Toppin selected to All-Big 12 Preseason Team, Tech picked fifth
Toppin, who is entering his third season at Tech, has earned Consensus All-America Second Team honors the past two seasons along with earning All-Big 12 First Team both years. It is his second straight selection to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team, making him the first Red Raiders to earn the preseason honor two times along with Andre Emmett who was selected prior to the start of the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons. In the only season Toppin did not appear on the All-Big 12 Preseason Team, he went on to earn 2025 Big 12 Player of the Year. Toppin is coming off a season where he averaged 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game before suffering a season-ending injury.
In the Preseason Coaches’ Poll, Tech comes in at No. 5 while Arizona was picked to win the Big 12 for the second straight season. The Wildcats took 12 first-place votes from the league’s 16 head coaches and were followed by Houston which received four first-place votes. Kansas is slated third and Iowa State fourth with one more point in the tabulation than the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech is set to open its 2026-27 season on November 2 against Jackson State at United Supermarkets Arena. The Red Raiders went 12-6 in conference play last season, finishing tied for third after being picked third in the preseason poll. Tech begins Big 12 play with a road game at Cincinnati on January 2, 2027 in Ohio before hosting Baylor on Wednesday, January 6 in its first conference home game.
2026-27 Monster Energy Big 12 Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1. Arizona (12) – 220 points
2. Houston (4) – 214 points
3. Kansas – 186 points
4. Iowa State – 181 points
5. Texas Tech – 180 points
6. BYU – 148 points
7. TCU – 137 points
8. Cincinnati – 116 points
West Virginia – 116 points
10. Baylor – 102 points
11. Oklahoma State – 98 points
12. Arizona State – 75 points
13. UCF – 55 points
14. Colorado – 34 points
Kansas State – 34 points
16. Utah – 24 points
2026-27 Monster Energy Big 12 Men’s Basketball Preseason Honors
Preseason Player of the Year: Motiejus Krivas, Arizona
Preseason Newcomer of the Year: Paulius Murauskas, Arizona State
Preseason Freshman of the Year: Tyran Stokes, Kansas
Ivan Kharchenkov, Arizona
Motiejus Krivas, Arizona
Paulius Muruskas, Arizona State
Robert Wright III, BYU*
Dedan Thomas Jr., Houston
Joseph Tugler, Houston
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Tyran Stokes, Kansas
Xavier Edmonds, TCU
JT Toppin, Texas Tech*
Players are sorted alphabetically by school
*Indicates unanimous selection
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.
Release provided by Wes Bloomquist Texas Tech Athletics