NCAA

JT Toppin out for rest of season with torn ACL

Feb 21, 2026 1:55 PM

Texas Tech suffered a major blow during Tuesday’s second half at Arizona State, as star junior JT Toppin went down with a torn ACL in his right knee (just over six minutes were remaining/Tech lost 72-67).

Based on how Toppin and the Red Raiders performed so far in 2025-26 (19-7 overall record/9-4 Big 12), the group looked destined to make a NCAA tourney run, defeating teams like Duke, BYU, Houston (lost to them during first matchup), and Arizona (overtime).

Getting past the Elite Eight (how far they went last year) without the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year should be extremely difficult, but I’m hoping head coach Grant McCasland is pumping out the same message he said after beating Duke in a 82-81 comeback win at Madison Square Garden: “Let people count you out, and let’s see what happens.”

Toppin ended his season averaging 21.8 PPG/10.8 RPG/2.1 APG/1.7 BPG/1.3 SPG/54.8% FG/58.9% 2-PT/28.1% 3-PT/57.9% FT/34.8 MPG in 25 games played.