St. John’s Red Storm - Grade: B+
- 2025-26 record: 30-7 (18-2 Big East)
Roster departures
- Zuby Ejiofor (16.3 ppg and 7.3 rpg)
- Bryce Hopkins (13.6 ppg and 6.2 rpg)
- Oziyah Sellers (10.3 ppg and 2.7 rpg)
- Dillon Mitchell (8.3 ppg and 7.0 rpg)
- Joson Sanon (7.9 ppg and 2.4 rpg)
- Dylan Darling (6.9 ppg and 2.6 apg)
Roster returnees
- Ruben Prey (4.3 ppg and 2.1 rpg)
- Ian Jackson (9.4 ppg and 2.3 rpg)
- Lefteris Liotopoulos (2.9 ppg and 0.9 rpg)
Roster additions
- Donnie Freeman (16.5 ppg and 7.2 rpg at Syracuse)
- Tounde Yessoufou (17.8 ppg and 5.9 rpg at Baylor)
- Kyle Cuffe Jr. (7.3 ppg and 1.8 rpg at Mercer)
- Avery Brown (4.3 ppg and 2.0 rpg at Columbia)
- Theo Edema (4-star center prospect)
- Quinn Ellis (international guard prospect)
- Lazar Stojkovic (international center prospect)
- Babacar Sane (international forward prospect)
Coach Rick Pitino had been part of multiple sweepstakes and missed out on a couple of them. Still, it was a mostly successful offseason at the end, landing Yessoufou after he left the NBA Draft process at the deadline. He gives them a genuine go-to option on offense and a Big East Player of the Year candidate if his shooting improves.
Freeman was another key offseason pickup after a good year at Syracuse. Ellis is viewed as one of the top international prospects and is their projected lead guard, paired with Jackson, one of the lone returning rotation pieces, in the backcourt.
There aren’t a ton of proven Big East-caliber players, but several high-ceiling newcomers to watch. There’s a chance that the Red Storm is a top team in the conference, but there are also concerns with the shooting as well.
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