LUBBOCK – Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland has officially announced the signing of Elijah Hawkins who was second nationally with 7.5 assists per game and earned All-Big Ten Conference Honorable Mention last season while playing at Minnesota. Hawkins, who finished his third season as the NCAA active career leader at 6.39 assists per game, established a new program single-season assists records for the Gophers with 247 total assists in 33 games played and a single-game record with a 17-assist performance. A 5-foot-11, 165-pound guard, he transfers to play for the Red Raiders with one season of eligibility remaining and having already produced 1,077 points and 589 assists through 92 career games.
"I'm excited to compete for a Big 12 championship," Hawkins said. "I can bring a lot of excitement and toughness."
A Washington, D.C. native, Hawkins is coming off a season where he averaged 9.5 points, 7.5 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game in a season for the Gophers where he started 33 of 34 games. He averaged a team-best 33.3 minutes per game and finished the season with 18 double-digit scoring performances, eight double-digit assist games and had six games with a double-double (scoring-assist). He scored a career-high 24 points against Ohio State in a win where he was 4-for-5 on 3-pointers and added seven assists. For his career, Hawkins is 134-for-356 (37.6%) on 3-pointers and is coming off a season where he led Minnesota with 54 steals and made 47 made 3-pointers (36.4%).
Hawkins would play all 40 minutes in five Big Ten games, including producing double-doubles with 12 assists and 10 points against Illinois and then 14 points and 10 assists against Northwestern. In the NIT, Hawkins had 15 assists, 11 points, six rebounds and three steals in a win over Butler – establishing a new Minnesota single-game program assists record.
Hawkins started his collegiate career at Howard University where he played two seasons and helped lead the Bison to the 2023 NCAA Tournament after winning the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament title. He averaged 12.9 points, 6.0 assists, 1.7 steals and shot 46.6 percent on 3-pointers during his sophomore season where he earned All-MEAC First Team honors along with NABC All-District. As a freshman, Hawkins averaged 13 points, 5.6 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game in 26 starts for Howard.
Before college, Hawkins starred at DeMatha Catholic High School and was a McDonald's All-America nominee. He was ranked as the 13th best player in Maryland/DC as a senior.
For Texas Tech program reference, the most total assists in a season is held by John Roberson who had 212 during the 2008-09 season. Roberson is the only player in Tech history with 200-plus assists in a season. This past season, Joe Toussaint led the Red Raiders with 146 assists – averaging a team-best 4.3 assists per game.
Hawkins is the third player to sign from the transfer portal with Texas Tech this offseason, following Federiko Federiko and Kevin Overton. Overton played his freshman season at Drake, while Federiko played the past two seasons at Pitt. The Red Raiders are coming off a season where they advanced to the NCAA Tournament and finished tied for third in the Big 12 standings in McCasland's first season leading the program. The Red Raiders were 15-2 at home, reached the Big 12 Championship semifinals and earned a trip to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Tech finished the season with a 23-11 overall record - the 17th time in program history with 20 or more wins and its postseason berth was the sixth time in eight tournaments to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
