Texas Tech University Athletics
Toppin earns Wooden Award All-America honors
March 31, 2026 | Men's Basketball
LUBBOCK – The Los Angeles Athletic Club's John R. Wooden Award®, presented by Principal®, has announced Texas Tech junior JT Toppin as a Wooden Award All-America after his outstanding season where he averaged 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game and produced 16 double-doubles. Toppin is only the second Red Raider in program history to earn Wooden Award All-America honors, following Andre Emmett who was selected in the 2003-04 season.
Toppin is joined on the Wooden Award All-America Team by Darius Acuff (Arkansas), Cameron Boozer (Duke), AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Jeremy Fears (Michigan State), Kingston Flemings (Houston), Joshua Jefferson (Iowa State), Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan), Braden Smith (Purdue) and Keaton Wagler (Illinois). The Wooden Award Top Five went to Acuff, Boozer, Dybantsa, Lendeborg and Smith. The Golden Anniversary celebration will culminate on Friday, April 10, 2026, at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. That evening, with the Wooden Award Top Five Finalists in attendance, the winner of the 2026 John R. Wooden Award® presented by Principal® will be announced live at 8 p.m. during a nationally televised broadcast on ESPNU.
Toppin, who had his season cut short after a season-ending injury on February 17, was leading the nation with 234 made field goals and was in the top 10 nationally in scoring, rebounding and double-doubles. Along with the Wooden Award All-America honor, Toppin has also been selected to the Associated Press All-America First Team, USBWA All-America Second Team, NABC All-America Second Team and to The Sporting News All-America Second Team. In 25 games played this season, Toppin scored in double figures in 24 games, had 20 or more in 15 and recorded six double-doubles with 30-plus points. A Dallas native, Toppin is the first Tech player in history to earn All-America honors in back-to-back seasons and is the first ever AP All-America First Team selection. Toppin earned All-Big 12 First Team for the second straight season after a year that was highlighted by going off for 31 points and 13 rebounds in a road win at No. 1 Arizona and a performance against Utah where he had 31 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and five blocked shots. He scored a season-high 35 points at Illinois where he also had 11 rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
For his career, Toppin now has 47 double-doubles, 1,593 points, 907 rebounds and 159 blocked shots in 94 collegiate games. Among his 47 double-doubles, Toppin has recorded nine games with 30-plus points in a double-double including a career-best 41 points against Arizona State during his first season at Texas Tech.
The Wooden Award selection process is overseen by a National Advisory Board, which compiles a National Ballot featuring the top candidates who meet the award's criteria, including a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00. This ballot is distributed to a panel of voters composed of sportswriters and sportscasters from across the country. Deloitte collects and verifies these votes to maintain the integrity and accuracy of the final results.
Created in 1976, the John R. Wooden Award Program hosts the most prestigious honors in college basketball, recognizing the Wooden Award Most Outstanding Player, the Wooden Award All-America Teams for men, and the annual selection of the Wooden Award Legends of Coaching recipient.
TOPPIN'S POSTSEASON AWARDS
Wooden Award All-America; AP All-America First Team; NABC All-America Second Team; USBWA All-America Second Team; The Sporting News All-American Second Team; All-Big 12 First Team; Field of 68 All-American First Team; AP All-Big 12 First Team; Wooden Award Ballot, NABC Gulf District First Team
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