Five Burning Questions for the Big 12 Ahead of the 2026-27 Season

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1. How far can Tyran Stokes lead the Jayhawks?

Following an up-and-down 2025-26 season, Kansas saw most of its team fall apart in the spring. Star guard Darryn Peterson left for the NBA, starting wings Melvin Council Jr. and Tre White graduated, and a whopping seven players entered the portal, including frontcourt standouts Flory Bidunga (now at Louisville) and Bryson Tiller (now at Missouri).

Bill Self’s reconstructed roster is headlined by the No. 1 player in the Class of 2026 Tyran Stokes, a 6-foot-7 do-it-all forward from Seattle. Stokes committed to the Jayhawks in late April, restoring hope to a disheartened KU fan base. As a senior at Rainier Beach High School, he averaged 31 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals and won a state championship. The 18-year-old is likely to be selected as a preseason All-American and to land in the top three of the 2027 NBA Draft. 

“Tyran is as versatile a youngster that I’ve ever recruited,” Self said. “He can score and he’s a terrific rebounder. He’s powerful and can be a great facilitator, and maybe what he does best is pass the basketball. He’s had far more exposure to basketball than most kids his age and will come in here with the ability to live up to the lofty expectations that will be placed on him by others.”

Kansas signed another five-star recruit — 6-foot-1 point guard Taylen Kinney — and assembled a solid transfer class, but this squad will go as far as Stokes takes it. The program hasn’t been to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since it won the national title in 2022.

2. When will JT Toppin return?

In mid-February, Texas Tech star JT Toppin, a 6-foot-9 junior forward, suffered a season-ending ACL injury. At the time, he was in the Wooden Award conversation, averaging 21.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 1.4 steals for a TTU team near the top of the Big 12.  

There was speculation that Toppin might redshirt the 2026-27 campaign to fully recover and preserve his eligibility. But with the passage of the new five-for-five rule, the big man is now guaranteed eligibility in 2027-28 regardless of if he sits out a year. Texas Tech posted a video on social media in early July indicating Toppin will be back on the court this season. The question that remains is… when? 

The staff plans to exercise patience as Toppin rehabs. “I would not anticipate him being ready anywhere near close to the beginning of the season,” coach Grant McCasland told the Lubbock radio station Double T 97.3 a few weeks ago. “People can eliminate that from their brains. I think it will be deeper into the season, and then I just think it’s going to be about when he’s strongest and 100 percent. We’re not putting him out there at 90, we’re gonna put him out there when he’s fully recovered.”

With fifth-year players Donovan Atwell and Darrion Williams joining the program following the Colorado court ruling, Texas Tech has enough firepower to be a top 25 team without Toppin. But to contend for a Big 12 title and make a deep postseason run, the Red Raiders need their centerpiece back and playing at an All-American level. 

3. Which mid-major transfers will thrive the most?

Several Big 12 powerhouses are relying on mid-major transfers to play key roles this season.

After Chris Cenac Jr. left for the NBA, Houston signed former Kent State standout Delrecco Gillespie, a 6-foot-8 senior forward. On paper, the fit is perfect. Gillespie is a hard-nosed, physical big man who pounds the glass and plays tough defense. Last season, he led the nation in double-doubles, averaging 17.7 points and 11.3 rebounds to earn All-MAC First Team honors. Gillespie is projected to start alongside returning forward JoJo Tugler.

To replace program stalwart Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State landed another scrappy, two-way guard in 5-foot-11 junior Jaquan Johnson from Bradley. Nicknamed “Bully” for his bruising style, Johnson averaged 16.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.5 steals and was named MVC Defensive Player of the Year in 2025-26. For the Cyclones to remain a Big 12 contender and preserve their identity as a defensive juggernaut, they need Johnson’s transition to the high-major level to go smoothly.

Kansas also has a lot riding on a floor general transferring up from the mid-major ranks: 6-foot-1 sophomore Leroy Blyden Jr. In one season at Toledo, Blyden earned MAC Freshman of the Year honors with averages of 16.4 points, 4.5 assists and 4 rebounds while shooting 40.7 percent from three. “We felt Leroy was one of the very best guard prospects in the portal, period,” Bill Self said.

While sharpshooting wing Donovan Atwell is returning to Lubbock, Texas Tech lost two stellar backcourt pieces in Christian Anderson and Jaylen Petty. The program is counting on a pair of highly touted mid-major transfers to continue producing at a high rate against stiffer competition: 6-foot-3 senior guard Cruz Davis from Hofstra and 6-foot-1 senior guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn from UNLV. Both players averaged 20-plus points and shot over 40 percent from three last season. 

4. Which new coach will make the biggest splash?

The Big 12 welcomed three new coaches this offseason: Jerrod Calhoun at Cincinnati, Randy Bennett at Arizona State and Casey Alexander at Kansas State. 

Calhoun returned to his alma mater, where his coaching journey began in the early 2000s, following two successful seasons at Utah State. Other Power Five schools expressed interest in hiring him, but “all roads led to Cincinnati,” Calhoun told Hoops HQ. “Not every program can win a national championship, whether it’s the fan base, resources, facilities. I felt like at the University of Cincinnati, you really can win a national championship.”

Calhoun has completely overhauled the roster, bringing in a whopping 12 transfers, the most of any team in the Big 12. His portal class is currently ranked fourth in the conference by 247Sports and features prominent names such as 6-foot-5 senior guard Myles Colvin from Wake Forest and 6-foot-9 junior wing Tyler Tejada from Towson. The Bearcats haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2019 and have gone 23-33 in their first three seasons in the Big 12. They are slotted at No. 40 in the nation in BartTorvik’s preseason projections.

Kansas State has also undergone a dramatic makeover under its new coach. Alexander joined the program after an impressive stint at Belmont (2019-26) that included three regular-season conference titles. “I obviously recognize that there’s a long historic tradition at Kansas State with great resources and support,” Alexander told Hoops HQ. “I don’t think you take a job at this level if you don’t think you can win games and be successful. So it was an easy no-brainer.”

That said, K-State has mostly struggled over the past seven seasons, posting a dismal 44-84 league record. There is hope in Manhattan that Alexander can turn things around, starting with a revamped roster that features 10 transfers, a pair of top-100 high school prospects and one returnee (6-foot-6 sophomore guard Andrej Kostic).

In Tempe, Bennett, the longtime Saint Mary’s coach, has taken over for Bobby Hurley. During a remarkable 25-year run with the Gaels, Bennett made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances and won WCC Coach of the Year seven times. The Arizona native assumes control of a program that has suffered three straight losing seasons in the Big 12 and hasn’t advanced past the first round of the Big Dance in more than a decade. His debut roster — composed of eight transfers, two international prospects, two returnees and one four-star freshman — is headlined by 6-foot-8 senior forward Paulius Murauskas, who played for Bennett at Saint Mary’s and was rated as the No. 8 player in the portal by Hoops HQ. 

BartTorvik’s preseason rankings have ASU at No. 13 in the Big 12, but Bennett-led teams have a tendency to exceed expectations. 

5. Can Arizona defend its throne without Jaden Bradley running the show?

Arizona retained two starters — 7-foot-2 senior center Motiejus Krivas and 6-foot-7 sophomore forward Ivan Kharchenkov — from last year’s roster, which won a program record 36 games, swept the Big 12 titles and made it all the way to the Final Four. But coach Tommy Lloyd also lost his top three scorers, including his captain and floor general, Jaden Bradley.

The 6-foot-3 point guard didn’t put up the flashiest numbers (13.3 points, 4.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds per contest), but few players were as important to their team’s success. In high-pressure moments, Bradley always stepped up. He was named Big 12 Player of the Year and won Most Outstanding Player of the Big 12 Tournament after hitting an unforgettable buzzer beater in the semifinals against Iowa State.

The rebuilt Wildcats, who are slotted at No. 3 in Hoops HQ’s Never-Too-Early Top 25, have the perimeter talent to replace Bradley’s production. They landed prize recruit Caleb Holt, a 6-foot-5 wing ranked No. 2 in the Class of 2026 (per the 247Sports Composite), and signed a pair of promising Power Five transfers: 6-foot-5 sophomore wing Derek Dixon from North Carolina and 6-foot-1 sophomore point guard JJ Mandaquit from Washington. That group has a ton of potential, but it is young, inexperienced and new to the Big 12.

Bradley was Arizona’s leader, go-to option in the clutch and top playmaker. Who will fill those roles for the 2026-27 Wildcats?