BYU’s AJ Dybantsa is AP Big 12 player and freshman of the year; Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd top coach

By Canadian Press on March 10, 2026.

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.

First team

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

Second team

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.

Individual honors

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.

Voting panel

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.

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Stephen Hawkins, The Associated Press