BYU guard AJ Dybantsa, the national scoring leader in his first college season, was named The Associated Press Big 12 player of the year and the conference's top freshman on Tuesday.
Dybantsa is averaging 24.5 points per game for the Cougars going into this week's Big 12 tournament in Kansas City. He was the only unanimous pick by the 17 voters for the AP first-team, while getting 11 votes for player of the year and 14 for the freshman award.
Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd was the overwhelming selection for coach of the year with 15 votes after the No. 2 Wildcats, in their second Big 12 season, won the regular-season title, They are 29-2, their most wins ever in a regular season.
Texas Tech teammates Christian Anderson and JT Toppin, both returners from the Red Raiders' NCAA Elite Eight appearance last season, were first-team selections. Houston freshman guard Kingston Flemings (16.5 ppg, 5.4 assists) and Iowa State senior forward Joshua Jefferson (16.6 ppg, 7.4 rebounds) rounded out the top five.
Anderson is the Big 12 assists leader at 7.8 per game, while also scoring 19.2 points. Toppin, the 6-foot-9 junior post who was a preseason AP All-America selection, played 25 games before his season ended because of a torn ACL in his right knee on Feb. 17. He finished at 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds, still tops in the Big 12. The only previous league player with a 20-10 average was Blake Griffin for Oklahoma in 2008-09.
Arizona guards Jaden Bradley and Brayden Burries were second-team picks, along with Kansas teammates forward Flory Bidunga and freshman guard Darryn Peterson. Bidunga leads the Big 12 with 2.7 blocks per game, and his 64.4% field goal shooting (183 of 284).
The other second-team selection was Kansas State junior guard P.J. Haggerty, who was also honored as the league's top newcomer. His college career began in the Big 12 appearing in six games as a freshman for TCU in 2022-23, before starting every game he played the past three seasons at Tulsa, Memphis and K-State.
The AP’s individual awards and All-Big 12 honors were determined through voting by media members covering the league.
u-AJ Dybantsa, BYU, 6-9, 210, Fr., Brockton, Massachusetts.
Christian Anderson, Texas Tech, 6-3, 178, So., Atlanta.
Kingston Flemings, Houston, 6-4, 190, Fr., San Antonio.
Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State, 6-9, 240, Sr., Las Vegas.
JT Toppin, Texas Tech, 6-9, 230, Jr., Dallas.
u-unanimous selection
Jaden Bradley, Arizona, 6-3, 205, Sr., Rochester, New York.
Flory Bidunga, Kansas, 6-10, 235, So., Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Brayden Burries, Arizona, 6-4, 205, Fr., San Bernardino, California.
P.J. Haggerty, Kansas State, 6-4, 195, Jr., Crosby, Texas.
Darryn Peterson, Kansas, 6-6, 205, Fr., Canton, Ohio.
Coach of the year — Tommy Lloyd, Arizona.
Player of the year — AJ Dybantsa, BYU.
Freshman of the year — AJ Dybantsa, BYU.
Transfer of the year —P.J. Haggerty, Kansas State.
AP All-Big 12 voting panel: Eric Bailey, Tulsa World; Brice Cherry, Waco Tribune-Herald; David Collier, KAMC-TV, Lubbock, Texas; Darnell Dickson, Daily Herald, Provo, Utah; Joseph Duarte, Houston Chronicle; Murray Evans, Lawton Constitution; Rob Gray, The Cedar Rapids Gazette; Henry Greenstein, Lawrence Journal-World; Justin Jackson, The Dominion Post; Sean Keeler, The Denver Post; CJ Moore, The Athletic, Matt Murschel, Orlando Sentinel; Bruce Pascoe, Arizona Daily Star; Jackson Payne, Deseret News; Pat Rooney, Boulder Daily Camera; Mick Shaffer, KSHB 41-TV, Kansas City; Sean Walker, KSL.com.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
“Powerful, moving, and exhilarating” Read moreSongs For A New World
All are invited to attend this silent, unprogrammed meeting where we listen for the spirit o… Read moreSan Mateo Quakers
Exclusive film screening in San Mateo Read moreA LITTLE FELLOW: THE LEGACY OF A.P.GIANNINI
delynsimons said:
CA Is Burning said:
NOTHING the government will do will alleviate traffic. This is simply a way to line the pockets of the unions and our government officials.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.