Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt reiterated as early as this week that the search for a new head baseball coach would take as much time as needed and that interest in the job has been “tremendous.” In the end, Hocutt didn’t have to wait long or go far to find the right guy. Wednesday marked the end of the 10-day period the school was required to keep the job open after posting it, and late Thursday afternoon, Tech took the interim tag off associate coach Tim Tadlock, making him the school’s ninth head baseball coach.

In three seasons, Barrett Barnes went from an undrafted infielder out of Fort Bend Austin High School to one of the top collegiate players in the nation. Barnes’ ascension was rewarded late Monday night when the junior center fielder for Texas Tech was chosen 45th overall — in the Compensatory A or “sandwich” round between the first and second rounds — in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, very likely ending his Red Raider career.

SECAUCUS, N.J. — Texas Tech junior outfielder Barrett Barnes became the third-highest draft selection in school history late Monday night when the Pittsburgh Pirates selected him No. 45 overall in the 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Barnes was selected in the Compensatory A, or “sandwich round” between the first and second rounds, where teams are compensated with picks for losing free agents.