St. John's University Athletics
Yessoufou, Jackson Named to Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team
10/1/2026 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Red Storm picked to finish second in Preseason Coaches’ Poll
NEW YORK – Coming off back-to-back BIG EAST Outright Regular Season and Tournament titles, the St. John's men's basketball team has placed two student-athletes on the Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team, it was announced on Thursday morning in conjunction with BIG EAST Media Day at the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan.
Tounde Yessoufou was unanimously selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team while Ian Jackson also earned a nod to the league's top preseason squad. Yessoufou was one of three unanimous selections to the All-BIG EAST First Team alongside UConn's Braylon Mullins and Marquette's Nigel James Jr.
St. John's was also picked to finish second in the league's preseason coaches' poll. The Red Storm earned two first-place votes and garnered 90 voting points, eight points behind UConn in first and nine points clear of Villanova in third. Marquette and Providence, respectively, rounded out the top five while Xavier checked in sixth. Creighton was predicted to finish seventh followed by DePaul, Seton Hall, Georgetown and Butler.
Yessoufou earned his unanimous Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selection following a standout debut season at Baylor, where he set the program's freshman scoring record with 605 points. The Honorable Mention All-Big 12 pick averaged 17.8 points per game, good enough for 10th nationally among freshmen. The Benin native reached double figures in 32 of his 34 games and finished with nine points apiece in the other two.
Not only a prolific scorer, Yessoufou also averaged 5.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.0 steals per contest, the last of which ranked 41st nationally overall and third among freshmen. His 67 thefts were the second most by a freshman in Baylor history, trailing only the 68 recorded by VJ Edgecombe in 2024-25.
Jackson returns to his Queens for his second season with the Red Storm in 2026-27. Last year, Jackson averaged 9.4 points per game for a St. John's team that won 30 games, including an 18-2 record in conference play, and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 27 years.
The Bronx native finished in double figures 16 times in 36 games with one 20-point outing. A former McDonald's All-American who spent his freshman season at North Carolina, Jackson shot 90.0% from the free throw line last year and made 52 of his final 56 tries from the charity stripe. Jackson made 49 3-pointers a season ago, good enough for the second-highest total on the team, and shot 34.3% from downtown.
Madison Square Garden ticket plans are on sale now. The Red Storm will play 13 regular season games at The Mecca in 2026-27, the team's highest total since 1950-51. In addition, the Johnnies will host a pair of exhibition contests at The World's Most Famous Arena against Rutgers (Oct. 18) and Texas (Oct. 25)
The Red Storm will also host Drexel for an exhibition on Oct. 14 at Carnesecca Arena before kicking off the regular season on Nov. 2 against Monmouth.
2026-27 BIG EAST Men's Basketball Preseason Honors
Preseason Player of the Year
Silas Demary Jr., UConn, Sr., G, 6-4, 191, Raleigh, N.C.
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Colben Landrew, UConn, Fr., F, 6-6, 236, McComb, Miss.
PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
Braylon Mullins, UConn, So., G, 6-6, 198, Greenfield, Ind. *
Nigel James Jr., Marquette, So., G, 6-0, 195, Huntington, N.Y. *
Ian Jackson, St. John's, Jr., G, 6-5, 200, Bronx, N.Y.
Tounde Yessoufou, St. John's, So. G, 6-5, 220, Cotondou, Benin *
Tyler Perkins, Villanova, Sr., G, 6-4, 212, Lorton, Va.
* unanimous selection
Preseason All-BIG EAST Second Team
Na'jai Hines, UConn, F, So., 6-11, 278, Plainfield, N.J.
Royce Parham, Marquette, Jr., F, 6-9, 235, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Miles Byrd, Providence, Gr., G, 6-6, 200, Stockton, Calif.
Kwame Evans Jr., Villanova, Sr., F, 6-10, 220, Baltimore, Md.
Devin Royal, Villanova, Sr., F, 6-6, 230, Columbus, Ohio
Preseason All-BIG EAST Third Team
Oswin Erhunmwunse, Creighton, Jr., C, 6-10, 235, Benin City, Nigeria
Jackson McAndrew, Creighton, Jr., F, 6-10, 225, Wayzata, Minn.
Layden Blocker, DePaul, Sr., G, 6-2, 193, Little Rock, Ark.
Sananda Fru, Marquette, Sr., F, 6-11, 250, Berlin, Germany
Jovan Milicevic, Xavier, Jr., F, 6-10, 241, Toronto, Ontario
Mike Nwoko, Xavier, Sr., F, 6-10, 260, Toronto, Ontario
2026-27 BIG EAST Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
First place votes in parentheses
Tounde Yessoufou was unanimously selected to the Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team while Ian Jackson also earned a nod to the league's top preseason squad. Yessoufou was one of three unanimous selections to the All-BIG EAST First Team alongside UConn's Braylon Mullins and Marquette's Nigel James Jr.
St. John's was also picked to finish second in the league's preseason coaches' poll. The Red Storm earned two first-place votes and garnered 90 voting points, eight points behind UConn in first and nine points clear of Villanova in third. Marquette and Providence, respectively, rounded out the top five while Xavier checked in sixth. Creighton was predicted to finish seventh followed by DePaul, Seton Hall, Georgetown and Butler.
Yessoufou earned his unanimous Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST selection following a standout debut season at Baylor, where he set the program's freshman scoring record with 605 points. The Honorable Mention All-Big 12 pick averaged 17.8 points per game, good enough for 10th nationally among freshmen. The Benin native reached double figures in 32 of his 34 games and finished with nine points apiece in the other two.
Not only a prolific scorer, Yessoufou also averaged 5.9 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 2.0 steals per contest, the last of which ranked 41st nationally overall and third among freshmen. His 67 thefts were the second most by a freshman in Baylor history, trailing only the 68 recorded by VJ Edgecombe in 2024-25.
Jackson returns to his Queens for his second season with the Red Storm in 2026-27. Last year, Jackson averaged 9.4 points per game for a St. John's team that won 30 games, including an 18-2 record in conference play, and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 27 years.
The Bronx native finished in double figures 16 times in 36 games with one 20-point outing. A former McDonald's All-American who spent his freshman season at North Carolina, Jackson shot 90.0% from the free throw line last year and made 52 of his final 56 tries from the charity stripe. Jackson made 49 3-pointers a season ago, good enough for the second-highest total on the team, and shot 34.3% from downtown.
Madison Square Garden ticket plans are on sale now. The Red Storm will play 13 regular season games at The Mecca in 2026-27, the team's highest total since 1950-51. In addition, the Johnnies will host a pair of exhibition contests at The World's Most Famous Arena against Rutgers (Oct. 18) and Texas (Oct. 25)
The Red Storm will also host Drexel for an exhibition on Oct. 14 at Carnesecca Arena before kicking off the regular season on Nov. 2 against Monmouth.
2026-27 BIG EAST Men's Basketball Preseason Honors
Preseason Player of the Year
Silas Demary Jr., UConn, Sr., G, 6-4, 191, Raleigh, N.C.
Preseason Freshman of the Year
Colben Landrew, UConn, Fr., F, 6-6, 236, McComb, Miss.
PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
Braylon Mullins, UConn, So., G, 6-6, 198, Greenfield, Ind. *
Nigel James Jr., Marquette, So., G, 6-0, 195, Huntington, N.Y. *
Ian Jackson, St. John's, Jr., G, 6-5, 200, Bronx, N.Y.
Tounde Yessoufou, St. John's, So. G, 6-5, 220, Cotondou, Benin *
Tyler Perkins, Villanova, Sr., G, 6-4, 212, Lorton, Va.
* unanimous selection
Preseason All-BIG EAST Second Team
Na'jai Hines, UConn, F, So., 6-11, 278, Plainfield, N.J.
Royce Parham, Marquette, Jr., F, 6-9, 235, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Miles Byrd, Providence, Gr., G, 6-6, 200, Stockton, Calif.
Kwame Evans Jr., Villanova, Sr., F, 6-10, 220, Baltimore, Md.
Devin Royal, Villanova, Sr., F, 6-6, 230, Columbus, Ohio
Preseason All-BIG EAST Third Team
Oswin Erhunmwunse, Creighton, Jr., C, 6-10, 235, Benin City, Nigeria
Jackson McAndrew, Creighton, Jr., F, 6-10, 225, Wayzata, Minn.
Layden Blocker, DePaul, Sr., G, 6-2, 193, Little Rock, Ark.
Sananda Fru, Marquette, Sr., F, 6-11, 250, Berlin, Germany
Jovan Milicevic, Xavier, Jr., F, 6-10, 241, Toronto, Ontario
Mike Nwoko, Xavier, Sr., F, 6-10, 260, Toronto, Ontario
2026-27 BIG EAST Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
| 1. | UConn (8) | 98 |
| 2. | St. John's (2) | 90 |
| 3. | Villanova | 81 |
| 4. | Marquette (1) | 73 |
| 5. | Providence | 59 |
| 6. | Xavier | 54 |
| 7. | Creighton | 47 |
| 8. | DePaul | 32 |
| 9. | Seton Hall | 31 |
| 10. | Georgetown | 27 |
| 11. | Butler | 13 |
First place votes in parentheses
Players Mentioned
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