The preseason hype around St. John’s has reached an all-time high.
St. John’s is No. 5 in the Associated Press’ first Top 25 poll, marking the highest preseason ranking in program history.
The only schools ahead of Rick Pitino’s Red Storm are No. 1 Purdue, No. 2 Houston, No. 3 Florida and No. 4 UConn.
St. John’s had never placed higher than No. 7 in the preseason poll. It was No. 7 before the 1984-85 season, a year in which the Johnnies surged to their second — and most recent — trip to the Final Four.
This is the first time St. John’s has appeared in the AP’s preseason Top 25 since before the 1999-2000 season, when it was No. 18.
This year’s preseason recognition follows a 2024-25 campaign in which St. John’s won its first outright Big East championship since 1985 and its first conference tournament title since 2000.
After being upset as a No. 2 seed in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by Arkansas, St. John’s retooled in the offseason with a transfer class that 247Sports ranked as the best of any program.
The newcomers include guard Ian Jackson, forwards Bryce Hopkins and Dillon Mitchell, and sharpshooters Joson Sanon and Oziyah Sellers.
That group joins returning senior forward Zuby Ejiofor, who last season averaged 14.7 points and a team-high 8.1 rebounds per game to make the All-Big East first team.
The AP poll is more bullish than that of KenPom, an analytics-based website that ranks St. John’s No. 16 to begin the season. KenPom did, however, rank Pitino as No. 5 on its list of active head coaches.
St. John’s and UConn are two of the three Big East teams to appear in the AP’s preseason poll, along with Creighton, which is No. 23.
The Johnnies are entering their third season under Pitino, who was the 2024-25 Naismith Coach of the Year.
The regular season begins on Nov. 3 with a game against Quinnipiac at Carnesecca Arena, followed by a Nov. 8 meeting with No. 15 Alabama at Madison Square Garden.
