JT Toppin Headlines Texas Tech Big 12 Basketball Preseason Honors

LUBBOCK -- Texas Tech was picked No. 5 by conference coaches in the Big 12 preseason poll going into the media day gatherings next week in Kansas City.

Additionally, the Red Raiders' All-American forward JT Toppin was a unanimous selection the All-Big 12 Preseason Team for a second season in a row.

READ MORE: Texas Tech's Grant McCasland Speaks On 'Conviction' of Roster Building

Tech falls behind Arizona, Houston, Kansas and Iowa State atop the conference projection. The Wildcats receive 12 of the 16 first-place votes, and Lithuanian big man Motiejus Krivas was named the conference's preseason player of the year.

Toppin, who took home the Big 12 Player of the Year award at the end of the 2024-25 season, was a first-team All-America selection by the Associated Press despite tearing his ACL and missing the second half of the season for the Red Raiders.

The senior Dallas native has averaged 19.8 points and 10.3 rebounds in Lubbock after transferring from New Mexico after his freshman season in 2023-24.

Toppin is the first Red Raider to land on the preseason all-conference team since Andre Emmet was picked ahead of the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons

Toppin isn't expected to be ready for the first game of the season - Nov. 2 in Lubbock against Jackson State - but he is expected to play at some point for head coach Grant McCasland.

"Honestly, I don't ask," McCasland said earlier this offseason about Toppin's intended timetable to return. "The reason why I don't ask is because I trust our medical staff. [Sports Medicine director] Mike Neal is unbelievable. We've gone through every injury possible together - and JT Toppin wants to play, so don't get that confused on that part. If there's anybody that wants to be out here, watch him on the sideline in practice, and he wishes he was playing. I'm not rushing it in any way, shape or form."

"We're trying to win this season as if he's not playing, knowing that any time you add JT, he's the best basketball player in college right now."

McCasland will bring Toppin and fifth-year returners Darrion Williams and Donovan Atwell to media days next week. The latter two are each part of lawsuits that grant them an additional year of eligibility.

Williams starred on the Red Raiders for two years and helped guide the team to an Elite Eight in the 2024-25 season. Since his transfer to NC State before last season, McCasland expressed gratitude for how things transpired to get Williams back to Lubbock.

"It's one of the most unique things I've ever been a part of," the coach said. "As we [got] through the summer, I honestly told him I didn't think it was going to happen. As we got closer to the year, ... and we started to see this start to transform and take some traction, then he communicated, 'Coach, would you save me a scholarship?'"

"He came back here because he loved being a Red Raider, and then ultimately I think that's the way it works," McCasland added. "You get rewarded for investing in people that you love, not because it's for money or for fame or for whatever the reason ... so give Darrion the credit for all that."

Williams is a part of a 31-player suit that granted players a fifth year of eligibility through a temporary injunction within the last month, the latest chapter in an oftentimes confusing legal situation that has become the norm across basketball and football.

Atwell's latest hearing for his lawsuit, in fact, is taking place this week in Lubbock County court after he was previously a part of a larger suit in a different state. Texas Tech newcomer big man Jamichael Stillwell also finds himself in an eligibility-seeking lawsuit.

READ MORE: Texas Tech Hints at JT Toppin Return in 2026-27

If his temporary restraining order is upheld, Atwell can build on a record-setting debut season for the Red Raiders last year. He shot 45.8 percent from 3-point range on a career-high 8.4 attempts per game, earning All-Big 12 Honorable Mention honors and setting Texas Tech's 3-point record with 130 makes.

His marksmanship was best seen when it mattered most. Atwell hit a single-season Big 12 record 81 triples in conference play at 47.9 percent shooting.

"Donovan Atwell is one of the most consistent winners I've ever been around, and obviously his efficiency numbers. He's a leader in Big 12 threes and Texas Tech 3-point leader, and his percentage was crazy," McCasland said.

Atwell finished the year third nationally in 3-point percentage and second in made 3-pointers. McCasland believes there's still another level to his game, beginning on the other side of the floor.