There haven't been many Texas Tech basketball players who could call themselves Associated Press All-Americans. Now, though, JT Toppin can add his name to that short list.
Tuesday, it was announced that the sophomore Red Raider forward has been voted a second-team Associated Press All-American. That makes him just the third Red Raider to be a second-team A.P. All-American.
The first Red Raider to earn second-team A.P. honors was Andre Emmett in 2004. Of course, he is Texas Tech's all-time leading scorer 2,256 career points.
The second was Jarrett Culver in 2019. That year, the Lubbock native was voted the Big 12 Player of the Year and he led Texas Tech to the program's first National Championship Game appearance.
JT Toppin has been named AP All-America Second-Team 😤 pic.twitter.com/VlowafqzSQ
— Texas Tech Basketball (@TexasTechMBB) March 18, 2025
Two other Red Raiders have been named to the A.P. All-American third team. In 1996, Jason Sasser eanred that honor and in 2018, Keenan Evans did as well. No Red Raider has ever been a first-team A.P. All-American.
This year, the AP All-America First Team honorees were Cooper Flagg (Duke), Johni Broome (Auburn), Braden Smith (Purdue), Mark Sears (Alabama), and Walter Clayton (Florida). Toppin is joined on the AP All-America Second Team by Kam Jones (Marquette), John Tonje (Wisconsin), PJ Haggerty (Memphis), and RJ Luis (St. John's). The AP All-America Third Team consists of Ryan Kalkbrenner (Creighton), Zakai Zeigler (Tennessee), Eric Dixon (Villanova), LJ Cryer (Houston), and Hunter Dickinson (Kansas).
Of course, Toppin was also named the Big 12 Player of the Year this season. Averaging 18.1 points and 9.2 rebounds per game while posting 15 double-doubles, he joins Culver as the only players in school history to win that award. Additionally, he has been named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, All-Big 12 First Team, All-Big 12 Newcomer Team, and The Sporting News All-America Second Team.
It has been quite the season for the sophomore from Dallas who is in his first campaign as a Red Raider after transferring in from New Mexico. Now, the hope is that his successful season continue for a few more weeks as Toppin leads his team into the NCAA Tournament.