Houston played for a national title a year ago. Texas Tech reached the Elite Eight. Arizona and BYU were in the Sweet 16. Oh, and then there’s Kansas. The Big 12 is loaded and welcomes some of the top freshman talents into the conference.
We polled writers within the USA TODAY Network who cover Big 12 schools for their preseason predictions, all-conference teams and preseason awards.
Big 12 basketball preseason poll, predicted order of finish
Houston
Texas Tech
BYU
Arizona
Kansas
Iowa State
Baylor
Cincinnati
Kansas State
TCU
Oklahoma State
West Virginia
Utah
UCF
Arizona State
Colorado
2025-26 preseason All-Big 12 basketball team
FIRST TEAM
JT Toppin, Texas Tech, Jr., forward (unanimous selection)
Milos Uzan, Houston, Sr., guard (unanimous selection)
P.J. Haggerty, Kansas State, Jr., guard
AJ Dybantsa, BYU, Fr., forward
Darryn Peterson, Kansas, Fr., guard
SECOND TEAM
Richie Saunders, BYU, Sr., guard
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State, Sr., guard
Jaden Bradley, Arizona, Sr., guard
Christian Anderson, Texas Tech, So., guard
Joseph Tugler, Houston, Jr., forward
Big 12 basketball preseason Player of the Year
Last year, Texas Tech forward JT Toppin became the first player in Big 12 history to earn newcomer and player of the year honors in the same season, which earned him consensus second-team All-American honors, leading the team in scoring (18.2 points), rebounds (9.4), field goal percentage (55.4) and blocks (48).
Big 12 basketball preseason Newcomer of the Year
The Big 12 is home to two of the most high-profile freshmen this season with BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson. Dybantsa edged out Peterson in the voting for Big 12 Newcomer of the Year. Dybantsa scored 30 points to go along with seven rebounds and three assists in an Oct. 18 exhibition game vs. Nebraska.