Texas Tech fans got a dose of optimism Tuesday when Grant McCasland offered a fresh update on JT Toppin’s recovery, and the message was clear: the superstar forward is moving in the right direction, even if he is still a ways from returning to full basketball activity.
McCasland joined Jon Rothstein’s podcast and said Toppin, who is coming back from a torn knee ligament suffered in a February game at Arizona State, is “ahead of schedule.” He also said Toppin has been doing individual skill work, though not anything live.
"I'll tell you two things, and I haven't spoken about this publicly," he said, "but one is, I do think he's ahead of schedule. And maybe, if you're just looking at timelines of how people respond leg strength-wise, diameter, explosiveness, those things that matter, and he does do some individual work with skill development.
So it's not all just; he's doing some skills stuff. We aren't doing any kind of live anything.
"I mean, he's still trying to progress to a point where he can get to where he can practice, and we're not going to practice him in a short amount of time and play him. We're really going to ramp him up slow in practices, and we're not even close to him practicing right now. So I would say, you know, everybody wants to ask a timeline; I really can't say one, but I can say that he's progressed at a rate that we feel like he can make an impact on this team significantly, and that's kind of where he stands."
That language shut the door on any idea that Toppin might be back early in the season. At the same time, it gives Texas Tech reason to believe he’ll eventually be available in 2026-27, which is encouraging given the injury happened back on February 17.
Toppin was hurt while driving to the basket against Arizona State in a 72-67 loss. He didn’t undergo knee surgery until late March. When the injury first happened, there was real concern that he could miss all of 2026-27, since ligament tears often take close to a year to heal.
McCasland stopped short of giving even a practice timeline, though.
"We have not put a time on that," he said, "because we're trying to get his leg strength to where we feel it's at an adequate level so that he can practice, and we don't have a timetable on that."
The uncertainty matters because Texas Tech is staring at a nasty non-conference slate, one that includes at least four teams ranked in the preseason A.P. poll and possibly more, depending on how the matchups come together at the Players Era Sixteen event in Las Vegas in late November.
Still, Toppin’s absence could also force the Red Raiders to grow up fast. Other players will have to absorb more minutes, and the team may become more balanced without leaning on him as an early-season safety net.
Even so, if Texas Tech is serious about a Final Four run, Toppin will need to be part of it. For now, McCasland’s update is the kind of news fans were hoping for: no firm date, but enough progress to believe their best player will matter when the season really starts to take shape.
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