Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
Small, Harris Earn All-Big 12 Honors
March 10, 2025 02:48 PM | Men's Basketball
| Texas Tech's JT Toppin was named Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Year to highlight the 2024-25 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 men's basketball awards, voted on by the league's head coaches. Houston's Joseph Tugler (defensive player), LJ Cryer (Scholar-Athlete) and Kelvin Sampson (coach) earned league superlatives after a 19-1 regular season. Baylor's VJ Edgecombe (freshman), BYU's Richie Saunders (most improved) and Iowa State's Curtis Jones (sixth man) completed the Conference's superlatives. The Conference's first team was comprised of Cryer, Jones, Saunders, Toppin, plus Caleb Love (Arizona), Norchad Omier (Baylor), J'Wan Roberts (Houston), Hunter Dickinson (Kansas), Darrion Williams (Texas Tech) and Javon Small (West Virginia). Toppin becomes the second Texas Tech player to win Player of the Year, joining Jarrett Culver (2019). The sophomore is the only player who ranks in the Big 12's top three in both scoring (18.1) and rebounding (9.3). The Dallas native, who is the second Red Raider to earn Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, joining Mac McClung (2021), has 14 double-doubles on the season. Toppin is the first Big 12 player to win Player and Newcomer of the Year in the same season. Tugler is the second consecutive Houston player to win Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 12, joining Jamal Shead. The Monroe, Louisiana product has anchored a Cougar defense that holds opponents to a nation-leading 58.1 points per game, while contributing 2.0 blocks per game. Cryer is the first Scholar-Athlete of the Year from Houston in the Coogs' two-year tenure in the Big 12. On the court, Cryer won his fourth Big 12 championship in five seasons across two schools, while scoring 15.3 points per game for the Cougars. In the classroom, Cryer has a 3.73 GPA while doing post-baccalaureate work in health. Edgecombe led Conference freshmen with 15.0 points per game, en route to becoming the third consecutive Baylor rookie to be named the league's best. The Bahamian national team guard averaged 5.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game, both of which ranked third among Big 12 freshmen. Jones becomes the third Iowa State player to win the Big 12's Sixth Man Award, and the first since Lindell Wigginton in 2019. The nation's leading bench scorer, Jones averages 17.0 points per game, along with 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. Saunders is the second BYU player to win a superlative in the school's two seasons in the Big 12, joining Jaxson Robinson who won the Sixth Man Award last season. The Riverton, Utah native increased his scoring average from 9.6 to 16.0, while improving his percentage from 36.4% to 43.7%. Sampson won his 10th conference coach of the year award across five conferences and his second consecutive in the Big 12. Sampson led the Cougars to their second Big 12 regular season title in two years, becoming the first program in over 100 years to join a major conference and win back-to-back regular season titles. Houston won a Big 12-record 19 games and joins Duke as the first major conference teams to win 19 league games in a single season. Big 12 teams will begin postseason play in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship March 11-15 in Kansas City's T-Mobile Center. Visit Big12Sports.com for Championship information. 2024-25 Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Awards Player of the Year: JT Toppin, Texas Tech Defensive Player of the Year: Joseph Tugler, Houston Scholar-Athlete of the Year: LJ Cryer, Houston Freshman of the Year: VJ Edgecombe, Baylor Newcomer of the Year: JT Toppin, Texas Tech Sixth Man Award: Curtis Jones, Iowa State Most Improved: Richie Saunders, BYU Coach of the Year: Kelvin Sampson, Houston All-Big 12 First Team Caleb Love, Arizona Norchad Omier, Baylor Richie Saunders, BYU LJ Cryer, Houston J'Wan Roberts, Houston Curtis Jones, Iowa State Hunter Dickinson, Kansas JT Toppin, Texas Tech* Darrion Williams, Texas Tech Javon Small, West Virginia All-Big 12 Second Team VJ Edgecombe, Baylor Keyshawn Hall, UCF Milos Uzan, Houston Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State Chance McMillian, Texas Tech All-Big 12 Third Team Joseph Tugler, Houston Zeke Mayo, Kansas Coleman Hawkins, Kansas State Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State Honorable Mention: Arizona: Tobe Awaka, Henri Veesaar; Baylor: Robert Wright; BYU: Egor Demin; UCF: Darius Johnson; Cincinnati: Jizzle James; Colorado: Julian Hammond III; Houston: Emanuel Sharp; Kansas: Dajuan Harris Jr.; Kansas State: David N'Guessan; Oklahoma State: Bryce Thompson; TCU: Noah Reynolds, Ernest Udeh Jr.; Utah: Gabe Madsen All-Defensive Team Jayden Quaintance, Arizona State J'Wan Roberts, Houston Joseph Tugler, Houston Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State Sencire Harris, West Virginia All-Freshman Team Jayden Quaintance, Arizona State VJ Edgecombe, Baylor Robert Wright, Baylor Egor Demin, BYU Christian Anderson, Texas Tech All-Newcomer Team Norchad Omier, Baylor Keyshawn Hall, UCF Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State Zeke Mayo, Kansas JT Toppin, Texas Tech |
Players Mentioned
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