Over the past 10 years, the Texas Tech men's track and field team has finished among the top six four times at the NCAA indoor championships and among the top 10 four times at the NCAA outdoor meet, including winning the national championship in 2019.

That helped Tech coach Wes Kittley assemble his team for this year.

The Red Raiders host the Corky Classic, their traditional season opener, on Friday and Saturday at the Sports Performance Center. During the off-season, the Tech men added 11 transfers, several with the potential to make an impact at Big 12 and NCAA meets.

The NCAA scholarship limit for men's track and field is the equivalent of 12.6, to be split up among a larger number of athletes. With only about three scholarships worth of financial aid available, Kittley said he didn't foresee making as big a splash as he did in the NCAA transfer portal. He said he sensed that some of the athletes who'd experienced individual success wanted to be on a better team.

"We just couldn't believe how many kids we got," he said, "because we didn't have a lot of money. But they all wanted to be here and just came for less."

Among the top newcomers:

Zach Bradford: A pole vaulter from Kansas, he was a three-time Big 12 champion and a five-time first-team all-American, a status conveyed on top-eight finishers at an NCAA championship meet. His personal record is 19 feet, 3/4 inch.

Keyshawn King: A horizontal jumper from Stanford, he finished fourth in the triple jump at last year's NCAA outdoor and has a personal record of 55 feet, 1/4 inch.

Don'Dre Swint: A sprinter from Florida State, he finished seventh in the 60 meters at last year's NCAA indoor and ran on the Seminoles' 400-meter relay team that took third at the 2021 NCAA outdoor.

Caleb Dean: A sprinter and hurdler from Maryland, he qualified for the NCAA outdoor in the 400-meter hurdles each of the past two years, both times after finishing second in that event at the Big Ten championships. He has personal records of 6.63 seconds in the 60 meters, 7.82 in the 60-meter hurdles and 49.77 in the 400 hurdles.

Kaithon McDonald: A high jumper from Maryland, he qualified for the 2021 NCAA outdoor and has a personal best of 7-2 1/4.

Erhire Omamuyovwi: A high jumper and horizontal jumper from Middle Tennessee State, he's gone 7-1 3/4 in the high jump and was a second-team all-American at the 2021 NCAA indoor.

Joe Keys: A combined-events specialist from Marquette, he was a second-team all-American at the 2021 NCAA outdoor and the 2022 NCAA indoor and won one Big East Conference title apiece in the decathlon and the heptathlon. He has exhausted his eligibility for indoor competition, but will compete for the Red Raiders outdoors.

Warren Miller: A pole vaulter from Texas, he has three fourth-place finishes and a third in the past four Big 12 meets — the 2021 and 2022 indoor and the 2021 and 2022 outdoor. His personal record is 17-9.

Lance Broome: A sprinter from Texas A&M, he qualified in the 200 meters for the 2021 NCAA outdoor and the 2022 NCAA indoor. He also was part of the Aggies' sprint relay that got seventh at the 2021 NCAA outdoor. He's run a wind-legal 20.60 200 outdoors.

"We didn't dream when we started out we would get that many (impact transfers)," Kittley said. "We're just thrilled they want to be here and be part of our program."

The newcomers will help offset the loss of a top Tech performer lost to injury and a few others who have given up the sport. Vashaun Vascianna, fourth in the 60-meter hurdles as a freshman at last year's NCAA indoor, will undergo surgery to repair a hip labrum and likely miss the entire 2023 campaign.

Among those no longer on the roster are combined-events specialist Gary Haasbroek, high jumper Jack Scarborough, high jumper/horizontal jumper Jequan Hogan and middle-distance runners Sven Cepus and Owens Likins.

Kittley said Haasbroek, Scarborough and Hogan are no longer competing, though they had eligibility left. Scarborough has graduated with an MBA, gotten married and moved to Florida. Haasbroek earned a business degree, married and moved to San Antonio. Cepus graduated last month with a finance degree and decided to forego the one indoor season he had left, Kittley said.

Hogan is finishing a degree at Tech, but not competing. Kittley said Likins is not going to run this year, but is uncertain of his future plans.

"We're really appreciative of what they did," Kittley said, "but I feel like we have replaced that (production) and actually I think we're in better shape.

Track & field

What: The Corky Classic

When: Friday-Saturday

Where: Sports Performance Center

Friday's schedule: Field-event start times from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Running-event start times from 5 p.m. to 9:20 p.m.

Saturday's schedule: Field-event start times from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Running-event start times from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Strong class of transfers boosts hopes for Tech men's track and field team