Flory Bidunga tabbed Big 12 DPOTY; More awards announced
The Kansas men’s basketball trio of Flory Bidunga, Melvin Council Jr., and Darryn Peterson have earned All-Big 12 awards as the conference released its coaches’ All-Big 12 honors for the 2025-26 season today.
Bidunga is the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, an All-Big 12 First Team selection, and a unanimous selection for the Big 12 All-Defensive Team. Council is the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, an all-league honorable mention honoree, and a member of the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team. Peterson is an All-Big 12 Second Team selection and a unanimous choice for the All-Freshman Team. The Big 12 awards were selected by the conference coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own student-athletes in the process.
Bidunga leads the Big 12 and ranks second nationally in both blocked shots (84) and blocks per game (2.71). The Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, sophomore center also leads the Big 12 and ranks 10th nationally with a 64.4 field goal percentage. Bidunga scores 13.8 points per contest and leads KU with 9.0 rebounds per outing. Bidunga has a team-best 12 double-doubles for the season, which is second in the Big 12. At 13.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg, and 2.7 bpg, Bidunga is the only player in NCAA Division I to average more than 13.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocked shots per game. Bidunga is on the Naismith Trophy Late-Season list (1 of 30) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Midseason Top 10 list.
Council is averaging 13.4 points per contest, and he leads Kansas with 160 assists and with 34 steals. The Rochester, New York, senior guard ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 5.2 assists per game at 5.2, and he’s sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.86. In his last outing on Senior Day, Council flirted with a triple-double by scoring 17 points with 10 assists and eight rebounds in KU’s win against Kansas State. It was his second double-double of the season and seventh of his career.
Peterson, who is on the Wooden Award Late Midseason Watch List (1 of 20), the Naismith Trophy Late-Season list (1 of 30), and the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Midseason Top 10 list, leads Kansas with a 19.9 scoring average. After his 27 points against Kansas State (3/7), the Canton, Ohio, guard has nine games of 20 or more points. Peterson has made 53 threes in 20 games played this season. His 19.9 scoring average ranks first on the KU freshmen list, and his 53 threes are seventh on the KU frosh list heading into postseason.
Historically, Bidunga’s Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year marks the ninth time a Jayhawk has earned the honor, joining Mario Chalmers (2007), Cole Aldrich (2009, 2010), Jeff Withey (2012, 2013), Joel Embiid (2014), Marcus Garrett (2020), and Dajuan Harris Jr. (2023). Bidunga’s All-Big 12 First Team selection gives Kansas 39 first-teamers, which is more than double the second-place league school.
Council is Kansas’ fourth Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, joining Malik Newman (2018), Dedric Lawson (2019), and Hunter Dickinson (2024). Council is the 20th KU player to be named to the league’s All-Newcomer Team and the 40th to be selected All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.
Peterson is the seventh KU player named to the conference’s All-Freshman Team, which began in the 2018-19 season, joining Devon Dotson (2019), Christian Braun (2020), Jalen Wilson (2021), KJ Adams (2022), Gradey Dick (2023), and Johnny Furphy (2024). Peterson is the 23rd Jayhawk selected to the All-Big 12 Second Team.
No. 3 seed Kansas (22-9, 12-6) earned a double bye in the 2026 Big 12 Tournament and will play its first game in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 12, at 8:30 p.m. CT at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
In its quarterfinal contest, Kansas will face either No. 11 Colorado, No. 14 Oklahoma State, or No. 6 TCU. Colorado and Oklahoma State will play in the first round on Tuesday, March 10, at 8:30 p.m. and the winner of that contest will play TCU on Wednesday, March 11, at 8:30 p.m. in the second round. The second-round winner will play Kansas on March 12.
2025-26 Big 12 Awards (as selected by the conference coaches)
Player of the Year: Jaden Bradley, Arizona
Defensive Player of the Year: Flory Bidunga, Kansas
Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Freshman of the Year: AJ Dybantsa, BYU
Newcomer of the Year: Melvin Council Jr., Kansas
Sixth Man Award: Tobe Awaka, Arizona*
Most Improved: Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
Coach of the Year: Tommy Lloyd, Arizona
All-Big 12 First Team
Jaden Bradley, Arizona
Brayden Burries, Arizona
Motiejus Krivas, Arizona
AJ Dybantsa, BYU*
Emanuel Sharp, Houston
Kingston Flemings, Houston*
Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State
Flory Bidunga, Kansas
Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
JT Toppin, Texas Tech*
All-Big 12 Second Team
Richie Saunders, BYU
Baba Miller, Cincinnati
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Milan Momcilovic, Iowa State
Darryn Peterson, Kansas
All-Big 12 Third Team
Koa Peat, Arizona
Cameron Carr, Baylor
Rob Wright, BYU
Themus Fulks, UCF
Xavier Edmonds, TCU
All-Big 12 Honorable Mention:
Arizona: Tobe Awaka
Baylor: Tounde Yessoufou
Cincinnati: Moustapha Thiam
Colorado: Isaiah Johnson
Houston: Joseph Tugler, Milos Uzan
Kansas: Melvin Council Jr.
Kansas State: PJ Haggerty
Oklahoma State: Parsa Fallah
TCU: David Punch
Texas Tech: Donovan Atwell
West Virginia: Honor Huff
Utah: Terrence Brown
All-Defensive Team
Jaden Bradley, Arizona
Motiejus Krivas, Arizona
Emanuel Sharp, Houston
Joseph Tugler, Houston
Tamin Lipsey, Iowa State
Flory Bidunga, Kansas*
A tie resulted in an extra position on the team
All-Freshman Team
Brayden Burries, Arizona*
Koa Peat, Arizona
AJ Dybantsa, BYU*
Kingston Flemings, Houston*
Darryn Peterson, Kansas*
All-Newcomer Team
Cameron Carr, Baylor
Themus Fulks, UCF
Baba Miller, Cincinnati
Melvin Council Jr., Kansas
Donovan Atwell, Texas Tech
*- unanimous selection
