Texas Tech basketball roster, predicting starting lineup: JT Toppin, talented transfers key for Red Raiders

Texas Tech succumbed to two Final Four teams in the NCAA Tournament in its first two seasons under coach Grant McCasland — including eventual national champion Florida last year in a gritty Elite Eight outing — but is reloaded this offseason with a major roster overhaul that could catapult it into contender status in the Big 12 and beyond.

McCasland and his staff lost three of their five starters from last year’s 28-win team — assists leader Elijah Hawkins, minutes leader Chance McMillian and star swiss-army knife Darrion Williams — but they managed to lure back Big 12 Player of the Year JT Toppin and have put plenty of pieces around him to remain one of the most fearsome squads in the country. 

However, whether the sum of the returning and incoming parts are enough to help the Red Raiders withstand its losses remains to be seen. Toppin is the only Tech player to have made double-digit starts with the team last season (though Christian Anderson returns after making seven starts). The answer will largely come down to how well its transfers acclimate to a new level.

Of the five transfers headed to Lubbock, four made at least two dozen starts last season elsewhere at UNC Greensboro (Donovan Atwell), VCU (Luke Bamgboye), Washington State (LeJuan Watts) and Santa Clara (Tyeree Bryan). But making the leap from the mid-major level to the high-major level and contributing to winning basketball in the Big 12 will be a tall task. The challenge for McCasland’s bunch will be not just to cohese but to do so in a new system that could, and should, revolve once again around the strengths of Toppin.

Projected starting lineup

PG Christian Anderson | 6-2 | 175 | Soph.

Losing Big 12 assists leader Elijah Hawkins will be a blow Tech may struggle to replace this season. But Anderson — who played primarily at the 2-guard spot alongside Hawkins last year, but also played backup point in spots — will be the guy tasked to facilitate things. He averaged 2.2 assists per game last season and has a four-star pedigree. The former Michigan commit and Oak Hill Academy product is in line to take the next step as an every-game starter after making five of his seven total starts on the season in the team’s final five games in 2024-25.

SG Donovan Atwell | 6-5 | 200 | Sr.

It’d be hard to find a better on-paper fit to surround Texas Tech star JT Toppin with than Donovan Atwell. The UNC Greensboro transfer has nailed 42% and 39.8% of his 3-pointers the last two seasons, respectively, and is coming off an All-Southern Conference season in which he averaged 13.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. He’s a floor-spacer who rated in the 85th percentile on spot-up opportunities last season, per Synergy data. 

SF LeJuan Watts | 6-6 | 225 | Jr.

Playing with first-round pick Cedric Coward the last two seasons — first at Eastern Washington and most recently at Washington State — has helped hide someone whose profile in the transfer market was a hidden gem in Watts. He averaged 13.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game last season at Wazzu and made 42.2% of his 64 3-point attempts. Watts is big, physical and has inside-out versatility. No one can be a true replacement for Darrion Williams, but he has a similar skill set with size, shooting and playmaking versatility.

PF JT Toppin | 6-9 | 230 | Jr.

Toppin — the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year — is the league’s leading returning scorer and rebounder after a first-year breakout season with Texas Tech. The former New Mexico star could have been a potential first-round pick but is back for the Red Raiders gunning to take them deep in March Madness for a second consecutive year. Toppin played the 4 and the 5 last season depending on how McCasland deployed his roster, and with the addition of big man Luke Bamgboye (more in a sec on him!), he’ll be able to be interchangeable in the frontcourt again. 

C Luke Bamgboye | 6-10 | 210 | Soph.

The addition of Bamgboye gives Texas Tech its best interior shot-blocker of the McCasland era. He is the leading returning shot-blocker by block rate in college basketball after posting a 14.51% block rate last season (second in the sport) at VCU. The 6-foot-10 big man is one of only four players in the last five seasons to accrue at least 75 blocks in fewer than 600 minutes in a single-season — joining Miles Rubin, Hall Elisias and Jamarion Sharp.

Off the bench

A seven-player incoming 2025 class led by five transfers and two high school prospects will burnish a roster that already looked plenty deep heading into this season. That depth will be led by a mix of new and returning players alike — with Santa Clara’s Tyeree Bryan leading the way as the potential sixth man.

Tyeree Bryan | 6-5 | 215 | Sr.

Bryan rated in the 97th percentile on jump shots at Santa Clara last season and in the 94th percentile on catch-and-shoot opportunities while posting career-highs in shooting (42.9% on 3s; 46.3% on field goals) and steals (1.1 SPG). He began his career at Charleston Southern before spending the last two seasons at Santa Clara. 

Marial Akuentok | 6-10 | 240 | R-Fr.

Akuentok was a mid-season acquisition for Texas Tech earlier this year who redshirted upon arrival and is primed to make an impact this season. When asked this offseason how he can impact winning, he said in part — and I kid you not — that “I can get buckets.” He’s also a big body who can add size to the frontcourt defensively to help support Toppin and Bamgboye.

Jaylen Petty | 6-0 | 165 | Fr.

Petty went from a New Mexico commit to a Stanford commit to a Texas Tech commit in the span of the last five months, finally choosing Texas Tech earlier this month to help round out its 2025 class. The Washington Gatorade Player of the Year winner in 2024-25 averaged 24.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game last season as a senior at Rainier Beach High School and gives this team scoring punch and playmaking off the bench. He and Nolan Graves, the other high school signee, could both play expanded roles this season.

Josiah Moseley | 6-8 | 225 | Soph.

After playing sparingly and producing sporadically at Villanova last season as a freshman, Moseley, a Texas native who won Texas Gatorade Player of the Year in 2023-24, returns to the Lone Star State seeking a fresh start. The Round Rock, Texas native averaged 22.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game as a senior in high school and was ranked as a top-100 national recruit. 

Leon Horner | 6-4, 215 | Soph.

Horner made nine appearances as a freshman last season but tallied just two points, one steal, one block and five rebounds in 23 total minutes. He’ll have a chance to help round out this rotation in the backcourt. 

Filling out the roster

The hilarity of Texas Tech’s roster riches leaves us guessing as to who will comprise the back end of this year’s rotation and who might be left out. It’s anyone’s guess given how deep the talent runs. Redshirt freshman Jazz Henderson and true freshman Nolan Groves are in this bucket for now but it wouldn’t surprise to see both contribute this season given their scoring versatility and offensive skill sets. The aforementioned Petty may also fall closer into this category given his late signing.

Nolan Groves | 6-5, 205 | Fr.Jazz Henderson | 5-11, 180 | R-Fr.

Market watch

Texas Tech odds to win 2026 NCAA Tournament (via Fanduel): +2000

Talent, depth and a proven coaching edge — Texas Tech has won 51 games in McCasland’s first two years! — has the Red Raiders sitting at +2000 to win the 2026 NCAA championship. That’s tied for the ninth-best odds among all college teams. 

Expectations will be high this season for this crew despite question marks aplenty. 

“I love where we’re at,” McCasland said last month. “We haven’t been together long, but I couldn’t be more excited about our team.”