Why Xavier Edmonds Is Stepping Up at the Right Time for TCU

One year ago, forward Xavier Edmonds was playing junior college basketball at Salt Lake Community College. He’d never played a minute in a Division I basketball game, though he was one of the best JUCO players in the country. Fast forward 365 days, and he’s already become one of TCU’s standout players, especially over the past week.

It’s an emergence that’s a welcome sight for Jamie Dixon’s squad, and one that — should it keep up — will help elevate the Horned Frogs to the NCAA Tournament.

What a week for @XavierEdmonds14!

20.5 points
10 rebounds
2 double-doubles #GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/Jqgew2YQYS
— TCU Men's Basketball (@TCUBasketball) January 26, 2026

In TCU’s victories over the Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Baylor Bears, Edmonds was an integral piece of the puzzle. The battle against the Cowboys was a fierce one, with the Horned Frogs having to pull off a comeback in the final minutes in order to avoid a disastrous beginning to conference play. Edmonds played a massive role.

Overall, he tallied 18 points, with several of those buckets coming late to keep TCU in the game. One particular sequence saw Edmonds make a layup to cut Oklahoma State’s lead to five with just under two and a half minutes to play, then follow it with a hook shot that trimmed the deficit to three. From there, TCU went on to prevail.

But that was just the start. Against Baylor, Edmonds positioned himself as a star in the making for the Horned Frogs.

Everything Is Starting to Click for Edmonds

Jan 10, 2026; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; TCU Horned Frogs forward Xavier Edmonds (24) makes a jump shot over Arizona Wildcats center Motiejus Krivas (13)during the first half at the Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

To say that TCU was on the ropes would be a bit of an overstatement, but it’s still true that the Horned Frogs were struggling in the waning minutes of their eventual win against Baylor. For what seemed like the millionth time this season, TCU was losing a lead late and was having to do everything it possibly could to hang on.

In previous collapses — particularly the one on the road at Kansas — the Frogs failed to make crucial free throws to put the other team away. Baylor knew this and subsequently began fouling TCU’s most inconsistent shooters from the charity stripe. Among those players was Edmonds, who heading into the game was shooting just 70 percent from the line. Over and over again, Baylor fouled Edmonds, daring him to miss. He didn’t. In a moment that can only be described as clutch, Edmonds made 11 of 13 from the free throw line to allow TCU to hang on to a 97-90 victory.

Xavier Edmonds in TCU’s win at Baylor:

23 PTS (career high)
10 REB
1 BLK
1 STL
6-11 FG
11-13 FT (career high)

Balled out when the Frogs needed him most pic.twitter.com/KSBdMeXpMm
— Nick Girimonte (@GirimonteNicky) January 25, 2026

In the end, that amounted to him scoring a season-high 23 points. It was an effort that completely flipped the script of the game, especially without star forward and potent scorer David Punch in the lineup to help. With a shortened lineup, TCU had to rely on Edmonds to get it across the finish line. And that’s exactly what he did.

What’s Next for TCU Men’s Basketball?

TCU will look to build off the momentum Edmonds has created when it faces No. 10 Houston on Jan. 10. It’ll then play Colorado on Feb. 1 before coming back home to battle a middling Kansas State squad on Feb. 7.

Everything Is Starting to Click for Edmonds

What’s Next for TCU Men’s Basketball?

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