Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby under investigation for ‘thousands’ of potential gambling violations

Texas Tech transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby is on an indefinite leave of absence from the football team and will seek treatment for a gambling addiction, the school said in a statement Monday.

According to ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the NCAA is investigating Sorsby for placing thousands of bets through a gambling app, and the potential gambling violations date back to 2022, while he was at Indiana.

Thamel notes that the quarterback is alleged to have bet on Hoosier games that season while he was a backup. He played just one game with the team and transferred to Cincinnati after two seasons.

Sorsby led the Big 12 in passer rating last season while at Cincinnati and was the No. 1 rated player in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings after the season. The Red Raiders inked Sorsby to a one-year deal worth up to $4 million to assume the position as their lead signal caller.

Brendan Sorsby (middle) is under investigation for sports gambling violations. AP

So far, there is no indication that Sorsby was seeking to manipulate or influence outcomes, according to Thamel’s report, but simply betting on college sports is a bright red line for NCAA athletes.

NCAA players are prohibited from wagering on college and professional sports.

After flirting with relaxing some rules around allowing players to wager on professional sports last year and getting significant pushback, the NCAA eventually decided against it and has since attempted to pressure leagues to ban prop bets and to suspend college sports from prediction markets.

The NCAA said in January that it had investigated roughly 40 student-athletes from 20 schools for sports betting violations, and 11 students had previously wagered on themselves, shared information with bettors, or manipulated their own performance for bets.

Brendan Sorsby during the Texas Tech Spring Game. Ron Jenkins/Getty Images for ONIT

All of those players were subsequently banned from competing in NCAA sports under the latest guidelines for sports-betting violations.

That precedent could prove costly for Sorsby if he is found to have wagered on himself or his team. For now, his head coach and team say they are more focused on his mental health and well-being.

“We love Brendan and support his decision to seek professional help,” Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said in a statement to the media.

“Taking this step requires courage, and our primary focus is on him as a person. Our program is behind Brendan as he prioritizes his health.”