Red Raiders shine during 2025-26 basketball season

LUBBOCK – A basketball season full of excitement and resilience didn't end the way Texas Tech envisioned but it shouldn't overshadow all the accomplishments along the journey. The Red Raiders advanced to their third straight NCAA Tournament under head coach Grant McCasland and along the way set multiple program records in win and statistical categories. Fans witnessed four wins over Top 10 opponents, including an overtime thriller at No. 1 Arizona, a home win over No. 6 Houston on an icy afternoon in Lubbock with ESPN College GameDay on campus and a 17-point comeback victory over No. 3 Duke at Madison Square Garden. JT Toppin and Christian Anderson set records and earned All-America honors while Donovan Atwell rewrote the record book with his sharpshooting.

"I wouldn't want to do it with anybody else," McCasland said. "We had some great moments and games. I just love those guys and I'm thankful for them. Thankful for the way they competed all the way through some tough times. It's always worth it to give your whole heart to them. I told them it's always worth it to give your whole heart to each other. These guys are amazing and a lot of amazing things happened this year that we'll be able to look back on with a lot of gratitude."

Below are highlights for a program that continues to be among the national elite each season.

Finished the 2025-26 season with a 23-11 overall record, 12-6 in conference (tied for third), 14-2 at home
Ranked in AP Top 25 throughout season for first time in program history
Advanced to third straight NCAA Tournament, 22nd time in program history
Set program record with three wins over Top 5 opponents for first time
Set program record with four wins over Top 10 for first time
Earned third win in program history over a No. 1-ranked opponent (road win over Arizona)
Toppin led Tech with 21.8 points, 10.8 rebounds and 16 double-doubles… His scoring average is the most for the program since Corry Carr averaged 25.3 points per game in the 1997-98 season… His 10.8 rebounds per game is the most since Tony Battie averaged 11.8 rebounds per game in the 1996-97 season… Toppin averaged a double-double for the season and had six games with a double-double while scoring over 30 points… He scored a season-high 35 points at Illinois, matched a career-high with 18 rebounds against Colorado and recorded a 31-point, 13-rebound performance in the win at No. 1 Arizona
Anderson set new single-season assist record with 244 total assists and finished second program history with 108 made 3-pointers… Led Big 12 and is fifth nationally with 7.4 assists per game (also a program record), recorded eight double-doubles (ninth most in Big 12)… Ranks fifth nationally with total assists and assist average… Scored 18.5 points per game – ranked fifth in the Big 12… Anderson's 18.5 points per game matched Jarrett Culver for the highest scoring average for a sophomore since Andre Emmett scored 18.7 points per game in his sophomore season (2001-02)… Anderson rewrote the program's assists records with his 244 assists and 7.4 assists per game average, including setting a career-high with 13 assists in a win over Oklahoma State and having eight games with 10-plus assists… He scored a career-high 34 points and had 11 assists for his first career double-double in the season opener against Lindenwood and had 31 points and a career-best 11 rebounds in a win over Cincinnati… Anderson is also now second in program history with his 108 made 3-pointers this season, finishing his sophomore season shooting 41.5% from beyond the arc including a career high 8-for-10 shooting performance on 3s in a road win at Baylor
Anderson now has 983 points, 321 assists, 179 made 3-pointers (40.0%) through two seasons at Texas Tech
Atwell set a new single-season record with 130 made 3-pointers… Ranks second in the nation in total 3s and with 3.82 made 3s per game, third by shooting 45.8% from beyond the arc… Atwell had 12 games with five or more 3s, including a season-high at Baylor when he went 7-for-10 from beyond the arc… Atwell scored 20-plus points in five games with a season-high 26 points in a home win over Kansas State when he went 6-for-9 from beyond the arc
Atwell and Anderson combined for 238 made 3-pointers, most combined for teammates in the nation
At the time of his injury, Toppin was leading the nation with 234 made field goals and was in the Top 10 nationally in scoring (21.8), rebounding (10.8) and double-doubles (16)
Jaylen Petty averaged 9.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists as a freshman… Petty scored a career-high 24 points in the NCAA Tournament First Round win over Akron and finished his first season with three games over 20 points and with 17 games scoring in double figures… Petty started the final 22 games of the season and finished the season shooting 69-for-184 (37.5%) on 3-pointers
During the season, LeJuan Watts, Atwell and Tyeree Bryan each reached the 1,000-point milestone in their career… Watts averaged 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds during his first season at Tech and now has 1,156 points in 99 career games… Atwell was third on the team with 13.5 points per game in his senior season and finished his collegiate career with 1,348 points and 341 made 3-pointers… Bryan finished his college career with 1,014 points in 126 games… Watts scored the most points by a Red Raider during the season, dropping 36 points on 12-for-13 shooting against Northern Colorado
Through 94 career games, Toppin has 1,593 points, 907 rebounds and 47 double-doubles
Toppin and Anderson were the only teammates nationally selected to AP All-America, Wooden Award Ballot
Toppin is the first Tech player to earn AP All-America First Team… second straight Consensus All-America season
Toppin and Anderson earned All-Big 12 First Team; Atwell selected All-Big 12 Honorable Mention
Toppin earned four Big 12 Player of the Week honors, Anderson named Big 12 Player of the Week three times
Team set program record with 384 made 3-pointers, 11.3 per game set new record
Team shot 39.1% on 3-pointers, including setting program single-game record with 17 makes in three games
Team led Big 12 and ranks sixth nationally with 11.3 made 3s per game, ranks seventh nationally in 3-point percentage
McCasland is the first Tech coach to take team to three straight NCAA tournaments in first three years
McCasland is 74-31 (70.5%) in three seasons at Texas Tech, 38-18 in Big 12 games, 44-7 at home
First time in our Big 12 history with double digit conference wins in three straight seasons
McCasland first coach in program history with three 10-plus Big 12 wins at any point
McCasland first coach in program history with three 10-plus Big 12 wins to start tenure
First time with 10-plus wins in conference play since four straight years from 1994-97 (SWC)
Over the past three seasons, Tech has 38 wins in Big 12 play which is most in three-year span in program history
Finished third or higher in Big 12 standings for first time since 2018-20
McCasland and Bob Knight are the only coaches in program history to win 20-plus games in first three years… Program now has 19 20-plus wins in 101 seasons
Program has made 8 of last 10 tournaments… 15-8 over span (Reached two Elite Eights, four Sweet 16s, NCAA Championship Finalist) - As a program, Tech has made the tournament in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026
Texas Tech was part of two ESPN College GameDay productions during the season and was 2-0 during the games… Tech hosted ESPN College GameDay on January 24 and topped No. 6 Houston with a 90-86 victory… A couple weeks later in Tucson, Arizona with ESPN College GameDay on location, the Red Raiders earned a 78-75 overtime win over No. 1 Arizona
The Red Raiders were ranked No. 20 in the AP Top 25 entering the NCAA Tournament to secure their first season in program history being ranked all season… Tech was at No. 10 in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll for its highest preseason ranking in program history and has now been ranked in a program-best 28 straight AP Top 25 releases

TEXAS TECH POSTSEASON AWARDS
ANDERSON: AP All-America Third Team; All-Big 12 First Team; Big 12 Most Improved Player; USBWA All-America Third Team; The Sporting News All-American Third Team; Field of 68 All-American Third Team; Associated Press All-Big 12 First Team; Wooden Award Ballot, NABC Gulf District First Team
ATWELL: All-Big 12 Honorable Mention; All-Big 12 Newcomer Team
TOPPIN: AP All-America First Team; All-Big 12 First Team; NABC All-America Second Team; USBWA All-America Second Team; The Sporting News All-American Second Team; Field of 68 All-American First Team; Associated Press All-Big 12 First Team; Wooden Award Ballot, NABC Gulf District First Team
McCASLAND: NABC Gulf District Co-Coach of the Year

Follow the Red Raiders: Keep up with Texas Tech men's basketball news at TexasTech.com and at the team's social media on Instagram, X and Facebook.

Texas Tech University Athletics

Red Raiders shine during 2025-26 basketball season

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Players Mentioned

Christian Anderson

Donovan Atwell

Tyeree Bryan

Jaylen Petty

JT Toppin

LeJuan Watts

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