Grant McCasland said last week that he would like to add a few more numbers to the Texas Tech basketball team heading into the 2024-25 season, and this should be enough.
The 6-foot-9 Dallas native announced he would be joining the Red Raiders on Tuesday, shortly after Texas Tech announced he had already signed with the team.
Toppin just finished his freshman season at New Mexico where he won the Mountain West Freshman of the Year award, the same award that fellow freshman teammate Darrion Williams won the previous year at Nevada, after averaging 12.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game for the Lobos.
Toppin entered the transfer portal and declared for the NBA draft earlier this offseason. He attended the combine but withdrew from consideration on Tuesday, a faster-than-usual turn of events in his commitment and contract.
Toppin, ranked a four-star recruit by 247 Sports, played his high school basketball at Oak Cliff Faith Family Academy, where he was named Class 4A Player of the Year and led the team to two state championships in 2022 and 2023. There, he was also teammates with Jazz Henderson, who committed to the Red Raiders as a preferred walk-on in March.
In his lone season with New Mexico, Toppin led the Mountain West in field goal percentage (62.3%), rebounds per game (9.1), offensive rebounds (3.67) and blocks (1.9). He started 35 of the Lobos’ 36 games, ranking fourth on the team in scoring and averaging 26.6 minutes per game.
Toppin will immediately change the landscape for the Red Raiders in terms of athleticism and depth. The move adds height to a frontcourt that Tech sorely lacked last season and allows McCasland to field bigger, longer lineups using 6-foot-11 Pittsburgh transfer Federico off the bench or using Federico and Toppin together.
Two things to watch are Toppin’s outside shooting and free throws. Last season, he attempted 32 3-pointers, made 11 of them and shot 56.5% from the free throw line. But when Toppin is on the court, the others around him can cover those shots. That group will likely consist of Williams, Drake transfer Kevin Overton, Minnesota transfer Elijah Hawkins and either Chance McMillan or Kerwin Walton.
As important as Warren Washington was for Texas Tech last year, the team is finding a new dynamic with smaller, quicker lineups on the court, and it’s a role that’s a perfect fit for Toppin’s talents.
Texas Tech has two more scholarship spots to fill before the start of the season, and McCasland said last week that he plans to use all of his available roster spots and may wait until later in the summer to finalize his roster.
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