LJ Martin tabbed Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year as conference releases 2026 All-Big 12 team

BYU’s LJ Martin and Texas Tech’s A.J. Holmes Jr. were selected as the Big 12’s top preseason offensive and defensive players, highlighting an All-Big 12 group chosen by league media.

By The Apex Times Newsroom3 min readAI-assisted Apex article

The Big 12 Conference announced its 2026 preseason awards and Preseason All-Big 12 football team, an annual set of honors voted on by media members who cover each of the league’s 16 institutions. The preseason awards are designed to capture which individual impact players observers expect to carry their teams into the coming season.

BYU running back LJ Martin was named the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. The conference release also links his selection to his 2025 Player of the Year recognition inside the league, framing Martin as the league’s leading offensive storyline heading into 2026. BYU, which is viewed as a contender in many preseason conversations, also placed multiple players across the preseason All-Big 12 team, with reporting noting Martin leading a group of six Cougars named to the roster of selections.

On the defensive side, Texas Tech defensive player A.J. Holmes Jr. was selected as the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The award places the Red Raiders’ most prominent defensive name at the center of the league’s expectations, and it indicates that Tech’s defense will be watched closely from the first week of the 2026 season.

Kansas State had at least two individuals recognized on the preseason All-Big 12 team in its own athletics release, including sophomore defensive end Wendell Gregory and senior offensive lineman John Pastore. Their selections matter for a team-building perspective because they reflect evaluation of both pass-rush impact and frontline stability, two areas coaches often prioritize as the season begins.

Baylor was also represented in the preseason selections, with senior punter Palmer Williams named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team, according to the Bears’ athletics announcement. Special teams selections can be especially meaningful in the Big 12, where field position swings and late-game possession control often decide tight games, even when the broader offensive and defensive matchups are evenly matched.

Preseason All-Conference teams are not predictions of final performance, and they come with a built-in limitation: voters are looking at track records and expected roles rather than the outcomes of training camp and the first actual games of the season. Still, the preseason awards provide a useful reference point for how the league’s media ecosystem is thinking about star production and unit strengths, and they offer early clarity on which players will be treated as focal points in both game planning and fan attention.

What to watch next is how the preseason positioning aligns with each team’s first meaningful tests of the year. Martin’s workload and explosiveness, Holmes’ ability to generate disruption on defense, and the supporting cast around them will be the primary checkpoints, especially for teams that carry multiple preseason selections. The earliest weeks of the 2026 season should show whether the preseason vote translates into the kind of consistent play that sustains conference and postseason momentum.

Why It Matters

Preseason awards set the early narrative for which individual players will be treated as primary game-planning targets in the Big 12.
With multiple preseason selections, BYU and Texas Tech enter the season with clear expectations placed on both offensive and defensive performance.
Selections such as those for offensive line and special teams underscore that voters are looking beyond highlight positions to the units that can swing close games.
The first conference matchups will test whether preseason evaluations match on-field execution, shaping the early standings picture.

Sources

Key Facts

The Big 12 Conference released its 2026 preseason awards and Preseason All-Big 12 football team on July 6, 2026.
BYU running back LJ Martin was named the Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year.
Texas Tech’s A.J. Holmes Jr. was named the Big 12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
Kansas State reported selections including sophomore defensive end Wendell Gregory and senior offensive lineman John Pastore.
Baylor reported Palmer Williams, a senior punter, was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team.
Reporting on the league’s preseason group noted BYU had six Cougars named to the preseason All-Big 12 team, with Martin leading the way.