Texas Tech University Athletics
Toppin earns All-Big 12 First Team honors
March 09, 2026 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – Dominant is an understatement for Texas Tech junior forward JT Toppin who has been named to the All-Big 12 First Team for the second straight season after leading the conference with 16 double-doubles,10.8 rebounds per game and 4.20 offensive rebounds per game this season. Toppin, an unanimous selection, averaged 21.8 points per game – ranking third in the conference and 11th nationally before suffering a season-ending injury with five games remaining in the regular season. The 2026 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 men's basketball awards were voted on by the league's head coaches.
A four-time Big 12 Player of the Week and selected to the Wooden Award Ballot and Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Late-Season watchlist, Toppin suffered a season-ending injury after tearing the ACL in his right knee at Arizona State on February 17. 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). Toppin went off for 31 points and 13 rebounds at No. 1 Arizona to secure his ninth career game with a 30-plus point double-double and had 20 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, four assists and two steals against Arizona State before suffering his injury.
Toppin had nine double-doubles in Big 12 games, including matching a career high with 18 rebounds in a win over Colorado where he also had 16 points. He scored in double figures in 24 of 25 games played this season, including 15 games scoring 20 or more and six games with 30-plus. He scored a season-high 35 points at Illinois and also had 31 points and 12 rebounds in a home win over Houston. Toppin finished his season shooting 234-for-427 (54.8%) from the field and also averaged 1.7 blocks and 2.1 assists per game.
Toppin is only the third Red Raider in program history to earn multiple All-Big 12 First Team honors and the first since Jarrius Jackson in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 season. Andre Emmett was a three-time All-Big 12 First Team selection from 2002-04. A junior from Dallas, Toppin has 47 double-doubles, 1,593 points, 907 rebounds and 159 blocked shots through 94 career games played. He was named the 2024-25 Big 12 Player of the Year and was a Consensus Second Team All-America last season.
2026 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men's Basketball Awards
Player of the Year:Â Jaden Bradley, Arizona
Defensive Player of the Year:Â Flory Bidunga, Kansas
Scholar-Athlete of the Year:Â Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Freshman of the Year:Â AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Newcomer of the Year:Â Melvin Council Jr., Kansas
Sixth Man Award:Â Tobe Awaka, Arizona*
Most Improved:Â Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
Coach of the Year:Â Tommy Lloyd, ArizonaÂ
All-Big 12 First Team
Jaden Bradley, Arizona
Brayden Burries, Arizona
Motiejus Krivas, Arizona
AJ Dybantsa, BYU*
Emanuel Sharp, Houston
Kingston Flemings, Houston*
Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State
Flory Bidunga, Kansas
Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
JT Toppin, Texas Tech*
All-Big 12 Second Team
Richie Saunders, BYU
Baba Miller, Cincinnati
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State
Darryn Peterson, Kansas
All-Big 12 Third Team
Koa Peat, Arizona
Cameron Carr, Baylor
Rob Wright, BYU
Themus Fulks, UCF
Xavier Edmonds, TCU
All-Big 12 Honorable Mention:
Arizona: Tobe Awaka
Baylor: Tounde Yessoufou
Cincinnati: Moustapha Thiam
Colorado: Isaiah Johnson
Houston: Joseph Tugler, Milos Uzan
Kansas: Melvin Council Jr.
Kansas State: PJ Haggerty
Oklahoma State: Parsa Fallah
TCU: David Punch
Texas Tech: Donovan Atwell
West Virginia: Honor Huff
Utah: Terrence Brown
 All-Defensive Team
Jaden Bradley, Arizona
Motiejus Krivas, Arizona
Emanuel Sharp, Houston
Joseph Tugler, Houston
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Flory Bidunga, Kansas*
A tie resulted in an extra position on the team
All-Freshman Team
Brayden Burries, Arizona*
Koa Peat, Arizona
AJ Dybantsa, BYU*
Kingston Flemings, Houston*
Darryn Peterson, Kansas*Â
All-Newcomer Team
Cameron Carr, Baylor
Themus Fulks, UCF
Baba Miller, Cincinnati
Melvin Council Jr., Kansas
Donovan Atwell, Texas Tech
*- unanimous selection
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