KANSAS CITY, MO — Texas Tech forward JT Toppin recently received All-American honors after being named to The Sporting News All-American Second Team. The sophomore from Dallas enters the postseason with 14 double-doubles, averaging 18.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game during the regular season.
Toppin’s latest honor adds to an already decorated week, which includes being named Big 12 Player of the Year, Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, a member of the All-Big 12 First Team and All-Big 12 Newcomer Team, and a Field of 68 All-America selection. He joins Paul Nolen (1950-51), Andre Emmett (2003-04), Keenan Evans (2017-18) and Jarrett Culver (2018-19) as Sporting News All-America honorees in Texas Tech history.
The Sporting News All-America First Team features Johni Broome (Auburn), Walter Clayton (Florida), Cooper Flagg (Duke), Mark Sears (Alabama) and Braden Smith (Purdue). Toppin is joined on the Second Team by Eric Dixon (Villanova), PJ Haggerty (Memphis), Kam Jones (Marquette) and John Tonje (Wisconsin), while the Third Team includes L.J. Cryer (Houston), Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton), Chaz Lanier (Tennessee), RJ Luis (St. John’s) and Zakai Ziegler (Tennessee).
Toppin delivered three 30-point performances and 13 games with at least 20 points this season. His standout efforts include a career-high 41 points and 15 rebounds in a double-overtime win over Arizona State, a 32-point, 12-rebound game at Oklahoma State, and a 30-point, 14-rebound showing against Colorado in the home finale. Over the final 10 games of the regular season, he averaged 24.4 points and 11.0 rebounds.
In his first season with the Red Raiders after transferring from New Mexico, Toppin finished third in the Big 12 in scoring, rebounding, and field-goal percentage (55.8%). His 14 double-doubles rank second in program history. He also averaged 1.3 blocks per game, recording three in the regular-season finale against Arizona State. Toppin was a two-time Big 12 Player of the Week and earned four Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors.
Consensus All-America status is determined by selections from the Associated Press (AP), National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), and United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). A point system is used to aggregate the results, with unanimous status awarded to players named on all lists.
Toppin and the No. 9-ranked Red Raiders (24-7, 15-5 Big 12) begin the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals against either Baylor or Kansas State at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. Baylor and Kansas State play a second-round matchup Wednesday night after K-State’s 71-66 win over Arizona State in the first round.
Keep up with Texas Tech men's basketball news at TexasTech.com and at the team's social media on Instagram, X and Facebook.
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