Texas Tech’s Toppin, Canady Announced as Big 12 Athlete of the Year Nominees

LUBBOCK, TX — Texas Tech standouts JT Toppin and NiJaree Canady have been named the university’s nominees for the 2024-25 Big 12 Athlete of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday afternoon.

Each Big 12 institution selects one male and one female nominee for the annual honor. The award recognizes outstanding athletic and academic achievement from student-athletes who competed during the 2024-25 academic year. Winners will be announced Thursday, July 24.

JT Toppin | Men’s Basketball | Sophomore | Dallas, Texas
Toppin emerged as one of the top players in the nation, earning Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Year honors while helping guide the Red Raiders to an Elite Eight appearance. He averaged 18.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game and was named to the All-Big 12 First Team and Consensus All-America Second Team. Toppin was also a semifinalist for the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Player of the Year and earned a perfect 4.00 GPA in his first year, securing a spot on the Texas Tech President’s List.

NiJaree Canady | Softball | Junior | Topeka, Kan.
Canady had a historic season on the mound, earning Big 12 Pitcher of the Year and Most Outstanding Player at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship, where she helped lead Texas Tech to both its first Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles. She was a top-three finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year and the winner of the Honda Sport Award for Softball. Canady guided the Red Raiders to their first-ever appearance in the Women’s College World Series finals and was named to the WCWS All-Tournament Team. She also excelled academically, earning the CSC Academic All-America Team Member of the Year and selection to the Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete Team.

Texas Tech is one of 16 full-member Big 12 schools eligible to participate in this year’s awards.

For the full list of nominees, visit Big12Sports.com.