{"id":333147,"date":"2026-06-12T04:10:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T04:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/333147\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T04:10:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T04:10:20","slug":"why-trent-lincoln-could-be-a-breakout-star-at-tcu-basketball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/333147\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Trent Lincoln could be a breakout star at TCU basketball"},"content":{"rendered":"

TCU basketball<\/a> struck gold last season with the signing of Xavier Edmonds from the junior college ranks.<\/p>\n

Edmonds went from the top-ranked JUCO player in the country to third team All-Big 12 in his first season. Now the Horned Frogs are hoping for Trent Lincoln to have a similar impact in 2026.<\/p>\n

Like Edmonds, Lincoln was the No. 1 JUCO player in the country last cycle after averaging 19.4 points, 6.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game at Gulf State Community College in Panama City Beach, Florida. Lincoln\u2019s arrival in Fort Worth<\/a> from Gulf State is the result of him betting on himself out of high school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like I needed more development for those two years coming out of high school,\u201d Lincoln said. \u201cI felt like JUCO was the best route overall for my player development. I had a couple Division I offers, but I just decided I wasn\u2019t ready for it right out of high school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coming out of Warton High in Tampa, Lincoln played his first season at Chipola College in Florida before transferring to Gulf State.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-3 guard quickly established himself as an elite scorer and picked up offers from Kansas, Oregon and Kansas State before committing to TCU<\/a> last December.<\/p>\n

How were the Horned Frogs able to beat out those programs? Lincoln said it was his relationship with head coach Jamie Dixon that was the difference.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was looking for a great environment, a great area,\u201d Lincoln said. \u201cI love Fort Worth, I love Texas. I was just looking for a place that had good player development. I feel like Coach Dixon develops guys a lot. He was a JUCO coach before and he understands that jump from JUCO to Divison I.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dixon coached at LA Valley Community College as an assistant from 1989-91, and he hasn\u2019t forgotten those JUCO roots as programs are having to get more creative to fill out their rosters in the revenue sharing-era of college sports.<\/p>\n

Leaning onto the JUCO ranks is a smart roster approach as Edmonds and Lincoln were further along in their development than an incoming high school signee due to their years battling other, older prospects also looking to reach the D-I level.<\/p>\n

Playing at Gulf State allowed Lincoln to refine the areas of his game and is a big reason why he could be in line for a large role in his first season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it helped me grow as a leader,\u201d Lincoln said. \u201cI feel like I was able to get more mature on and off the court. I got to work on my body a little bit, gaining more weight and developing my shot a little bit more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like that summer before my second year, I was just in the gym everyday working on my game really helped me. I figured out how to score more and get to my spots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lincoln has been one of the early standouts from TCU\u2019s summer workouts with his athleticism and shot-making impressing teammates like point guard Brock Harding.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrent is one of the most athletic I\u2019ve seen,\u201d Harding said. \u201cI played with Jace [Posey] last year, but just the way he gets off the ground is really impressive. He\u2019s really good at the one spot and the two spot. We\u2019re able to mix back and forth and play well together. It\u2019s nice to have somebody else handle the ball. He\u2019s a super freak athlete that knows how to win and wants to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lincoln\u2019s explosiveness is a welcome edition to the guard rotation and gives TCU a strong trio with him, Harding and Long Beach State transfer Gavin Sykes.<\/p>\n

Sykes also praised the early impact Lincoln has made.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrent, that\u2019s my guy,\u201d Sykes said. \u201cI think we\u2019ve worked out every day since we got here. We just really clicked, and he\u2019s definitely a good dude I\u2019m excited to play with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lincoln has also leaned on Edmonds to make the transition smoother and has received good advice on how to be successful when the season begins.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just told me to stay level-headed,\u201d Lincoln said. \u201cThere\u2019s going to be ups and downs regardless, just do everything with effort and give it my all. It should work out.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s good advice coming from a player that went through the same experience last season. Edmonds went from an unknown to being viewed as one of the top returning players in college basketball this season.<\/p>\n

If things go as planned, Lincoln is hoping to have a similar breakout as Edmonds.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to try to be first, second or third team [All-Big 12],\u201d Lincoln said. \u201cI want to win the conference overall, just have a successful season and make the tournament and go as far as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Game schedule dates, times, locations June 1 Rangers 2, St. Louis 1 June 2 Rangers 7, St. Louis 4 June 3 St. Louis 5, Rangers 3 June 5 Rangers 3, Cleveland 2 June 6 Cleveland 6, Rangers 0 June 7 Rangers 10, Cleveland 0 June 9 at Kansas City, 6:40 p.m., RSN June 10 at Kansas City, 6:40 p.m., RSN June 11 at Kansas City, 1:10 p.m., RSN June 12 at Boston, 6:10 p.m., CW June 13 at Boston, 3:10 p.m., RSN June 14 at Boston, 6:20 p.m., NBC, Peacock May 22 Atlanta 86, Wings 69 May 24 Wings 91, New York 76 May 28 Wings 95, Las Vegas 87 June 1 Wings 79, Seattle 56 June 5 Wings 104, Los Angeles 96 June 9 at Minnesota, 7 p.m., KFAA June 11 vs. Phoenix, 8 p.m., Amazon Prime Video June 13 at Portland, 7:30 p.m., KFAA June 15 vs. Las Vegas, 7 p.m., KFAA, USA June 17 at Golden State, 9 p.m., KFAA 2026 season Aug. 29 vs. North Carolina (at Dublin), 11 a.m., ESPN Sept. 12 vs. Grambling State, 7 p.m., ESPN+ Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, 7 p.m., ESPNU Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA Nov. 6 at Arizona, 9:15 p.m., ESPN Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., ESPN Sept. 13 at N.Y. Giants, 7:20 p.m., NBC Sept. 20 vs. Washington, 3:25 p.m., Fox Sept. 27 vs. Baltimore (at Rio de Janeiro), 3:25 p.m., CBS Oct. 4 at Houston, 12 p.m., Fox Oct. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, 7:15 p.m., Amazon Prime Video Oct. 18 at Green Bay, 7:20 p.m., NBC Oct. 26 at Philadelphia, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC Nov. 1 vs. Arizona, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 8 at Indianapolis, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco, 3:25 p.m., Fox Nov. 22 vs. Tennessee, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 26 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., Fox Dec. 7 at Seattle, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC Dec. 20 at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m., CBS Dec. 27 vs. Jacksonville, 7:20 p.m., NBC Jan. 3 vs. N.Y. Giants, 12 p.m., Fox Jan. 9 or 10 at Washington, TBA All local matches at AT&T Stadium Group stage June 14 Netherlands vs. Japan (Group F), 3 p.m., Fox June 17 England vs. Croatia (Group L), 3 p.m., Fox June 22 Argentina vs. Austria (Group J), 12 p.m., Fox June 25 Japan vs. Sweden (Group F), 6 p.m., FS1 June 27 Argentina vs. Jordan (Group J), 9 p.m., Fox Knockout round June 30 Round of 32: Group E runner-up vs. Group I runner-up, 12 p.m., Fox July 3 Round of 32: Group D runner-up vs. Group G runner-up, 1 p.m., Fox July 6 Round of 16: Teams TBD, 2 p.m., Fox July 14 Semifinal: Teams TBD, 2 p.m., Fox May 2 FC Dallas 2, NY Red Bulls 0 May 9 FC Dallas 3, Salt Lake 1 May 13 Vancouver 3, FC Dallas 2 May 16 FC Dallas 3, San Jose 2 May 23 FC Dallas 2, Colorado 1 World Cup break July 22 at Portland, 9:30 p.m., Apple TV July 25 at San Diego, 8:30 p.m., FS1, Apple TV June 13 NASCAR Racing Experience June 20 Team Texas – David Starr’s Racing School June 20 Drift n Drag July 11 NASCAR Racing Experience July 11 Hearts in High Gear July 25 Drift n Drag
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