Arizona was picked by league coaches to repeat as the Conference champion in the Big 12 Men’s Basketball preseason poll. The Wildcats received 12 first-place votes and 220 points in the poll, finishing ahead of Houston, which received four first-place votes and 214 points.
Motiejus Krivas of Arizona was selected as the Conference’s Preseason Player of the Year. During the Wildcats’ championship season and run to the Final Four, Krivas was a First Team All-Big 12 performer and a member of the league’s All-Defensive Team. While Krivas was on the floor, opponents shot 36.7%, the lowest field goal percentage in the country. The Lithuanian also recorded 73 blocks on the season, ranking 17th nationally.
Arizona State’s Paulius Murauskas was named the Big 12 Preseason Newcomer of the Year. Murauskas transferred to ASU from Saint Mary’s to play for head coach Randy Bennett. The Lithuanian was a consensus top-10 transfer portal pickup after averaging 18.4 points and 7.6 rebounds at SMC, where he was also the 2025 WCC Newcomer of the Year.
Tyran Stokes of Kansas was voted as the Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year, marking the second consecutive season Kansas has held that honor. Stokes enters the 2026-27 campaign as the No. 1 high school prospect in the country according to ESPN, 247
Sports, and On3. During his senior year at Rainier Beach in Seattle, Stokes averaged 31 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, and four steals, leading his team to a 29-1 record and the Washington 3A state title.
The All-Big 12 Preseason Team includes preseason award winners Krivas, Murauskas, and Stokes, along with unanimous selections JT Toppin of Texas Tech and Robert Wright III of BYU. Other members of the preseason team are Ivan Kharchenkov (Arizona), Dedan Thomas Jr. (Houston), Joseph Tugler (Houston), Tamin Lipsey (Iowa State), and Xavier Edmonds (TCU).
The full preseason coaches' poll rankings include Kansas in third (186 points), Iowa State in fourth (181 points), and Texas Tech in fifth (180 points). Following them are BYU, TCU, Cincinnati, West Virginia, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Arizona State, UCF, Colorado, Kansas State, and Utah.
