No. 9 Texas Tech Red Raiders: Projected Rotation & Season Outlook
Last year's Texas Tech squad was shaping up to be one of the scariest teams in the country in the NCAA Tournament, but everything changed on Feb. 17 in a game against Arizona State when superstar big man JT Toppin tore his ACL. Everything that this team did ran through Toppin, and it resulted in the Red Raiders dropping four of their last five games.
Turning the page to the 2026-27 campaign, Texas Tech is again dependent on Toppin's health to reach their ultimate potential. It might be a stretch for him to be ready for the season opener, but long-term health is the biggest thing here, and Texas Tech has the luxury to wait and get him back to 100 percent.
Enter this stacked group of transfers that Grant McCasland was able to get. Jamichael Stillwell was a nightly double-double threat at UCF last season and is fully capable of sliding down to center if needed. Darrion Williams is also slated to return after one season at NC State. The 6-foot-6 do-it-all forward was a part of the Red Raiders' run to the Elite Eight in 2025 and will be a very welcome addition back.
In the backcourt, Hofstra transfer Cruz Davis will take over at point guard for Christian Anderson. Davis profiles as an extremely similar player to Anderson, and it should hopefully be a smooth transition as he takes over the keys to McCasland's offense.
Donovan Atwell is also expected to return for a fifth season. He proved to be one of the best shooters in the country last year, knocking down 3.8 treys per game at a 46-percent clip. UNLV transfer Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn will likely be a sixth man, but could start if Toppin is not ready for the start of the season and Texas Tech wants to go small. Gibbs-Lawhorn averaged 20.7 PPG at UNLV and shot over 41 percent from deep.
Josiah Moseley and Marial Akuentok will both return and add some much needed frontcourt depth. Wyoming transfer Damarion Dennis and Top 30 recruit DaKari Spear will bolster the backcourt reserves.
This is without question one of the most talented rotations in the country going into next season, and the pieces all seem to fit together well. The big question is just going to be Toppin's health. He's been one of the most dominant players in college basketball the last two seasons. But as mentioned, there's enough other reliable options on the roster to ease him back into play and make sure that by March he Toppin is back to his old self.
Check out how injuries are affecting the status of other players & teams on RotoWire's college basketball injury report.
2026-27 Texas Tech Basketball Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Cruz Davis (20.1 PPG, 4.7 APG at Hofstra)
SG: Donovan Atwell (13.5 PPG, 3.8 3PM)
SF: Darrion Williams (14.0 PPG, 2.4 3PM at NC State)
PF: Jamichael Stillwell (11.7 PPG, 8.2 RPG at UCF)
C: JT Toppin (21.8 PPG, 10.8 RPG)*
Key Reserves: Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn (20.7 PPG, 2.9 3PM at UNLV), Josiah Moseley (5.5 PPG), Damarion Dennis (11.2 PPG at Wyoming), DaKari Spear (No. 27 in SC Next 100), Marial Akuentok (1.1 PPG)
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