{"id":204674,"date":"2026-03-14T16:30:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T16:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/204674\/"},"modified":"2026-03-14T16:30:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T16:30:23","slug":"red-raiders-poised-for-2026-ncaa-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/204674\/","title":{"rendered":"Red Raiders poised for 2026 NCAA Tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

LUBBOCK \u2013 Primed to make its third straight NCAA Tournament and 22nd appearance in program history, Texas Tech will join the nation on Sunday in watching a one-hour Selection Show from 5-6 p.m. (CST) on CBS for the exclusive live first look at the bracket. The Red Raiders (22-10) advanced to the program’s third Elite Eight last season and will have made the tournament in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026 over the past 10 years. Grant McCasland<\/a> has led the program to the tournament in each of his first three seasons, including last season when the team ran off wins over UNC Wilmington, Drake and Arkansas before falling to Florida (2025 National Champion) in the Elite Eight. Last season, Tech matched a program record with a No. 3 seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament has experienced recent success by advancing to the Elite Eight (2018), NCAA Final (2019), Sweet 16 (2022) and Elite Eight (2025).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nationally ranked throughout the season for the first time in program history,\u00a0the NCAA Selection Committee slotted the Red Raiders as a four seed (13th overall) on Saturday, Feb. 21 in its preliminary top 16 for the season.\u00a0Tech was ranked No. 10 in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll for its highest preseason ranking in program history and is currently ranked No. 16. The Red Raiders are now 4-3 against top 10 opponents following a loss to No. 7 Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals in Kansas City and own a 3-1 record against top 5 opponents throughout the season. Tech has a neutral court win over then-No. 3\/now-No. 1 Duke at Madison Square Garden, a home win over then-No. 6 Houston and road victories over then-No. 1 Arizona and then-No. 4 Iowa State. The team started the season 0-2 against top 10 teams with a loss against then-No. 1 Purdue in the Bahamas and taking a loss at then-No. 7 Houston in the first matchup against the Cougars before running off the most top 10 wins in program history.<\/p>\n

Christian Anderson<\/a> and JT Toppin<\/a> were both selected to the All-Big 12 First Team while Donovan Atwell<\/a> earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and Big 12 All-Newcomer Team honors. Toppin and Anderson are the only teammates in the nation to both be on the Wooden Award Ballot and were both selected as The Sporting News All-America. Additional All-America selections will come from the Associated Press, NABC and USBWA next week. The Red Raiders have played the last six games without Toppin who suffered a season-ending injury on February 17 at Arizona State. At the time of his injury, Toppin was leading the nation with 234 made field goals and was in the top 10 nationally in scoring (21.8), rebounding (10.8) and double-doubles (16). Anderson leads the Big 12 and is fourth nationally with 7.6 assists per game and is averaging 18.9 points per game. A sophomore point guard, Anderson has recorded eight double-doubles this season and has already established a new program single-season record with 236 assists this season while also making 105 3-pointers – breaking the previous school single-season record. Atwell now owns that 3-point record and goes into the NCAA Tournament having made 124 3-pointers and by shooting 45.4% from beyond the arc. Atwell is second on the team with 13.5 points per game while LeJuan Watts<\/a> is adding 11.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game and freshman Jaylen Petty<\/a> is providing 9.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Atwell and Anderson have combined for 229 made 3-pointers this season \u2013 the most for a pair of teammates in the nation. <\/p>\n

McCasland will be coaching in his 104th game as Tech’s head coach and enters the 2026 NCAA Tournament\u00a0with a 284-119 record in his NCAA career, including his Texas Tech records of 73-30 overall (103 games \u2013 70.9\u00a0win%), 38-18 in Big 12 games, 44-7 at home, 23-0 in non-conference home games, 17-13 in true road and 12-10 in neutral-court games. As an NCAA head coach, McCasland has now led four teams to the NCAA Tournament and has a 4-3 record, including taking North Texas to the second round after a 78-69 overtime win over Purdue to open the 2021 NCAA Tournament. He also has NCAA Tournament experience as an assistant coach at Baylor where he was a part of five tournament appearances, including reaching the 2012 Elite Eight and 2014 Sweet 16.<\/p>\n

Lethal from deep as a team, the Red Raiders have made 369 3-pointers this season which is the second most in program history and only two behind last year’s team that set a new record with 371. Texas Tech leads the Big 12 and is fifth nationally by making 11.5 3-pointers per game and ranks sixth nationally by shooting 39.3% on its 3-point attempts. The Red Raiders finished the regular season with a road game at BYU where they were 16-for-35 (45.7%) on 3-pointers (made 12 by halftime) and have now shot 40% or higher from beyond the arc in 17 games this season with a high of 63.0% against Baylor (17-of-27). In their Big 12 Tournament loss to Iowa State, the Red Raiders were 9-for-29 (31.0%) on 3-pointers. Tech ranks fifth in the conference with a 1.47 assist-to-turnover ratio and with an average of 15.8 assists per game. The team averages 80.4 points per game and has limited opponents to 72.6 points leading into the national tournament. The Red Raiders have now made 10 or more in 25-of-32 games this season, including setting a new program record with 17 in games against Baylor, Oklahoma State and Lindenwood. The Red Raiders established new program records on 3-pointers in the past three seasons under McCasland by making 371 last season (37 games) and 289 the year before (34 games). As a team, Tech is 369-for-938 (39.3%) on 3-pointers through 32 games played.<\/p>\n

POSTSEASON AWARDS

\nTOPPIN: All-Big 12 First Team; The Sporting News All-American (2nd Team); Field of 68 All-American (1st Team); Associated Press All-Big 12 First Team; Wooden Award Ballot

\nANDERSON: All-Big 12 First Team; Big 12 Most Improved Player; The Sporting News All-American (3rd Team); Field of 68 All-American (3rd Team); Associated Press All-Big 12 First Team; Wooden Award Ballot

\nATWELL: All-Big 12 Honorable Mention; All-Big 12 Newcomer Team<\/p>\n

RED RAIDER ROSTER REPORT (*”players defining themselves”)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Christian Anderson<\/a>: “Tough. Team player. Human highlight.”

\nAveraging 18.9 points, 7.6 assists and 3.8 rebounds \u2013 made 105 3-pointers and has eight double-doubles in 31 games played\u2026 Has established new Tech single-season program record with 236 assists, 7.76 assists per game (passed 226 by Elijah Hawkins<\/a> last season)\u2026 Assists per game average will break single-season record (Hawkins, 6.46)\u2026 Second in program history with 105 made 3-pointers (broke previous record, behind only Atwell)\u2026 Career: 958 points, 313 assists, 176 made 3s (40.6%) in 66 games at Texas Tech\u2026 Earned All-Big 12 First Team and Big 12 Most Improved Player\u2026 The Sporting News All-America (3rd Team)\u2026 Three-time Big 12 Player of the Week selection, Two-time Oscar Robertson Award National Player of the Week\u2026 Named to the Wooden Award Ballot; Naismith National Player of the Year Late-Season Watchlist\u2026 Eight double-doubles this season\/career \u2013 seven with assists, one with rebounds (career-high 11 rebounds against Cincinnati)… Two games with 30-plus point double-double, Six games with 20-plus point double-double\u2026 Finished regular season with 23 points, nine assists, 6-for-12 on 3s at BYU, coming off 10 points and three assists in loss to Iowa State in Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals\u2026 Leads Big 12 in total assists, assists per game \u2013 ranks fourth nationally\u2026 Leads Big 12 (second nationally) by playing 38:23 minutes per game \u2013 played all 40 minutes in 12 games (all 45 in overtime win at No. 1 Arizona)\u2026 Recorded 141 assists against Big 12 opponents \u2013 second most in conference history (Trae Young, 145 in 2017-18)\u2026 Goes into the NCAA Tournament shooting 105-for-247 (42.5%) on 3-pointers; shot 59-for-140 (42.1%) against Big 12 conference opponents from beyond the arc\u2026 Ranks fourth in Big 12 with 3.39 made 3s per game and 42.5% shooting on 3s, fourth with 105 total 3s made, sixth in scoring (18.9 per)\u2026 Approaching the top 10 in Big 12 total assists record list (No. 10 is 252 from KU’s Aaron Miles in 2001-02; record is 299 by OSU’s Doug Gottlieb in 1998-99)\u2026 Scored career-high 34 points and recorded first career double-double by adding 11 assists in the season opener against Lindenwood\u2026 Scored 30-plus for the second time this season by going for 31 points and career-best 11 rebounds in a home win over Cincinnati\u2026 Set career high for 3-pointers by going 8-for-10 on 3-pointers at Baylor (scored 26 points); made six 3s at BYU \u2013 now has five games this season with six or more 3s\u2026 Leads Tech with 29 double-figure scoring performances this season (47 in career), has 16 straight double-figure scoring performance going leading into the NCAA Tournament\u2026 Has eight games with double-figure assists, recorded six or more assists in 24 of 31 games played\u2026 Along with his eight double-doubles, Anderson has four games this season with nine assists, including in the final two regular season games against TCU and BYU\u2026 Recorded career-high 13 assists in a home win over Oklahoma State \u2013 scored 19 points in the game\u2026 Has scored 20-plus points in 12 games this season (16 in career); Scored 20-plus in six Big 12 games this season\u2026 Has made five or more 3s in eight games this season (10 in career)\u2026 Entering the season, Anderson was named to the All-Big 12 Preseason Team and is on the Bob Cousy Award Preseason Watch List\u2026 Was coming off a freshman season where he averaged 10.6 points and 2.2 assists per game \u2013 earning All-Big 12 Freshman Team honors before helping Germany to the silver medal in the FIBA U19 World Cup during the summer in Switzerland\u2026 A 6-foot-3 point guard, Anderson scored a freshman-season high of 22 points in the Sweet 16 win over Arkansas last season and matched the team lead by making 71 3-pointers\u2026 He led the Red Raiders with 46 made 3-pointers in Big 12 play and finished the season shooting 38.0 percent from distance\u2026During the summer with Germany, Anderson averaged 17.3 points, 6.6 assists and 4.9 rebounds, including scoring 18 points and having nine assists against the USA in the championship game\u2026 Sophomore guard from Atlanta, Georgia\u2026 Pursuing a Bachelor of Science, Applied Personal Finance<\/p>\n

Donovan Atwell<\/a>: “Hit shots. Consistent. Play hard.”

\nAveraging 13.5 points, 3.88 made 3s per game, shooting 45.4% on 3-pointers in 32 games played\u2026 Has set a new program record 124 made 3-pointers this season (previous record Cory Carr \u2013 94 in 1996-97)\u2026 Established new Big 12 record with 81 3-pointers during conference play (previous record Buddy Hield, 79 \u2013 2015-16)\u2026 Currently second in Big 12 history for total 3-pointers made \u2013 behind 147 from Hield, passed A.J. Abrams who had 120 for Texas in 2006-07\u2026 Has made 335 3-pointers in his career (41.4%) and scored 1,321 points in 126 games… Ranks 10th among all active NCAA players with his 335 career 3-pointers… Scored season-high 26 points against Kansas State after going 6-for-9 on 3-pointers, went for 21 points on 7-for-10 (3-pointers) at Baylor\u2026 Shot over 50% on 3-pointers in 12 games this season, his seven at Baylor was his season-high, went 4-for-5 (80%) at West Virginia for highest percentage\u2026 Has scored in double figures 23 times this season (67 in career)\u2026 Has scored 20-plus in four games this season (10 in career)\u2026 Made five or more 3s in 12 games this season (26 times in career)\u2026 In regular-season finale, scored 23 points on 6-for-13 shooting on 3s at BYU, coming off nine points (three 3s) in Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal loss to Iowa State\u2026 Joined the Red Raiders for his senior season after playing the past three at UNC Greensboro and was coming off a junior season where he averaged 13.3 points per game and was 96-for-241 (39.8 percent) on 3-pointers\u2026 His 96 3-pointers last season were the 43rd most in the nation\u2026 Scored a career-high 28 points last season at Chattanooga by going 6-for-7 on 3-pointers and has two games in his career with eight made 3-pointers\u2026 Atwell averaged scoring in double figures the past two seasons, including going for 11.4 points per game as a sophomore in the 2023-24 season where he was 93-for-220 (42.3 percent) on 3-point attempts\u2026 His career-high for 3-pointers made is eight, knocking down eight 3s against Kansas City and Eastern Kentucky during the 2023-24 season while at UNC Greensboro\u2026 Will graduate from Texas Tech in May 2026 with a Bachelor of Science, Applied Personal Finance<\/p>\n

LeJuan Watts<\/a>: “Tough. Leader. Consistent.”

\nAveraging 11.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists in 31 games played (3 double-doubles)\u2026 Career: 1,126 points, 571 rebounds, 280 assists in 97 games\u2026 Scored season-high 36 points on 12-for-13 shooting (3-of-4 on 3s) against Northern Colorado in non-conference play (most points by a Red Raider this season)\u2026 Has scored in double figures in 16 games this season (56 in career)\u2026 Has scored 20-plus points in four games this season (10 in career)\u2026 Led Tech with 12 points, seven rebounds in loss to Iowa State in Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal loss\u2026 Ended regular season with seven points, seven rebounds at BYU (had 20 points and eight rebounds in the first matchup against BYU this season)\u2026 In recent games, Watts had 19 points and six rebounds against Kansas State and then posted 13 points and five rebounds in the win over Cincinnati\u2026 Recorded his third double-double of the season and led Tech with 19 points and 12 rebounds against Kansas\u2026 A redshirt junior in his first season at Tech, Watts reached the 1,000-point career milestone at Baylor after providing 13 points and seven rebounds in the road win\u2026 In the first matchup at Colorado, he recorded his second double-double of the season after going for 11 points and 11 rebounds along with adding six assists\u2026 Named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year, he earned Big 12 Newcomer of the Week and Lute Olson National Player of the Week honors after providing 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals against Duke following a career-high 36 points after going 12-for-13 from the field with three 3-pointers in the win over Northern Colorado\u2026 According to ESPN Insights, the shooting performance against Northern Colorado makes Watts the first player in Big 12 history to score over 35 points while shooting over 90% (he was 12-for-12 from the field before missing a 3-pointer with 1:22 remaining in the game\u2026 Recorded his first double-double as a Red Raider and the 11th of his career with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the win over LSU\u2026 Scored a previous season-high 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the field (2-2 on 3s) at No. 14 Illinois\u2026 Made his Tech debut in the second game of the season against Sam Houston and finished with 11 points and six rebounds in 25 minutes of play after missing the opener with a lower body injury (only game missed this season)\u2026 Is in his fourth year in college after playing last season at Washington State and spending two seasons at Eastern Washington where he redshirted as a true freshman\u2026 At Washington State last season, he averaged 13.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game and had 10 double-doubles and also recorded a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Santa Clara\u2026 Fresno, California native pursuing a Bachelor of Science, Applied Personal Finance<\/p>\n

Jaylen Petty<\/a>: “Leader. Creative. Bucket-getter.”

\nAveraging 9.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists in 31 games (20 starts)\u2026 Petty has scored in double figures in 16 games this season after finishing the regular season with 14 points at BYU and scoring 17 points against TCU in a game where he matched his career-high with five 3-pointers (5-of-7)\u2026 Matched a career high and led Texas Tech with 20 points at Houston in the first meeting against the Cougars after going 5-for-9 on 3-pointers\u2026 Provided eight points, five rebounds and four assists in loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals\u2026 In regular-season road win at then-No. 4 Iowa State, went for 12 points (3-for-5 on 3s) in Ames along with grabbing nine rebounds to match his career high\u2026 Against Kansas, he also had a career-high seven assists to go along with 11 points\u2026 Scored 18 points after going 4-for-6 on 3-pointers in the home win over Houston and had a career-best nine rebounds at Colorado for the first time before matching the production in Ames, Iowa\u2026 Is shooting 64-for-172 (37.2%) on 3-pointers\u2026 A Seattle native, he now has two games with 20 points and averaged 10.3 points per game against Big 12 opponents and shot 41-for-105 (39.0%) in Big 12 games on 3-pointers\u2026 Petty made his first career start and scored a career-high 20 points for the first time in the win over Winthrop after making two 3-pointers and going 6-of-7 at the free-throw line\u2026 A reserve in his first 11 appearances of the season, he started for the first time against Winthrop in the non-conference finale and then against versus Oklahoma State in the Big 12 opener where he finished with four 3-pointers in a game where he scored 12 points to mark his sixth double-figure scoring performance of his freshman season\u2026 Recorded a previous career-high with 14 points in the win over Northern Colorado after going 3-for-5 on 3-pointers and 5-of-5 at the free-throw line\u2026 Scored in double figures for the third time this season with 11 points in the win over LSU after going 3-for-4 on 3-pointers\u2026 Against then-No. 1 Purdue in the Bahamas, he led Tech with four assists and also had five points and three rebounds in 34 minutes of play as a reserve\u2026 Made a strong collegiate debut by going for nine points, eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and having only one turnover against Lindenwood in the opener after playing 34 minutes off the bench\u2026 Earned Washington Gatorade Player of the Year honors last season after averaging 24.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.2 steals per game at Rainier Beach High School\u2026 A four-star recruit, he led his team to a state championship and had a triple-double in a game where he produced 61 points, 15 assists and 15 steals\u2026 Was a McDonald’s All-American nominee, adidas All-America, NBPA Top 100 selection, a two-time Donovan Mitchell camp participant, an Allen Iverson Showcase selection and the Iverson Class 24K Showcase MVP\u2026 Through 31 collegiate games played, Petty has 293 points, 121 rebounds, 67 assists and 18 steals<\/p>\n

Luke Bamgboye<\/a>: “Resilient. Humble. Athletic.” <\/p>\n

Averaging 4.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.7 blocks in 19 games played\u2026 A starter in the past six games with Toppin out, Bamgboye matched a season-high with 13 points in the road win at Iowa State after he went for 12 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots against K-State\u2026 Has six game this season with three or more blocks with a season-high four blocks against Milwaukee and New Orleans\u2026 Coming off a game in the Big 12 Tournament against Iowa State where he had five rebounds and two points\u2026 Has a season-high six rebounds in games against Wake Forest, at Arizona State and Kansas State\u2026 A sophomore in his first season at Tech, Bamgboye played in his first Big 12 game at UCF and provided two points and two blocks before playing 8:39 minutes against Kansas\u2026 Had missed the previous nine games with a lower body injury after he left the game against Northern Colorado where he scored four points and had two rebounds in seven minutes of action\u2026 Bamgboye made his first start as a Red Raider in the loss against No. 1 Purdue and finished with five points, two rebounds and one blocked shot after he had contributed six points, six rebounds and one blocked shot in the win over Wake Forest\u2026 A 6-foot-11 sophomore, he made his Texas Tech debut with four blocked shots and four points in the win over Milwaukee – had missed the first three games this season with a lower body injury\u2026 Transferred to Texas Tech after playing his freshman season at VCU where he ranked second among all freshmen in the nation with 75 blocks and was tied for 17th overall with 2.14 blocks per game\u2026 A London native, he averaged 3.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in a season where he earned Atlantic 10 Conference All-Defensive Team and All-Rookie honors\u2026 Appeared in 35 games with 24 starts, including scoring a career-high 17 points and having a career-best seven blocks against UMass\u2026 Bamgboye has played in 54 career games and currently has 107 blocked shots, 224 points and 178 rebounds<\/p>\n

Tyeree Bryan<\/a>: “Team player. Competitor. Hard worker.” <\/p>\n

Averaging 3.7 points, 2.6 rebounds in 31 games played (13 starts \u2013 1 start in Big 12 play)\u2026 Career: 1,014 points, 166 made 3-pointers in 124 games played\u2026 Bryan reached the 1,000-point milestone in his career after knocking down a 3-pointer and finishing with three points and four rebounds in the win over Kansas State and had 10 points after going 2-for-4 from beyond the arc at Iowa State\u2026 Bryan’s 10 points against the Cyclones was his fourth double-figure scoring performance of the season and the 53rd of his career\u2026 Had nine points against Oklahoma State for his previous conference-high this season before Iowa State\u2026 The game against Oklahoma State was his first to play as a reserve this season and was his second game where he made three 3-pointers\u2026 In the Bahamas, he recorded his 52nd career game scoring in double figures after going for 13 points against Wake Forest with a season-best three 3-pointers\u2026 Along with scoring 13 against Wake Forest, he also had seven rebounds, two steals and made a season-high three 3-pointers\u2026 Bryan hit his season-high 13 points for the first time on 5-for-10 shooting in the win over Milwaukee after having a previous high of 12 against Sam Houston\u2026 An Orlando, Florida native, Bryan is in his first season at Texas Tech after playing the past two at Santa Clara and beginning his career with one season at Charleston Southern and one at River State College\u2026 He was coming off a season at Santa Clara where he averaged 10.4 points per game and shot 66-for-154 (42.9 percent) on 3-pointers\u2026 Bryan scored a career-high 35 points against Gonzaga last season after going 7-for-12 from deep\u2026 Made four or more 3-pointers in seven games last season\u2026 Is currently 22-for-77 on 3-pointers this season with six games of two or more\u2026 Graduated from Santa Clara last year<\/p>\n

Josiah Moseley<\/a>: “Versatile. Energetic. All over the court.” <\/p>\n

Averaging 4.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.8 blocks in 12 games played\u2026 Moseley matched a career-high with 10 points and set a new career-best with nine rebounds in the win at Iowa State where he also had three blocked shots\u2026 Made his Texas Tech debut in the home win over Houston after missing the first 19 games of the season with a lower body injury he suffered in the summer\u2026 Coming off six points, four rebounds and one block in the loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals\u2026 Against Cincinnati, he had six points, four rebounds and a career-high three blocked shots for the first time\u2026 Scored six points and had six rebounds against Houston in his debut, going 2-for-2 on 3-pointers and pulling down three offensive rebounds in 9:37 of playing time\u2026 Against K-State, he had five rebounds, four points and one blocked shot after he scored four points and had one assists at Arizona State in his sixth appearance of the season\u2026 Returned to his home state of Texas after playing his freshman season at Villanova where he played in 30 games as a reserve\u2026 A Round Rock, Texas native, he was the 2023-24 Texas Gatorade Player of the Year after averaging 22.8 points and 8.9 rebounds for Stony Point High School\u2026 At Villanova, Moseley scored a career-high 10 points against Lafayette and had a career-best seven rebounds against Temple\u2026 Finished his freshman season averaging 1.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game\u2026 Moseley has played in 42 games in his collegiate career and currently has 113 points, 112 rebounds and 14 blocked shots.<\/p>\n

Marial Akuentok<\/a>: “Energetic. Encouraging. Fearless.” <\/p>\n

Averaging 1.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.2 blocks in 13 games played\u2026 Akuentok had four rebounds, a block and two points in 16 minutes against Kansas State before providing three points and three rebounds in the win over Cincinnati\u2026 A redshirt freshman, he returned to the court at Colorado on January 10 after missing seven games due to a lower body injury and also played limited minutes against Utah and Baylor\u2026 His return to the court at Colorado was his fifth appearance this season and first since playing limited minutes against Purdue in the Bahamas on November 21\u2026 Started and made his college debut in the win over Lindenwood \u2013 going for 8 rebounds, 7 points and having one blocked shot \u2013 before playing in a reserve role against Sam Houston, Illinois and Purdue\u2026 He was 3-for-5 from the field in 17 minutes of action against Lindenwood and scored the first points of the season for the Red Raiders with a 3-pointer\u2026 Akuentok returned for his second season at Texas Tech after redshirting last year\u2026 Joined the program in January and experienced the journey to the Elite Eight\u2026 Is from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and was a top 100 recruit who reclassified\u2026 Played at Fort Erie International Academy and was named the co-player of the year and defensive player of the year\u2026 Competed for the U18 Canada National Team and helped lead them to the bronze medal at the 2024 FIBA U18 AmeriCup<\/p>\n

Leon Horner<\/a>: “Vocal. High intensity. Coachable.” <\/p>\n

Horner played a career-high 26 minutes in the win over Arizona and finished with five points and five rebounds before having four points at Arizona State in 10 minutes of action\u2026 Horner, who has played 22 games as a reserve this season, made a 3-pointer in the first half against Arizona and was 2-for-3 from the field\u2026 He also contributed five points and four rebounds in the win over Oklahoma State after scoring six points in the previous two games against Winthrop and Duke\u2026 A sophomore in his second season at Tech, he is currently averaging 2.4 points and 1.9 rebounds\u2026 Against Winthrop, Horner matched a career-high with five rebounds after also having five rebounds against Purdue earlier this season\u2026 A Dallas native, he also had three rebounds in the win over LSU after playing against Wyoming where he had four points and four rebounds in 18 minutes of action\u2026 Horner provided a career-high three assists and scored two points in the win over New Orleans after he had five points and five rebounds in the loss against No. 1 Purdue\u2026 Horner scored a career-high 10 points after making 2-of-3 shots from beyond the arc in the season opener against Lindenwood along with grabbing 6 rebounds but missed the games against Sam Houston and No. 14 Illinois with a lower body injury\u2026 Horner has played in 21 career games after he returned for his second season at Texas Tech following playing nine games last season as a true freshman\u2026 A Dallas, Texas native, he scored his first career points in a win over Oral Roberts and had one rebound in five games\u2026 Horner played at Dynamic Prep and was a McDonald’s All-American nominee as a senior where he averaged 14.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists.<\/p>\n

Nolan Groves<\/a>: “Hardworking. Coachable. Team player.” <\/p>\n

Groves established a new Texas Tech freshman record in his college debut by grabbing 16 rebounds in the win over Lindenwood and scored seven points in the first two games of the season\u2026 Through 21 games played, he is averaging 1.0 points and 1.2 rebounds per game\u2026 He did not score against Duke, but played 13 minutes and had a team-best plus-13 while on the court playing strong defense\u2026 Against Winthrop, Groves had three rebounds and a steal in 16 minutes of playing time\u2026 In the Bahamas, Groves came off the bench and scored four points against No. 1 Purdue with one 3-pointer and a free throw\u2026 Against Lindenwood, he had 6 offensive rebounds and 10 on the defensive side of the court to go along with scoring 7 points, dishing out 3 assists and coming away with 2 steals in 27 minutes of action from the starting lineup\u2026 Groves entered his freshman season after earning Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year while playing for Orono High School\u2026 He finished his senior season averaging 34.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game\u2026 A Long Lake, Minnesota native, Groves scored 40 or more points in nine games and had a 57-point performance during his senior year of high school.<\/p>\n

Jazz Henderson<\/a>: “Vocal. Confident. Energetic.” <\/p>\n

Henderson has played in 11 games this season, including scoring three points in the loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinal loss\u2026 In Big 12 play, Henderson made his first career 3-pointer against Kansas, hitting a 3 to give Tech a 53-45 lead with 10:38 on the clock\u2026 A red-shirt freshman, Henderson finished the game with three points and one assists in a career-high 7:47 minutes of playing time\u2026 Henderson scored one point in the win over Kansas State \u2013 his ninth career appearance\u2026 He made his college debut and scored two points in seven minutes of playing time against Lindenwood and contributed two rebounds in the win over Sam Houston\u2026 He appeared in his fifth career game against Oklahoma State but had missed the previous five games due to a lower body injury before playing against Kansas\u2026 Henderson is in his second season with the Texas Tech basketball program after redshirting due to injury last season\u2026 A Dallas, Texas native, he was a three-time state champion at Oak Cliff Faith Family High School where he averaged 14 points and 7 assists as a senior.<\/p>\n

Jack Francis<\/a>: “Humble. Resilient. Coachable.” <\/p>\n

Francis is the longest tenured Red Raider, having joined the program as a practice player in the 2022-23 season\u2026 He has appeared in 29 games in his career, including playing in 13 games this year after making 11 appearances last season\u2026 An Austin, Texas native, Francis played at Anderson High School where he scored over 1,000 points in his career\u2026 At Tech, he scored his first career points with a pair of free throws against Sam Houston and also scored last season against Oral Roberts\u2026 Texas Tech is now 27-2 in games he has appeared in after he played in the final minute against Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament loss.<\/p>\n

JT Toppin<\/a>: “Dawg. Fearless. Resilient.”\u00a0

\nAn All-Big 12 First Team, Wooden Award Top 20 and Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Player of the Year Late-Season selection and four-time Big 12 Player of the Week this season, Toppin\u00a0suffered a season-ending injury after tearing the ACL in his right knee at Arizona State on February 17\u2026 At the time of his injury, Toppin was leading the nation with 234 made field goals and was in the top 10 nationally in scoring (21.8), rebounding (10.8) and double-doubles (16)\u2026 Toppin went off for 31 points and 13 rebounds at No. 1 Arizona to secure his ninth career game with a 30-plus point double-double and had 20 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, four assists and two steals against Arizona State before suffering his injury\u2026 Toppin’s season ended with him leading the Big 12 with his 10.8 rebounds per game, 16 double-doubles, and 4.20 offensive rebounds per game while ranking third in scoring\u2026 Toppin, who had seven offensive rebounds against Arizona and three against ASU, was fifth nationally in the offensive rebounding category\u2026 Toppin ranked sixth in the nation in rebounds and ninth in scoring\u2026 Toppin recorded a double-double in 9-of-13 conference games played and averaged 22.6 points and 11.1 rebounds against Big 12 opponents\u2026 Toppin was named the Big 12 Player of the Week for the third time this season and fifth in his career after leading the Red Raiders with 31 points and 12 rebounds in the home win over Houston… Toppin\u00a0was named the Naismith Trophy Player of the Week and Big 12 Player of the Week\u00a0after leading Tech with 27 points and 13 rebounds in the win over BYU\u00a0and then went off for\u00a022 points at Baylor\u2026 Toppin, who had career-high seven straight double-doubles going entering the game at Baylor, had only four rebounds against the Bears to see the streak end\u2026 He has 75\u00a0double-figure scoring performances and 35\u00a0games with 20-plus points in his career (15\u00a0this\u00a0season)\u2026\u00a0 In the Bahamas, Toppin earned Baha Mar Championship All-Tournament honors after he had 15 points and 8 rebounds in the loss to No. 1 Purdue along with producing 21 points and 9 rebounds in the win over Wake Forest where he was 10-for-19 from the field against the Demon Deacons\u2026 Toppin was named to the Big 12 Starting Five for the first time this season after he produced a season-high 35 points and 11 rebounds at No. 14 Illinois\u2026 Toppin missed the season opener with a lower body injury for his only missed game before the season-ending injury, going off for 31 points, 14 rebounds, four assists and three steals in his junior season debut against Sam Houston\u2026 He returned for his junior season from a Consensus Second Team All-America season as a sophomore and had a slew of preseason honors leading into this season\u2026 He was named the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year, Associated Press Preseason All-American and was on the Karl Malone Award Preseason Watch List\u2026 A Dallas, Texas native, he was coming off a season where he recorded 19 double-doubles and averaged 18.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game \u2013 each the team’s leader\u2026 He set a career-high with 41 points in an overtime win over Arizona State and had a career-best 18 rebounds against Saint Joseph’s during the 2024-25 campaign\u2026 Toppin recorded three games 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\u2026 He also had seven double-doubles with 25-plus point performances\u2026\u00a0Toppin ranked third in the Big 12 in scoring and rebounding while having the seventh most double-doubles in the nation\u2026 A sophomore from Dallas, Toppin scored 20 or more points in 17 games last season, passing Jarrett Culver (2018-19) who had 13 games of 20 or more as a sophomore during the run to the 2019 Final Four\u2026 His 18.2 points per game were also the most for the program since Culver averaged 18.5 in the 2018-19 season with the program record being 24.5 from Greg Lowery in the 1971-72 season where he posted 19 games of 20-plus scoring\u2026 His 19 double-doubles were only behind Tony Battie’s 20 during the 1996-97 season in the Tech record book and was the 7th most nationally during the season\u2026 Toppin has produced 1,593\u00a0points, 907\u00a0rebounds and 159 blocked shots through 94\u00a0career games\u2026 Toppin played his freshman season at New Mexico and has now played 58\u00a0games as a Red Raider where he has scored\u00a01,148\u00a0points and has 581\u00a0rebounds \u2013 averaging 19.8\u00a0points and 10.0 rebounds in a Texas Tech uniform\u2026 At the time of his injury, Toppin ranked second among all active players with 47 career double-doubles and by averaging 9.6 rebounds throughout his career\u2026 His 47 double-doubles were only behind Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan) who had 51\u2026 Toppin is the 43rd player at Tech to reach the 1,000-point milestone in games played as a Red Raider\u2026 Pursuing a Bachelor of Arts, Communication Studies.<\/p>\n

LaTrell Hoover<\/a>: “Energetic. Coachable. Hardworking.” <\/p>\n

The final addition to this year’s roster, Hoover signed with the Red Raiders on September 8 and immediately joined the program to begin practicing\u2026 McCasland said he plans to redshirt Hoover this season\u2026 Hoover is listed at 7-foot tall, making him the tallest player on the roster\u2026 A San Antonio, Texas native, Hoover played at Samuel Clements High School where he averaged 11.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game as a senior \u2013 earning all-district second team honors.<\/p>\n

VIDEO RESOURCES:\u00a0Define Yourself<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0TTW EP1<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0TTW EP2<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0TTW EP3<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0TTW EP4<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Follow the Red Raiders:\u00a0Keep up with Texas Tech men’s basketball news at\u00a0TexasTech.com<\/a>\u00a0and at the team’s social media on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0X<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n