Texas Tech University Athletics
Trio set to represent Tech at Big 12 Media Day
October 15, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – Christian Anderson, JT Toppin and Grant McCasland are set to represent No. 10 Texas Tech next week at Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Day presented by New Era. The annual spotlight event is set for Wednesday, November 22 at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City – the site of the Big 12 Championship in March.
McCasland will be making his third trip to Kansas City for Big 12 Media Day as the leader of the Red Raiders. He is currently 51-20 through two seasons with two trips to the NCAA Tournament, including leading the Red Raiders to the Elite Eight last season. Tech went 28-9 during the 2024-25 season and finished second in the Big 12 standings with a 15-5 conference record. The team won eight road games in Big 12 play to set a new program record and advanced to the program's third Elite Eight after an overtime victory over Arkansas in the Sweet 16. McCasland is entering his 10th season as a NCAA Division I head coach and has a 206-97 record. Over the summer, McCasland served as an assistant coach for Team USA where he helped lead the team to the FIBA U19 World Cup championship title.
Toppin is coming off a sophomore season where he earned consensus all-America, Big 12 Player of the Year, Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and All-Big 12 First Team honors. He led the Red Raiders with 18.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 19 double-doubles in his first season with the Red Raiders. A Dallas native, he returns as a junior and is listed at 6-foot-9 and 230 pounds. He recorded a double-double in all four NCAA Tournament games last season and had a double-double in eight of the last 10 games of the season. Toppin scored a season-high 41 points and added 15 rebounds in a double-overtime win over Arizona State and finished the season scoring in double figures in a team high 28 games – including 15 straight to conclude the season. Within his 19 double-doubles, Toppin recorded three with 30-plus points including going for 32 points and 12 rebounds at Oklahoma State and producing 30 points and 14 rebounds in the home finale against Colorado.
Toppin, who played his freshman season at New Mexico before transferring, enters his third collegiate season with 1,047 points, 636 rebounds, 116 blocks and 31 double-doubles through 69 career games.
Anderson returns from a dynamic freshman season and a successful summer where he represented Germany in the FIBU U19 World Cup. An Atlanta, Georgia native, Anderson earned All-Big 12 Freshman Team honors after averaging 10.6 points, 2.2 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game. He scored a career-high 22 points against Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 victory and had a career-best six assists in a road win at Kansas in his first collegiate season. A 6-foot-3 guard, Anderson played a reserve role for most of his first season but would be a starter in the final five games. He finished the season scoring 20-or-more points in four games and matched the team-high with 71 3-pointers for the season and led the team with 46 made 3-pointers in conference play.
Over the summer, Anderson helped lead Germany to a silver medal in the FIBA U19 World Cup where he averaged 17.3 points, 6.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds in seven games in Switzerland. He earned All-Star Five honors at the event where he was second in assists and 10th overall in scoring. Anderson scored 29 points in a win over Canada, recorded 12 assists against Switzerland and in the championship game against the USA he had 18 points, nine assists, four steals and five rebounds.
Enhancements to this year's Big 12 Media Day include a full media partner presence with all five of the league's television partners — ESPN, FOX, CBS, TNT and NBC — on-site to capture the distinctive look and energy of Big 12 basketball. There is also an expanded Digital & Influencer Coverage from Bleacher Report, Lethal Shooter, PassThaBall and Olivia Petnicki will provide behind-the-scenes coverage from Kansas City, including a new shooting skills challenge featuring Big 12 student-athletes.
Big 12 Media Day coverage on the main set will air on ESPNU and ESPN+ from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Matt Schick, Fran Fraschilla, Sean Farnham and Chancellor Johnson will cover the men's day. Commissioner Brett Yormark will speak at 12:10 p.m. on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the men's head coaches and student-athletes will participate in Q&A sessions hosted by Mike O'Donnell beginning at 8:40 a.m. A feed of all press conferences and interviews will be available on ESPN+. TuneIn Radio will also be at T-Mobile Center, recording interviews with coaches and student-athletes that will air leading up to the season. Ari Temkin, James Westling and King McClure will lead the TuneIn Radio coverage.
Four Big 12 teams reached the Sweet 16 in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, with Tech advancing to the Elite Eight and Houston finishing as a National Finalist. The Conference had the nation's best winning percentage in the NCAA Tournament, as seven teams were selected for the Big Dance.
A full list of attending players is included below. Each school's head coach will also be in attendance:
Arizona: Tobe Awaka, Jaden Bradley, Koa Peat
Arizona State: Noah Meeusen, Maurice Odum
Baylor: Obi Agbim, Dan Skillings Jr., Tounde Yessoufou
BYU: AJ Dybantsa, Richie Saunders, Robert Wright III
UCF: Devan Cambridge, Themus Fulks, Riley Kugel
Cincinnati: Kerr Kriisa, Moustapha Thiam, Day Day Thomas
Colorado: Bangot Dak, Sebastian Rancik
Houston: Emanuel Sharp, Milos Uzan, Ramon Walker Jr.
Iowa State: Joshua Jefferson, Tamin Lipsey, Milan Momcilovic
Kansas: Flory Bidunga, Darryn Peterson, Tre White
Kansas State: Abdi Bashir Jr., PJ Haggerty, Mobi Ikegwuruka
Oklahoma State: Parsa Fallah, Robert Jennings II,
TCU: Brock Harding, Jayden Pierre
Texas Tech: Christian Anderson, JT Toppin
Utah: Keanu Dawes, James Okonkwo
West Virginia: Jasper Floyd, Honor Huff, Brenen Lorient
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.
