Tarleton State lands JUCO rushing leader Markellus Bass after campus visit

Tarleton State did not just add a running back on May 6. It landed the nation’s leading junior-college rusher, a 5-foot-11, 203-pound back whose 1,237-yard season at Butler Community College gives the Texans a real chance to change the shape of their offense and, with it, their place in the United Athletic Conference race.

Markellus Bass committed after an official visit to Stephenville, where he met with head coach Todd Whitten and running backs coach Pepe Pearson. Pearson, who enters his fourth season at Tarleton in 2026, appears to have played a central role in the push. Bass said the offer came after Pearson called, made the scholarship offer official and moved quickly to get him on campus. Bass also said Tarleton was "on me hard" and that the staff gave him "a lot of reassurance" by letting him know he was wanted there.

That kind of connection matters, but Bass’s production is what makes this a program-changing add. In 2025, he led the nation in rushing with 187 carries for 1,237 yards and eight touchdowns. He averaged 123.7 rushing yards per game and 6.6 yards per carry, and over two junior-college seasons he piled up 306 carries for 1,768 yards and 12 touchdowns. Butler said he finished his career as the 11th all-time leading rusher in school history. He was also named a first-team NJCAA All-American and a first-team All-KJCCC selection.

For Tarleton, the commitment is bigger than another offseason headline. Whitten is the all-time winningest coach in program history, and the Texans already put together a 10-4 season in 2024, won their FCS playoff debut against Drake and reached the second round. Adding a back with Bass’s resume gives Tarleton a piece that can help it play more physical football in the league and reduce the margin for error against the teams it needs to beat to keep climbing.

Bass’s market reflected that upside. He chose Tarleton over Prairie View A&M, UT Martin, Bryant, Lamar, UTEP, Houston Christian, East Tennessee State, Southeast Missouri State, Campbell, Chicago State, Indiana State, Alcorn State, Alabama A&M, Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. That list says as much about Bass’s reputation as it does about Tarleton’s pitch.

Bass, from Nashville, Tennessee, and a McGavock High School product, said the visit felt like home and that he wants to be part of a program chasing a national championship. For a Texans program trying to turn recent momentum into something more permanent, that is exactly the kind of commitment that changes the conversation.