Houston Favored to Repeat as Big 12 Champions in Preseason Coaches’ Poll
The University of Houston Cougars were overwhelmingly picked to repeat as Big 12 men’s basketball champions in the preseason coaches’ poll released Thursday, garnering 14 of 16 first-place votes.
BYU was projected to finish second, followed by Texas Tech, Arizona and Iowa State to round out the top five. Arizona and BYU received the two remaining first-place votes.
This marks the first time Houston has been tabbed preseason favorite since joining the Big 12 in 2023, after finishing second in the poll in each of its first two seasons in the conference.
The Cougars enter 2025–26 after a dominant 2024–25 campaign, finishing with a 19–1 conference record and capturing both the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles. Houston also advanced to the NCAA championship game, narrowly losing to Florida 65–63.
Houston returns three starters — Milos Uzan, Emanuel Sharp and Joseph Tugler — each of whom was named to the preseason All-Big 12 team, with Uzan a unanimous selection. Texas Tech’s JT Toppin was tabbed preseason Player of the Year, while Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson was named Freshman of the Year.
Coach Kelvin Sampson now faces the challenge of converting high expectations into results, as the Cougars look to harness continuity and momentum in pursuit of a first national championship.
Preseason Poll
Houston (14) - 224
BYU (1) - 204
Texas Tech - 200
Arizona (1) - 179
Iowa State - 170
Kansas - 163
Baylor - 137
Cincinnati - 120
K-State - 117
TCU - 90
West Virginia - 79
Oklahoma State - 77
Utah - 50
UCF - 39
Colorado - 37
Arizona State - 34
Preseason All-Big 12 Team
AJ Dybantsa, BYU*
Richie Saunders, BYU
Emanuel Sharp, Houston
Joseph Tugler, Houston
Milos Uzan, Houston*
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Darryn Peterson, Kansas*
P.J. Haggerty, K-State
Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
JT Toppin, Texas Tech*
*-unanimous selection