Big East Basketball: Ranking of top 25 players entering 2023-24 season

4. Joel Soriano – St. John’s

Though St. John’s hasn’t done much as a program in recent memory, the cupboard wasn’t entirely bare as Rick Pitino took over this past offseason. Soriano returns for his third year with the Red Storm after beginning his career with two years at Fordham. Suffice to say last year was an excellent campaign for Soriano, who developed into one of the best frontcourt players in the conference, averaging 15.2 points and 11.9 rebounds per game.

We’ll see how his game translates into Pitino’s system in his final collegiate campaign. Soriano was the Big East’s best rebounder last season but took a slight step back as a shot blocker. He’s a solid scorer but will hope to become even more dominant in the pain. All things considered, he’s an incredible weapon for a new head coach and his strength in the frontcourt will allow St. John’s to do some creative things on offense while taking advantage of his size and physical play on defense.

3. Ryan Kalkbrenner – Creighton

A major presence for the Bluejays, Kalkbrenner enters his senior season at Creighton having done serious damage in the Big East the prior three seasons. Albeit just a backup as a freshman, he’s really developed into a top level frontcourt weapon these last few seasons, averaging 15.9 points and 6.1 rebounds during an Elite Eight campaign this past year.

Each of the last two seasons have seen Kalkbrenner win Big East Defensive Player of the Year while leading the conference in field goal percentage. He’s a dominant force at the rim, becoming the conference’s top shot blocker last season, and he gets the job done on the glass on both sides. Clearly, having one of the nation’s most impactful defensive players back for a fourth season is a major win for the Bluejays.