By Aidan Joly
The Big 12 was the best league in the country in the 2023-24 season. It sent eight teams to the NCAA tournament and had more in contention all year.
The 2024-25 season should be more of the same. Power teams already here and the league adds another of of the sport’s premier programs in Arizona, while adding three more programs that have traditionally seen success.
That being said, let’s get into what the league will look like this season.
Houston Cougars
2023-24: 32-5 (15-3 Big 12), lost in Sweet 16
Houston was the regular season champion in its first year in the Big 12 and relatively dominated the league, good enough to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourmament.
The 2024-25 team will return many key pieces. The biggest of the group is leading scorer LJ Cryer, who averaged 15.5 points per game after transferring in from Baylor. Guard Emanuel Sharp, who averaged 12.6 PPG, is also back for Kelvin Sampson’s team. J’Wan Roberts, who averaged 9.5 PPG, also returns, as does role player Ja’Vier Francis. Cryer, Sharp and Roberts will be tasked with replacing the production of All-American guard Jamal Shead, the only big departure.
Sampson only brings in one transfer, that being Oklahoma’s Milos Uzan, who averaged 9.0 PPG last season. Freshmen are top-100 guard prospect Mercy Miller and four-star prospect Chase McCarty.
This is a team that should be back towards the top of the Big 12 and be one of the best teams in the nation.
Arizona Wildcats
2023-24: 27-9 (15-5 Pac-12), lost in Sweet 16
Arizona is the biggest add for the league as one of the best programs in the sport in recent years.
Tommy Lloyd’s team will have a fair amount of production to replace from last year’s team, but they also got one of the top returners in the country in All-American guard Caleb Love, who averaged 18.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Love has played 137 games of college basketball and should end up being a top-two guard in the country and a player of the year contender.
Other returners include Jaden Bradley (7.0 PPG), KJ Lewis (6.1 PPG) and Motiejus Krivas (5.4 PPG). All will be expected to take on a larger role.
Arizona did a solid job in the transfer portal to pick up mid-major stars. It picked up Anthony Dell’Orso, who averaged 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game at Campbell, as well as Trey Townsend, who averaged 17.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game at Oakland. Townsend scored 17 points in Oakland’s first round upset of Kentucky last March. Tobe Awaka also arrives after averaging 5.1 PPG at Tennessee.
Top-20 forward Carter Bryant is the big freshman to watch in Tucson. They also bring in top-100 prospect Emmanuel Stephen.
In Arizona’s first season in the Big 12, the Wildcats will be an immediate contender.
Iowa State Cyclones
2023-24: 29-8 (13-5 Big 12), lost in Sweet 16
The 2023-24 campaign was one of the best in the history of the program. 29 wins represented the second-most in a season in program history and reached the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.
The Cyclones bring back four double-digit scorers for this season, that being Keshon Gilbert (13.7 PPG), Tamin Lipsey (12.4 PPG), Curtis Jones (11.0 PPG) and Milan Momcilovic (10.9 PPG). The rest of the key players, that really being just Tre King and Robert Jones, are gone.
Coach T.J. Otzelberger brought in Nate Heise, who averaged 13.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game at Northern Iowa, along with Dishon Jackson, who averaged 11.4 points and 6.1 rebounds at Charlotte. St. Mary’s transfer Joshua Jefferson (10.2 PPG) and Seattle transfer Brandton Chatfield (9.4 PPG) also arrive in Ames. The only freshman is top-70 prospect Nojus Indrusaitis, a guard.
Baylor Bears
2023-24: 24-11 (11-7 Big 12), lost in NCAA second round
After a solid season in Waco, coach Scott Drew is tasked with re-tooling a roster that lost a lot of talent.
Excitement is coming in the form of a freshman, five-star forward V.J. Edgecombe, who is expected to be a top pick in the NBA Draft next summer, He should be an immediate contributor for the Bears. Two more top-50 prospects, Robert Wright III and Jason Asemota, should also be in the rotation.
They will in part be tasked to replace the production of four double digit scorers that depart. Two return though, that being Langston Love (11.0 PPG) and Jayden Nunn (10.5 PPG).
Baylor did get one of the better portal adds in Norchad Omier, who averaged 17.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game at Miami. He will have a large role immediately. Jeremy Roach, who averaged 14.0 PPG at Duke, also arrives to a big role. Jalen Celestine averaged 8.7 PPG at Cal. Finally, an interesting add is Davidson Hubbard, who averaged 14.9 points and 7.2 rebounds at Division III Hampden-Sydney, a team that won 31 games and went to the Division III national championship game. It’ll be interesting to see how he adjusts from D3 to the Big 12.
Colorado Buffaloes
2023-24: 26-11 (13-7 Pac-12), lost in NCAA second round
Colorado is the next team entering its first season at the Big 12. It is coming off of a good season that resulted in reaching the second round of the NCAA tournament.
It will have a lot to replace. KJ Simpson, Tristan da Silva, Cody Williams, J’Vonne Hadley and Eddie Lampkin Jr. are all gone. The only notable returner is Julian Hammond III, who averaged 7.4 PPG in 24 games (5 starts). Bench pieces RJ Smith, Javon Ruffin or Bangot Dak may be forced to take on a larger role.
The transfer portal adds are outside-the-box. Coach Tad Boyle brought in Trevor Baskin, who averaged 18.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game at Division II Colorado Mesa. Elijah Malone, who averaged 17.3 PPG at NAIA school Grace College is also here. The only transfer add with D1 experience is Andrej Jakimovski, who averaged 9.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game at Washington State.
Top-100 prospect Andrew Crawford is the only freshman who should see regular minutes.
A lot of questions surround this roster on paper. It’ll be interesting to see how it mixes on the court.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
2023-24: 23-11 (11-7 Big 12), lost in NCAA first round
Things were solid in Lubbock in the first season of Grant McCasland at the helm, a seven-win improvement from 2022-23.
The Red Raiders will bring a fair amount of talent back this season. That includes Darrion Williams, who averaged 11.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore, as well as Chance McMillian, who averaged 10.8 PPG. Role players Devan Cambridge (10.5 PPG) and Kerwin Walton (8.5 PPG) are also back.
McCasland got one of the most exciting transfers on the market in JT Toppin, who averaged 12.4 points and 9.1 rebounds per game at New Mexico as a freshman in 2023-24. Kevin Overton averaged 11.1 PPG at Drake, Elijah Hawkins averaged 9.5 PPG at Minnesota, and Federiko Federiko, who averaged 4.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game at Pittsburgh and is also a great defender.
In McCasland’s second season the helm, Texas Tech will look to make a step up and maybe get the program close to where it was when Chris Beard was running the show.
BYU Cougars
2023-24: 23-11 (10-8 Big 12), lost in NCAA first round
It was a very solid season in Provo in the program’s first season in the Big 12, getting back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2021.
After former coach Mark Pope departed for Kentucky, the Cougars brought in NBA assistant Kevin Young as the new coach.
Young was able to keep many key pieces from the 2023-24 squad, including Fousseyni Traore (10.9 PPG, 5.2 RPG), Trevin Knell (10.6 PPG), Richie Saunders (9.6 PPG) and Dallin Hall (9.0 PPG). They will be tasked with replacing the production of the likes of Jaxon Robinson, Spencer Johnson and Noah Waterman.
Young has already shown off his recruiting ability, picking up three top-100 prospects in Kanon Catchings, Brody Kozlowski and Elijah Crawford. Catchings is set to be the best one of that group.
From the portal, Mawot Mag, a forward who averaged 9.1 points per game at Rutgers, joins the fray. As does Keba Keita, who averaged 8.3 PPG at Utah.
Kansas Jayhawks
2023-24: 23-11 (10-8 Big 12), lost in NCAA second round
It was almost something of a down year in Lawrence in 2023-24, if you say that winning 23 games and reaching the second round of the tournament is a down year.
Thankfully though, Kansas has a top-three roster in the country this year on paper. It brings back All-American center Hunter Dickinson, who averaged 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 55% from the field. K.J. Adams and his 12.6 points per game is also back, as is Dajuan Harris, who averaged 8.5 PPG. Elmarko Jackson averaged 4.3 PPG as a freshman and saw his role get bigger as the year went on. He is in line to make a step up as a sophomore.
Coach Bill Self brought in some great pieces too. David Coit was a late add after averaging 20.8 points per game at Northern Illinois. Zeke Mayo averaged 18.8 PPG at South Dakota State. AJ Storr had 16.8 PPG at Wisconsin. Rylan Griffin averaged 11.2 PPG at Alabama and was one of the best role players in the country. Finally, Shakeel Moore averaged 7.9 PPG at Mississippi State.
Self also brings in a pair of top freshman, six-foot-nine center Flory Bidunga, who hails from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and guard Rakease Passmore.
Overall, this is one of the best rosters in the country and should result in Kansas being a national title contender.
Utah Utes
2023-24: 22-15 (9-11 Pac-12), lost in NIT semifinals
The third addition to the Big 12 for this year, the Utes had a deep March run, albeit in the NIT.
The Utes won’t have a ton of production back, but they do bring back Gabe Madsen, who averaged 13.6 points per game at center. Role players Lawson Lovering and Hunter Erickson may be candidates to take steps up.
Utah brings in some decent players from the portal, but most didn’t have large roles at their previous stops. Ezra Ausar did average 11.4 points per game at East Carolina, but the rest averaged in the single digits. The most notable ones are Mason Madsen (Boston College), Mike Sharavmjats (San Francisco) and Keanu Dawes (Rice).
As for freshmen, Jaxon Johnson is a top-100 prospect, while Utah also has a pair of three-stars in David Katoa and Ibrahim Traore.
All in all, it might be a tough season in Utah, but some pieces are there to possibly compete in the higher-level league.
TCU Horned Frogs
2023-24: 21-13 (9-9 Big 12), lost in NCAA first round
TCU had a rough off-season. After a solid 2023-24 all but one player is gone. The only returner is Ernest Udeh Jr., a 4.3 point per game scorer.
Jamie Dixon had a lot to do. He brought in six transfers, five of whom were double digit scorers at their previous schools. Noah Reynolds averaged 20.0 PPG at Green Bay, Trazarien White had 19.8 points and 6.8 rebounds at UNC Wilmington, Vasean Allette had 17.4 PPG at Old Dominion, Frankie Collins had 13.8 PPG at Arizona State and Brendan Wenzel had 11.6 PPG at Wyoming.
TCU will have seven freshmen, two of them top-100 in Micah Robinson and David Punch.
There is a lot of unproven pieces on this TCU roster. It’s very tough to say how this team will look on the court.
Kansas State Wildcats
2023-24: 19-15 (8-10 Big 12), lost in NIT first round
After a run to the Elite Eight in Jerome Tang’s first season at the helm in 2023 things took a dip in Manhattan, not even making the NCAA tournament.
In response, Tang and the Wildcats went hard in the transfer portal to re-tool for this season. K-State was able to get Dug McDaniel, who averaged 16.3 points and 4.7 assists per game at Michigan as well as Coleman Hawkins, who averaged 12.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game on an Illinois team that went to the Elite Eight.
It also picked up mid-major stars Achor Achor, who averaged 16.1 points and 6.1 rebounds per game on a Samford team that almost picked off Kansas in the first round of the tournament, as well as Max Jones, who averaged 15.3 PPG at CSU Fullerton. CJ Jones had 11.3 PPG at UIC. In addition, additions Brendan Hausen (Villanova), Ugonna Onyenso (Kentucky) and Baye Fall (Arkansas) all have high-major experiences.
The only key piece back is David N’Guessan, who averaged 7.8 PPG. Macaleab Rich had a limited role and may take on a larger role.
Overall, a re-tooled Kansas State team should be back at the top half of the league.
Arizona State Sun Devils
2023-24: 14-18 (8-12 Pac-12), no postseason
The fourth and final addition to the Big 12 for this season, the Sun Devils may end up having a rough go of it at first as the program navigates a better league after not being world-beaters in its old league.
Adam Miller, who averaged 12.0 PPG is the only big-time returner, while Shawn Phillips Jr. and Brycen Long each had limited roles and may be asked to take on a larger role.
Coach Bobby Hurley was able to get three very good prospects in top-25 talents Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon, while borderline top-50 prospect Amier Ali also joins the fold.
ASU also brings in three mid-major studs who move up to a larger program. BJ Freeman averaged 21.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game at Milwaukee, Basheer Jihad had 18.6 PPG and 8.0 RPG on Ball State, and Alston Mason had 17.5 points per game at Missouri State.
This feels like a team that in theory could compete, but in the best league in the country could prove a real challenge.
Cincinnati Bearcats
2023-24: 22-15 (7-11 Big 12), lost in NIT quarterfinals
A team that went on a solid postseason run, albeit in the NIT, brings back a number of solid pieces.
Leading scorer Dan Skillings Jr., who had 12.9 PPG and 6.5 rebounds per game, returns. As does the Bearcats’ second and third leading scorers Simas Lukosius (11.8 PPG) and Day Day Thomas (11.8 PPG). Leading rebounder Aziz Bandaogo, who grabbed 7.4 rebounds per game while adding 6.6 points per game, is back. Jizzle James seems poised to breakout after he averaged 8.8 points per game as a freshman.
Coach Wes Miller brought in two solid transfers in Connor Hickman, who averaged 14.5 points per game at Bradley, and Dillon Mitchell, who had 9.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game at Texas, starting 33 of 34 games.
A pair of top-100 forwards come in as freshman, six-foot-eight Tyler Betsey and six-foot-nine Tyler McKinley. Both of them have shots at seeing minutes for the Bearcats.
UCF Knights
2023-24: 17-16 (7-11 Big 12), lost in NIT first round
The Knights were looking decent for a minute there, sitting at 12-6 and 3-3 in Big 12 play in late January before losing eight of 12 to close the regular season.
UCF will lose a handful of role players, but the top dogs are still here. Jaylin Sellers, who averaged 15.9 points per game, along with Darius Johnson, who averaged 15.2 points per game, are back.
A number of good transfers come to Orlando for this year. Jordan Ivy-Curry is the best of the bunch after he averaged 17.1 points per game at UTSA. Keyshawn Hall had 16.6 PPG at George Mason and Rokas Jucias had 8.5 PPG at La Salle. Benny Williams had a decent freshman year at Syracuse, seeing limited minutes.
UCF also brings in Mikey Williams, a former five-star prospect who committed to Memphis before a felony gun charge forced him to leave basketball for a time. He has never played a game of college basketball. Coach Johnny Dawkins is giving him a second chance and it will be interesting to see what kind of role he has and what he does with it.
Top-30 prospect Moustapha Thiam, a center standing at seven-foot-two, is sure to have an immediate role as a freshman.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
2023-24: 12-20 (4-14 Big 12), no postseason
It was a rough season in Stillwater last year, resulting in the firing of Mike Boynton after seven seasons at the helm.
Replacing him is former Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Western Kentucky coach Steve Lutz, who is now coaching his third different program in four years as part of a meteoric rise.
The Cowboys bring in 11 transfers. Khalil Brantley, who had 15.1 PPG at La Salle, Arturo Dean, who had 13.1 PPG at FIU, and Brandon Newman, following Lutz from Western Kentucky after averaging 10.1 points per game last season, are the ones who were most productive in their last stops.
Meanwhile, Marchelus Avery (UCF), Abou Ousmane (Xavier), Davonte Davis (Arkansas), Robert Jennings (Texas Tech) and Patrick Suemnick (West Virginia) all had various depth roles at their last stops. In addition, Mikey Kelvin II comes to Stillwater after he averaged 10.1 PPG at Queens University in Canada. Tyler Caron had 12.1 PPG at Division II St. Mary’s in San Antonio.
Bryce Thompson, who had 11.6 PPG last year, is the key returner. Jamyron Keller was a depth piece who is also back. It will be interesting to see how all of these pieces fit together in Lutz’s first year at the helm.
West Virginia Mountaineers
2023-24: 9-23 (4-14 Big 12), no postseason
The summer of 2023 in Morgantown was chaotic and culminated in the dismissal of longtime coach Bob Huggins in June after a drunk driving arrest.
Assistant Josh Eilert ran the program in the interim with little success, the first time the program failed to reach double digit wins since the 2001-02 season and just the third time in the NCAA tournament era (since 1939).
Now leading the Mountaineers is Darian DeVries, who had a ton of mid-major success at Drake. It comes with a complete rebuild of the roster, with 10 transfers.
DeVries brought in his son Tucker, who led the Bulldogs with 21.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. Jayden Stone had 20.8 points per game at Detroit Mercy, and Javon Small had 15.1 PPG at Oklahoma State, which may create a fantastic 1-2 punch with Tucker DeVries. Other additions from the portal include Toby Okani (UIC), Eduardo Andre (Fresno State), Joseph Yesufu (Washington State), Sencire Harris (Illinois) and Amani Hansberry (Illinois), who all had various roles. Also coming in is Haris Elezovic, who had 12.2 PPG and 10.3 rebounds per game at Laval University in Canada.
Four-star prospect Jonathan Powell and three-star KJ Tenner are the freshman pieces here.
It may be tough sledding for a bit, but WVU has found a great head coach to lead the program into the future.
AJ Hoops 