The All-American forward, who tore his ACL in February, is now expected to return at some point this upcoming season.
LUBBOCK - It appears Texas Tech men's basketball is going to get a big boost for the 2026-27 season that was previously thought of as a longshot.
The Red Raiders' social media account posted a cryptic video featuring All-American forward JT Toppin, his No. 15 jersey, and the wordmark "2026-27," suggesting - or flat out announcing - that he will be available at some point next season.
Toppin saw his stellar junior season come to an end when he tore his ACL on Feb. 17. The 6-9 forward drove to the left side of the basket in a road game against Arizona State, in which his right knee buckled under the basket.
The Dallas native missed the rest of the 2025-26 season after averaging 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game - both top-11 marks in the country.
Toppin was the Big 12 Player of the Year and a consensus Second Team All-American as a sophomore in 2024-25, his first season in Lubbock after transferring from New Mexico. That season ended with Toppin leading the Red Raiders to a berth in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, where they'd ultimately fall in comeback fashion to the eventual-champion Florida Gators.
The Red Raiders finished last season 23-11 overall, going 4-4 without Toppin in the lineup. Tech won its first three games without its star forward, then dropped the final two games of the regular season and the first game of the conference tournament, a blowout at the hands of No. 7-ranked and 5-seed Iowa State.
In the big dance, Texas Tech won its opening-round matchup over 12-seed Akron, then fell in the Round of 32 to 4-seed Alabama, 90-65.
Toppin's return is a major boost in continuity for a Red Raiders squad that is losing two other top contributors, All-American guard Christian Anderson, who was drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft, and sharp-shooting senior Donovan Atwell, who earned an opportunity in the NBA Summer League after being undrafted.
Head coach Grant McCasland has remodeled the roster through the transfer portal, along with recruiting 4-star freshman signee Dakari Spear.
Texas Tech has added three highly-rated transfers in the 2026 cycle: Hofstra guard Cruz Davis, UNLV guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, and Wyoming guard Damarion Dennis.
