championship series.
Picking between the three plays — the grand slam, the sac fly and the final out — is hard for Allred to do. She went with the sac fly, which knocked out the reigning four-time national champion Oklahoma Sooners, at the top with the grand slam and final catch neck-and-neck in the order.
“Lauren is so clutch,” NiJaree Canady said. “If there’s anyone I want in the box, it’s Lauren Allred. … I feel like she doesn’t get enough credit for the things she does both on and off the field.”
Allred has been an integral piece to Texas Tech’s foundation, coming over with Glasco from Louisiana. After being the everyday first baseman in 2025, Tech’s loaded transfer portal class put Allred’s position in question. She’s since cemented herself as the right fielder, but she had to work for it.
“She’s earned what she’s got here,” Glasco said of Allred. “I made her earn right field. She does that because she works hard in whatever you’ve got to do. And because she had to earn it, she’s fully confident right now. She’s a really good right fielder.”
Allred is one of four Louisiana players left who joined Glasco at Texas Tech. The other three — Mihyia Davis, Victoria Valdez and Chloe Riassetto — are in their senior years while Allred (who medically redshirted her second year at Louisiana) has another year left if she so chooses.
When she and the other Glasco disciples (including Alexa Langeliers, who was a senior on last year’s WCWS national runner-up) came to Lubbock, they had to establish the foundation and culture Glasco wants. There’s a joy, a happiness when Glasco speaks about Allred, or watches her answer questions about herself.
Glasco is hard of hearing, so his spot in postgame press conferences is between his players so he can hear what’s being said. Sometimes he still won’t catch it, so when Allred is on the stage with him, she’ll relay the question for him, then watch him speak with a subtle smile across her face.
Texas Tech was not a softball hotbed before the 2025 season. Glasco has mentioned on several occasions how different things are in Lubbock since the Red Raiders have found success on the field. Glasco has become a pseudo-celebrity in town because of it, which Allred takes pride in, knowing the role everyone has played in making Texas Tech a notable name in softball.
“It was kind of like that at Louisiana,” Allred said of Glasco’s celebrity status. “Coming to Lubbock the first time, like right away, it wasn’t like that. So it was a bit different. It was something you kind of had to work through, and we knew we had to build the program up.
“I think now that we’re starting to see the same similarities, it’s like, oh, we did it. We’re finally getting to the goals we made for ourselves.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lauren Allred’s clutch gene part of Texas Tech softball’s foundation
Reporting by Nathan Giese, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
