Joel Soriano Named to Preseason Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Watch List

10/27/2023 1:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

St. John’s senior center is the third Johnnie to be listed on a national preseason watch list by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

QUEENS, N.Y. – Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team selection and St. John's senior captain Joel Soriano is one of 20 Division I players that have been named to the Preseason Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Watch List, as announced by Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday.

Last season, Soriano was a semifinalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year award during his career year in Queens. The 6-foot-11 center from Yonkers, N.Y. joins teammates Jordan Dingle and Glenn Taylor Jr. who were also named to national watch lists by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame earlier this week.

Soriano produced 25 double-doubles during the 2022-23 season, which was the second-most in NCAA Division I and the most by a St. John's player since Walter Berry tallied 28 in 1985-86. He averaged a career-best 15.2 points and 11.9 boards per game with the latter ranking fourth in the nation. Soriano's 11.9 rebounds also paced the BIG EAST, as he became the first Johnnie since the inception of the league to be the category leader at season's end. Soriano also became just the ninth player in program history to tally 500 or more rebounds in his first two years at St. John's.

St. John's is one of 12 programs in the nation to have three or more players selected for preseason watch lists by the Hall of Fame.

Soriano is joined on the list by three other BIG EAST centers, including UConn's Donovan Clingan, Villanova's Eric Dixon and Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner.

This list will be narrowed down to 10 in late January, with plans to announce the final five in late March. The winner of this award, as well as presentation details, will be announced towards the end of the season.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award

NAME                         SCHOOL
Aaron Bradshaw          Kentucky
Aday Mara                   UCLA
Armando Bacot            UNC
Aziz Bandaogo             Cincinnati
Branden Carlson          Utah
Clifford Omoruyi          Rutgers
Dawson Garcia             Minnesota
Donovan Clingan         UConn
Eric Dixon                    Villanova
Hunter Dickinson         Kansas
Jamarian Sharp             Ole Miss
Jesse Edwards             West Virginia
Joel Soriano             St. John's
Johni Broome               Auburn
Jordan Brown             Memphis
Kel'el Ware                  Indiana
N'Faly Dante                Oregon
Oumar Ballo                 Arizona
Ryan Kalkbrenner        Creighton
Zach Edey                    Purdue