Texas Tech University Athletics
Toppin earns Big 12 Player of the Week for third time
January 26, 2026 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – Texas Tech junior JT Toppin has been named the Big 12 Player of the Week for the third time this season and for the fifth time in his career after a pair of dominant performances last week in wins over Baylor and Houston. Toppin's three Big 12 Player of the Week awards this season have all come in the month of January to further showcase his dominance in the conference that earned him 2024-25 Big 12 Player of the Year honors before entering this season as the 2025-26 Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year. Â
Along with the Big 12 Player of the Week honor, Toppin was also named to the Big 12 Starting Five for the fourth time this season. For the season, Toppin is now averaging 22.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 blocks per game. Â
Toppin averaged 26.5 points and 8.0 rebounds as he led the Red Raiders to a pair of wins, including a 90-86 victory over then-No. 6 Houston. With ESPN College Gameday in Lubbock for the first time since 2018, Toppin scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against the Cougars, marking his nation-leading fifth game of 30-10 this season and his Big 12-leading 13th overall double-double. The junior from Dallas scored 22 points in the 92-73 win at Baylor, including 13 points in the second half. Toppin is the only player in the nation averaging a double-double this season, while picking up his second consecutive and third Big 12 Player of the Week honor in four weeks.Â
BYU's AJ Dybantsa was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week after he had the highest-scoring game in the Big 12 this season, dropping 43 in a 91-78 win over Utah. The forward from Brockton, Massachusetts shot 62.5 percent from the field and made four 3-pointers to post the highest single-game scoring total for a Big 12 freshman since Trae Young in 2017-18. His mark broke Danny Ainge's BYU freshman scoring record and the Cougars' program record for 30+ point scoring games by a freshman with his third. It is Dybantsa's third newcomer of the week selection, all within the past five weeks.Â
Joining Toppin and Dybantsa on the Big 12 Starting Five, which honors strong performances across the league, were Houston's Kingston Flemings, Iowa State's Milan Momcilovic and TCU's Xavier Edmonds. Flemings scored 42 points in the game at No. 12 Texas Tech, joining Dybantsa as the first pair of freshmen to score 40+ points on the same day in Big 12 Conference history. Momcilovic led the Cyclones to a pair of victories, averaging 24.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in double-digit wins over UCF and at Oklahoma State. Edmonds averaged 20.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in a pair of crucial TCU victories over Oklahoma State and at Baylor, posting a double-double in each game.Â
Big 12 Player of the WeekÂ
Nov. 10 – Koa Peat, Arizona & Christian Anderson, Texas TechÂ
Nov. 17 – Kingston Flemings, HoustonÂ
Nov. 24 – P.J. Haggerty, K-StateÂ
Dec. 1 – Joshua Jefferson, Iowa StateÂ
Dec. 8 – Milan Momcilovic, Iowa StateÂ
Dec. 15 – Melvin Council Jr., KansasÂ
Dec. 22 – Christian Anderson, Texas TechÂ
Dec. 30 – AJ Dybantsa, BYUÂ
Jan. 5 – JT Toppin, Texas Tech Â
Jan. 12 – Richie Saunders, BYUÂ
Jan. 19 – JT Toppin, Texas TechÂ
Jan. 26 – JT Toppin, Texas TechÂ
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Big 12 Newcomer of the WeekÂ
Nov. 10 – Koa Peat, ArizonaÂ
Nov. 17 – Kingston Flemings, HoustonÂ
Nov. 24 – Koa Peat, ArizonaÂ
Dec. 1 – Moe Odum, Arizona StateÂ
Dec. 8 – Tounde Yessoufou, BaylorÂ
Dec. 15 – Melvin Council Jr., KansasÂ
Dec. 22 – LeJuan Watts, Texas TechÂ
Dec. 30 – AJ Dybantsa, BYUÂ
Jan. 5 – AJ Dybantsa, BYUÂ
Jan. 12 – Honor Huff, West VirginiaÂ
Jan. 19 – Darryn Peterson, KansasÂ
Jan. 26 – AJ Dybantsa, BYUÂ
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Big 12 Starting Five:Â
AJÂ Dybantsa, BYU (newcomer)Â
Kingston Flemings, HoustonÂ
Milan Momcilovic, Iowa StateÂ
Xavier Edmonds, TCUÂ
JT Toppin, Texas Tech (player)Â
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.Â
