Texas Tech junior JT Toppin was named a Wooden Award All-America by the Los Angeles Athletic Club’s John R. Wooden Award, presented by Principal, on Mar. 31 after a season in which he averaged 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds per game with 16 double-doubles.
Toppin is only the second player in Texas Tech history to earn this recognition, following Andre Emmett who received the honor during the 2003-04 season. The award highlights top performers in college basketball each year and is considered one of the sport’s most prestigious honors.
Toppin joins other players on the Wooden Award All-America Team including Darius Acuff (Arkansas), Cameron Boozer (Duke), AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Jeremy Fears (Michigan State), Kingston Flemings (Houston), Joshua Jefferson (Iowa State), Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan), Braden Smith (Purdue) and Keaton Wagler (Illinois). The Top Five finalists are Acuff, Boozer, Dybantsa, Lendeborg and Smith. The winner will be announced at a ceremony on April 10 at the Los Angeles Athletic Club during a nationally televised broadcast on ESPNU.
Despite suffering a season-ending injury on February 17, Toppin led the nation with 234 made field goals and ranked among national leaders in scoring, rebounding and double-doubles. He also earned several other accolades this year including Associated Press All-America First Team honors—the first Texas Tech player ever to do so—along with selections to USBWA All-America Second Team, NABC All-America Second Team and The Sporting News All-America Second Team.
Over his career at Texas Tech, Toppin has recorded 47 double-doubles along with totals of 1,593 points, 907 rebounds and 159 blocked shots across his collegiate games. His achievements include nine games with over thirty points in a double-double performance.
The selection process for the Wooden Award involves oversight by a National Advisory Board that compiles candidates meeting specific criteria such as academic standing before votes are collected from sportswriters and broadcasters nationwide; Deloitte verifies these results for accuracy.
