Texas Tech University Athletics
Watts earns Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, Starting Five honors
December 22, 2025 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – The Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year is this week's Big 12 Newcomer Player of the Week. LeJuan Watts secured his first weekly conference honor of the season after scoring a career-high 36 points in a win over Northern Colorado and then providing 20 points in the win over Duke. For the week, he averaged 28.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. He was also named to the Big 12 Starting Five along with teammate Christian Anderson, Tounde Yessoufou (Baylor), Kingston Flemings (Houston) and AJ Dybantsa (BYU).
Watts scored his career-high 36 points in a win over Northern Colorado after going 12-for-13 from the field and then went for 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals to help Texas Tech knock off then-No. 3 Duke at Madison Square Garden. Watts was 12-for-13 from the field against Northern Colorado, hitting his first 12 shots before missing a 3-pointer in the final minutes. He finished the game shooting 92.3% percent to become the first Big 12 player to score over 35 points while shooting over 90% in a game. Watts followed his stellar performance by dropping 20 on Duke despite fouling out with 11 minutes to play. He was 10-for-17 from the field against the Blue Devils for his third game this season scoring 20 or more points.
A redshirt junior in his first season at Texas Tech after transferring from Washington State, Watts is now averaging 14.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game this season going into the final non-conference matchup for the Red Raiders against Winthrop on Sunday, December 28 at United Supermarkets Arena.
Big 12 Player of the Week
Nov. 10 – Koa Peat, Arizona & Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
Nov. 17 – Kingston Flemings, Houston
Nov. 24 – P.J. Haggerty, K-State
Dec. 1 – Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State
Dec. 8 – Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State
Dec. 15 – Melvin Council Jr., Kansas
Dec. 22 – Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
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Big 12 Newcomer of the Week
Nov. 10 – Koa Peat, Arizona
Nov. 17 – Kingston Flemings, Houston
Nov. 24 – Koa Peat, Arizona
Dec. 1 – Moe Odum, Arizona State
Dec. 8 – Tounde Yessoufou, Baylor
Dec. 15 – Melvin Council Jr., Kansas
Dec. 22 – LeJuan Watts, Texas TechÂ
Big 12 Starting Five:
Tounde Yessoufou, Baylor
AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Kingston Flemings, Houston
Christian Anderson, Texas Tech (player)
LeJuan Watts, Texas Tech (newcomer)
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