St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Debuts at No. 13 in Associated Press Preseason Top 25
10/19/2026 12:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Red Storm ranked in back-to-back preseasons for first time since 1990-91 and 1991-92
QUEENS, N.Y. – Coming off back-to-back to sweeps of the BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament titles and the program's first Sweet 16 appearance in nearly three decades, St. John's checked in a no. 13 in the Associated Press Preseason Top 25 poll released on Monday afternoon.
The Red Storm's debut at no. 13 is the sixth highest preseason ranking in program history. Last season, the Johnnies were slated fifth before the start of the campaign by the Associated Press' panel of 61 media members from across the nation.
The Red Storm was featured in 16 of the 20 polls published last season by the AP, tied for the team's highest single-season total since 1990-91 (17).
2026-27 marks the 15th time in program history that St. John's has been ranked before the start of the season. This is also the first time that the Johnnies have been featured in back-to-back preseason poll since 1990-91 and 1991-92, the final two years of Head Coach Lou Carnesecca's tenure.
In addition to returning five letterwinners, including two projected starters, from last year's Sweet 16 team, the Red Storm brought in the nation's top-ranked transfer class for the second straight offseason. Anchoring that class are two of the nation's top-five transfers according to 247Sports: Tounde Yessoufou (4) and Keyshawn Hall (5). The Red Storm also recruited Donnie Freeman, the 16th ranked transfer in the class, but he will miss the season with an injury. Head Coach Rick Pitino and his staff also recruited three talented veterans from Europe in Quinn Ellis, Babacar Sane and Zsombor Maronka in addition to a pair of freshmen in Theo Edema and Lazar Stojkovic.
The Red Storm, which has already captured a pair of exhibition victories against Drexel and Rutgers, will host one more preseason contest when it welcomes No. 7 Texas to Madison Square Garden on Sunday at 12 p.m. Tickets for that tilt against the Longhorns can be purchased by clicking here.
Full-season ticket packages including all games at Carnesecca Arena are sold out, but fans can still purchase a Madison Square Garden plan, giving them access to Sunday's game against the seventh-ranked Longhorns and all 13 of the Red Storm's regular season games at The Mecca. The Johnnies' 15 appearances at MSG before the BIG EAST Tournament are the program's highest single-season total since 1950-51.
The Red Storm will kick off the 2026-27 season in earnest on Nov. 2 when it welcomes Monmouth to Carnesecca Arena for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off on ESPN+.
The Red Storm's debut at no. 13 is the sixth highest preseason ranking in program history. Last season, the Johnnies were slated fifth before the start of the campaign by the Associated Press' panel of 61 media members from across the nation.
The Red Storm was featured in 16 of the 20 polls published last season by the AP, tied for the team's highest single-season total since 1990-91 (17).
2026-27 marks the 15th time in program history that St. John's has been ranked before the start of the season. This is also the first time that the Johnnies have been featured in back-to-back preseason poll since 1990-91 and 1991-92, the final two years of Head Coach Lou Carnesecca's tenure.
In addition to returning five letterwinners, including two projected starters, from last year's Sweet 16 team, the Red Storm brought in the nation's top-ranked transfer class for the second straight offseason. Anchoring that class are two of the nation's top-five transfers according to 247Sports: Tounde Yessoufou (4) and Keyshawn Hall (5). The Red Storm also recruited Donnie Freeman, the 16th ranked transfer in the class, but he will miss the season with an injury. Head Coach Rick Pitino and his staff also recruited three talented veterans from Europe in Quinn Ellis, Babacar Sane and Zsombor Maronka in addition to a pair of freshmen in Theo Edema and Lazar Stojkovic.
The Red Storm, which has already captured a pair of exhibition victories against Drexel and Rutgers, will host one more preseason contest when it welcomes No. 7 Texas to Madison Square Garden on Sunday at 12 p.m. Tickets for that tilt against the Longhorns can be purchased by clicking here.
Full-season ticket packages including all games at Carnesecca Arena are sold out, but fans can still purchase a Madison Square Garden plan, giving them access to Sunday's game against the seventh-ranked Longhorns and all 13 of the Red Storm's regular season games at The Mecca. The Johnnies' 15 appearances at MSG before the BIG EAST Tournament are the program's highest single-season total since 1950-51.
The Red Storm will kick off the 2026-27 season in earnest on Nov. 2 when it welcomes Monmouth to Carnesecca Arena for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off on ESPN+.
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