After finishing with a program-best 29-2 record and conference regular season championship, the Arizona Wildcats were well represented in the 2025-26 All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball Awards. Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd took home Big 12 Coach of the Year honors, while Jaden Bradley was named Big 12 Player of the Year, and Tobe Awaka earned Sixth Man Award honors. In total, six Wildcats, including five players and Tommy Lloyd, earned recognition from the league following the conclusion of the regular season.
Jaden Bradley is the 11th player in program history to earn conference player of the year honors. He is also the third in five seasons under Tommy Lloyd, joining Bennedict Mathurin (Pac-12, 2021-22) and Caleb Love (Pac-12, 2023-24). With his player of the year honors, Bradley also secures a spot in the Arizona Basketball Ring of Honor.
Awaka becomes the third Wildcat in program history to earn top reserve honors, joining Jordan Brown (2020-21) and Pelle Larsson (2021-22). He was also the lone unanimous All-Big 12 Basketball Award recipient.
For Tommy Lloyd, this marks the second time he has received coach of the year honors, after earning Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2022.
Alongside Bradley on the All-Big 12 First Team is junior center Motiejus Krivas and freshman guard Brayden Burries. Freshman forward Koa Peat earned third team honors, while Awaka was honorable mention.
The Big 12 All-Defensive team included Bradley and Krivas, while Burries and Peat were All-Freshman Team selections. Burries’ inclusion on the All-Freshman Team was unanimous.
Bradley is the undisputed leader for Arizona, helping lead the Wildcats to the regular season title by two games. The heart and soul for Tommy Lloyd’s squad on both ends of the floor averaged 13.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.6 steals, while shooting 46.1% from the field and 38.2% from 3-point range. He scored in double figures in 23 games for the Wildcats, including five 20-plus-point performances, highlighted by a career-high 27 points in the win over the defending national champion Florida Gators on opening day in Las Vegas, and 17 points against Iowa State to clinch the Big 12 regular season title outright.
Awaka has been a force for Arizona off the bench this season. The nation’s top offensive rebounder, according to KenPom.com, averaged 9.6 points and 9.5 rebounds in 21.5 minutes as a reserve for Tommy Lloyd and the Wildcats. While he did start three games during Koa Peat’s absence due to injury, Awaka led the country in total rebounds coming off the bench. His 271 rebounds off the bench are the most by any bench player in the nation since 2023-24, per release from Arizona Athletics.
For Lloyd, in addition to leading Arizona a program-record 29 regular season wins and Big 12-best 23-0 start, his 141 career wins in his first five seasons as a head coach are an NCAA record. The Wildcats are also 15-2 in Quad 1 games this season and are 10-2 against AP Top 25 teams. Under Lloyd, the UA led the Big 12 in scoring and field goal percentage. Defensively, the Wildcats led the league in field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage defense and recorded a league-best rebounding margin of +9.44.
Kansas’ Flory Bidunga earned Defensive Player of the Year honors, while Melvin Council Jr. is the league’s Newcomer of the Year. BYU’s AJ Dybantsa is the Freshman of the Year and Iowa State’s Tamin Lipsey is the Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson earned Most Improved honors.
As the No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament in Kansas City, Arizona will play Thursday, March 12, at 12:00 PM MST against either No. 8 UCF, No. 9 Cincinnati, or No. 16 Utah on ESPN or ESPN2.