St. John's University Athletics
RJ Luis Jr. Named BIG EAST Player of the Year
3/12/2025 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
St. John’s junior becomes first Red Storm player to win BIG EAST Player of the Year honors since 1986
NEW YORK– Joining the likes of St. John's men's basketball legends Walter Berry and Chris Mullin, junior RJ Luis Jr. earned the coveted BIG EAST Player of the Year Award, the conference office announced on Wednesday.
Luis' honor will be formally announced Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at a press conference hosted by the conference in the Madison Square Garden Theatre, ahead of the 2025 Men's Basketball BIG EAST Tournament presented by JEEP.
The Miami native becomes the third player in program history to be recognized as the conference's top player and the first since 1986. The talented wing joins three-time winner Chris Mullin (1983-85) and Walter Berry (1986) in the elite fraternity.
In a historic regular season filled with milestones and accomplishments unseen in Queens in decades, Luis shined the brightest leading the Red Storm to its first outright BIG EAST Regular Season Championship in 40 years. The junior led the Johnnies offensively averaging 18.1 and 7.1 rebounds per game. The unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection is the first St. John's player to average more than 18.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in a single season since Zendon Hamilton in 1995-96.
After arriving in Queens following his freshman season at UMass, Luis appeared in 23 games averaging 10.9 points per contest while battling through injuries during the 2023-24 campaign. In his second season under Head Coach Rick Pitino, blossomed into a premiere scorer ranking fourth in the league with 18.1 points per game. The 6-foot-7 wing recorded 11 20-plus point outings including five in his last seven appearances and logged 29 double-digit scoring efforts in 30 contests. During conference play, he averaged 18.9 points leading the Johnnies to an 18-2 record tying last year's Connecticut team for the highest win total in league play in BIG EAST history.
Luis has spearheaded a Johnnies' offense that ranks first in the BIG EAST averaging 78.6 points per game. The prolific shooter has led the Red Storm in scoring in 16 those contests. In those games, St. John's holds a 16-0 record. He is shooting 44.6 percent from the field which ranks top-10 in the conference.
Luis has racked up nine double-doubles, which ranks second-most in the BIG EAST. The junior has recorded seven of his double-doubles during BIG EAST competition. A capable rebounder, he averages 7.1 boards per game, which ranks sixth in the BIG EAST. He joins Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner as the only player in the conference to rank top-six in scoring and rebounding. Additionally, he ranks third on the team and 14th in the BIG EAST averaging 1.4 steals per game.
Earlier today, the wing was named Sporting News All-America Third Team, one of the four lists considered for consensus All-American status. Luis Jr. has garnered a slew of honors throughout the season including- Naismith Trophy National Player of the Year Midseason Team, Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year finalist, NCAA March Madness Player of the Week, two-time BIG EAST Player of the Week, two-time Metropolitan Basketball Writers' Association Player of the Week and a five-time BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recipient.
Top-seeded St. John's will face the winner of eighth-seeded Providence and ninth-seeded Butler on Thursday in the quarterfinal round at 12 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.
Luis' honor will be formally announced Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at a press conference hosted by the conference in the Madison Square Garden Theatre, ahead of the 2025 Men's Basketball BIG EAST Tournament presented by JEEP.
The Miami native becomes the third player in program history to be recognized as the conference's top player and the first since 1986. The talented wing joins three-time winner Chris Mullin (1983-85) and Walter Berry (1986) in the elite fraternity.
In a historic regular season filled with milestones and accomplishments unseen in Queens in decades, Luis shined the brightest leading the Red Storm to its first outright BIG EAST Regular Season Championship in 40 years. The junior led the Johnnies offensively averaging 18.1 and 7.1 rebounds per game. The unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team selection is the first St. John's player to average more than 18.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in a single season since Zendon Hamilton in 1995-96.
After arriving in Queens following his freshman season at UMass, Luis appeared in 23 games averaging 10.9 points per contest while battling through injuries during the 2023-24 campaign. In his second season under Head Coach Rick Pitino, blossomed into a premiere scorer ranking fourth in the league with 18.1 points per game. The 6-foot-7 wing recorded 11 20-plus point outings including five in his last seven appearances and logged 29 double-digit scoring efforts in 30 contests. During conference play, he averaged 18.9 points leading the Johnnies to an 18-2 record tying last year's Connecticut team for the highest win total in league play in BIG EAST history.
Luis has spearheaded a Johnnies' offense that ranks first in the BIG EAST averaging 78.6 points per game. The prolific shooter has led the Red Storm in scoring in 16 those contests. In those games, St. John's holds a 16-0 record. He is shooting 44.6 percent from the field which ranks top-10 in the conference.
Luis has racked up nine double-doubles, which ranks second-most in the BIG EAST. The junior has recorded seven of his double-doubles during BIG EAST competition. A capable rebounder, he averages 7.1 boards per game, which ranks sixth in the BIG EAST. He joins Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner as the only player in the conference to rank top-six in scoring and rebounding. Additionally, he ranks third on the team and 14th in the BIG EAST averaging 1.4 steals per game.
Earlier today, the wing was named Sporting News All-America Third Team, one of the four lists considered for consensus All-American status. Luis Jr. has garnered a slew of honors throughout the season including- Naismith Trophy National Player of the Year Midseason Team, Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year finalist, NCAA March Madness Player of the Week, two-time BIG EAST Player of the Week, two-time Metropolitan Basketball Writers' Association Player of the Week and a five-time BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recipient.
Top-seeded St. John's will face the winner of eighth-seeded Providence and ninth-seeded Butler on Thursday in the quarterfinal round at 12 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.
Players Mentioned
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