Christian Anderson, an AP Third Team All-American this season for the Red Raiders, is enrolling in the 2026 NBA Draft.
LUBBOCK - Texas Tech sophomore Christian Anderson announced Tuesday that he will be forgoing his collegiate eligibility and enrolling in the 2026 NBA Draft, according to draft reporter Jonathan Givony of the Draft Express. Anderson is represented by Aaron Mintz of CAA Basketball.
Givony labels Anderson, the Third Team All-American guard from Atlanta, a "projected first-round pick" after another stellar season with the Red Raiders, in which he averaged 18.5 points, 7.2 assists and shot 42 percent from 3-point range.
Anderson was this year's Big 12 Conference Most Improved Player, even after being a regular starter as a freshman for Red Raiders coach Grant McCasland. Paired with fellow All-American big man JT Toppin and dynamic wing Darrion Williams, Anderson helped Texas Tech reach the Elite Eight in his first season in 2025.
This year, Toppin's midseason ACL injury put a damper in the Red Raiders' chances of another deep NCAA tournament run. Tech fell to Alabama in the second round of this year's big dance.
Prior to that, the crafty 6-3 guard Anderson landed on the All-Big 12 First Team by leading the conference in assists, showcasing a strong IQ that will be intriguing to scouts at the next level. His 244 assists in 2025-26 set a new Texas Tech single-season record.
His offensive game also includes an elite 3-point shot. Anderson improved his perimeter shooting from an already-impressive 38 percent clip in 2024-25 to a 42 percent mark, even off of more attempts per game from behind the arc, this season.
Anderson will bring a taste of international experience into the NBA in addition to his play from college. Last summer, he competed on the German national team in the FIBA U19 World Cup. He recorded 18 points, nine assists, five rebounds and four steals in the finals against the United States on the way to receiving All-Star Five honors in the tournament.
Upon entering the NBA, Anderson will project to be a knock-down shooter who can also facilitate an offense. While built more on the slender slide, he presents good length to finish over defenders and handle the ball.
For Texas Tech, it represents a massive loss of production and continuity from one of McCasland's best teams to date in his short tenure in Lubbock. If Toppin sits for the entirety of the 2026-27 season, the Red Raiders could be without its top four leading scorers from this past season as LeJuan Watts has entered the transfer portal and Donovan Atwell has graduated.
That means the process begins now for McCasland and staff to find reinforcements in the portal, which officially opened this week as the college basketball landscape enters the offseason.
