The Big 12 Conference announced its 2025-26 preseason men’s basketball coaches poll, all-conference selections and individual awards on Thursday, Oct. 16.
Coaches picked Iowa State to finish fifth in the conference, behind defending Big 12 regular-season and tournament champion Houston, BYU, Texas Tech and Arizona.
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The Cyclones went 25-10 last season and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They have a core group of returning starters in Joshua Jefferson, Milan Momcilovic and unanimous preseason All-Big 12 pick Tamin Lipsey.
Lipsey has been named all-conference and made the Big 12 All-Defensive Team in each of the last two years. Last season, he averaged 10.6 points, 2.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game. He also became Iowa State‘s all-time steals leader.
Coaches also voted on individual preseason awards. Texas Tech’s J.T. Toppin was selected as the preseason Big 12 Player of the Year. Texas Tech’s LeJuan Watts was also voted preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Kansas guard Darryn Peterson was named preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
Coaches in the league voted on the team standings as well as preseason awards. They were not allowed to vote for their own team or players.
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2025-26 Big 12 coaches’ men’s basketball preseason poll
Parentheses indicate first-place votes
More: Iowa State basketball hoping for Joshua Jefferson to become The Punisher | Hines
Preseason All-Big 12 team
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Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
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A.J. Dybantsa, BYU (unanimous selection)
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P.J. Haggerty, Kansas State
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Darryn Peterson, Kansas (unanimous selection)
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J.T. Toppin, Texas Tech (unanimous selection)
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Milos Uzan, Houston (unanimous selection)
Individual preseason Big 12 awards
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Preseason Player of the Year: J.T. Toppin, Texas Tech
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Preseason Newcomer of the Year: LeJuan Watts, Texas Tech
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Preseason Freshman of the Year: Darryn Peterson, Kansas
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Big 12 basketball preseason coaches poll, All-Big 12 team released
