Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders ranked throughout 2025-26 season
April 07, 2026 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – For the first time in program history, Texas Tech was ranked throughout the season after coming in at No. 21 in the final Associated Press Men's Basketball Top 25 Poll - extending its program record to 29 straight appearances in the AP Top 25.
The Red Raiders (23-11) advanced to their third straight NCAA Tournament under head coach Grant McCasland and finished tied for third in the Big 12 standings with a 12-6 conference record. Tech earned a 91-71 win over Akron in the NCAA Tournament First Round before being eliminated by Alabama in the Second Round to end its season. The Red Raiders, who were No. 10 in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll for their highest preseason ranking in program history, never fell out of the rankings throughout a season where they earned wins over No. 1 Arizona, No. 3 Duke, No. 4 Iowa State and No. 6 Houston to establish the most wins over Top 10 opponents in program history.
The final AP Top 25 Poll is topped by No. 1 Michigan (37-3) which won the 2026 NCAA National Championship on Monday night and was followed in the rankings by No. 2 UConn (34-6), No. 3 Arizona (36-3), No. 4 Duke (35-3) and NO. 5 Illinois (28-9). The Big 12 is also represented in the poll by No. 7 Houston (30-7), No. 8 Iowa State (29-8), and No. 20 Kansas (24-11).
JT Toppin and Christian Anderson led the Red Raiders throughout the season and each earned All-America and All-Big 12 First Team honors while senior Donovan Atwell established a new Texas Tech record with 130 made 3-pointers and earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention Selection. Toppin earned Consensus All-America honors after averaging 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game before a season-ending injury on February 17. Anderson set a new Texas Tech record with 244 assists (7.4 per game) while also scoring 18.5 points per game and making 108 3-pointers which is the second most in program history.
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: Wooden Award All-America, 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
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