Texas Tech has been a big time beneficiary of the transfer portal in the years it has been open. As has become the case for most college basketball programs, the cycle of having to rebuild rosters through the portal is inevitable.

Today, we dive into Texas Tech’s top five portal additions of the last five seasons.

A player who elected to stay following the departure of Chris Beard to Texas, Marcus Santos-Silva was a rock solid force in his two seasons as a Red Raider.

In his first season at Tech, Santos-Silva started in all 29 games and played as more of a rotational piece in his second year.

Santos-Silva offered a defensive presence both inside and outside, with strength and lateral quickness as his forte. Santos-Silva earns a nod on this list given his contributions to the team’s Sweet 16 run in 2022 and how well he fit his role that season.

It was Santos-Silva serving as the defensive stalwart on Baylor’s James Akinjo in Tech’s upset over the then-No. 1 Bears in Waco. Never known for his shooting prowess, Santos-Silva’s clutch free throws in the final minute of the Round of 32 win over Notre Dame also helped put the game out of reach.

This may not be the flashiest pick, but Santos-Silva’s Tech tenure deserves to be recognized.