2024-25 USA TODAY Sports Network All-Big 12 basketball teams, awards

Before the Big 12 Tournament tips off this week in Kansas City, a panel of writers who cover the Big 12 Conference for the USA TODAY Sports Network released its all-conference teams and individual award winners for the 2024-25 men’s college basketball season.

The panel voted Texas Tech’s impact transfer, J.T. Toppin, as the Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Year. Houston’s Kelvin Sampson and Texas Tech’s Grant McCasland shared the honor of Big 12 Coach of the Year.

Toppin, a 6-foot-9 sophomore forward, seamlessly transitioned to the Big 12 after previously playing at New Mexico as a freshman. He averaged 18.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.2 blocks per game, while shooting 55.8%.

He was also a major catalyst in helping Texas Tech to a 15-5 record in Big 12 play and a second-place finish in the conference.

McCasland guided the Red Raiders to a 24-7 regular-season record. They were tabbed to finish seventh according to Big 12 preseason rankings, but separated themselves as one of the conference’s best heading into the postseason.

As for Sampson, he led the Cougars to a second straight Big 12 regular-season title. They went 27-4 overall and 19-1 in Big 12 competition, with their lone blemish coming from an 82-81 overtime loss to Texas Tech. Houston has been a fixture in national top 10 rankings since the preseason polls dropped at the start of the year.

Here are the All-Big 12 teams and individual awards as chosen by the USA TODAY Sports Network’s Big 12 coverage team:

Table of Contents

USA TODAY Sports Network Big 12 individual awards

Player of the Year: J.T. Toppin, Texas Tech
Coach of the Year (tie): Kelvin Sampson, Houston, and Grant McCasland, Texas Tech
Newcomer of the Year: J.T. Toppin, Texas Tech
Defensive Player of the Year: Joseph Tugler, Houston