The Texas Tech Red Raiders had an impressive season under head coach Grant McCasland, entering the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the West and making it to the Elite Eight before falling to top-seeded Florida.
As the offseason begins, significant roster changes are expected, with one major storyline surrounding forward JT Toppin. Ranked No. 42 on ESPN’s list of NBA draft prospects, Toppin announced via Instagram on Wednesday that he will return to Texas Tech next season.
Despite passing up the NBA for now, he’s still projected to earn big—Matt Norlander of CBS Sports reports Toppin is expected to bring in $4 million through NIL deals.
That’s a notable figure, especially with On3 valuing Duke’s Cooper Flagg, the top NIL earner in college basketball, at $4.8 million. Toppin certainly made a case for his value this past season, starting 33 games and averaging 18.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and shooting 55.4% from the field in 27.2 minutes per game. With Toppin returning, all eyes will be on whether the Red Raiders can make an even deeper tournament run next year—ESPN BET currently gives them the 12th-best odds (+2500) to win it all.