The St. John's Red Storm are just a few weeks away from the 2026-27 men's college basketball season starting, but they still don't know for sure who is going to be in their lineup.
Final decisions have yet to be made on the eligibility of several players on the roster. Forwards Babacar Sane and Keyshawn Hall both have temporary restraining orders to play, making them eligible for the time being.
Forward Reed Bailey is eligible as a 5-in-5 player courtesy of a court ruling in California. St. John's is still waiting on Quinn Ellis, an international player, to receive clearance to play.
Head coach Rick Pitino is confident all of his players will be eligible, which would give the Red Storm one of the best lineups in the country. However, until final decisions are made, St. John's has a surprisingly low projection heading into the campaign according to KenPom.
Where did St. John's land in the KenPom rankings?
The 2026-27 rankings for men's basketball have been revealed, and the Red Storm have come in at No. 23 with a Net Rating of +23.06. It will be interesting to see how much that changes if Sane, Hall and Ellis are all deemed eligible for the upcoming season.
All three of them are projected to play massive roles in the rotation along with Bailey, helping replace a lot of talent. From last season's Sweet 16 squad, the only returning rotation players are guard Ian Jackson and big man Ruben Prey.
They will almost assuredly be in the starting lineup alongside Tounde Yessoufou, a five-star-rated transfer from the Baylor Bears who withdrew from the 2026 NBA Draft and committed to St. John's instead.
Big East projected to be deeper this season
That is an incredibly strong trio to start with as the core of the roster. With Bailey in the mix, along with transfers Kyle Cuffe Jr. and Avery Brown, adding Sane, Hall and Ellis would give Pitino a deep and talented nine-man rotation to lean on.
Their ceiling this season will be determined by the eligibility cases. Right now, they are the second-best team in the Big East based on KenPom's rankings, behind only the UConn Huskies, who are No. 11 with a Net Rating of +26.42.
The conference is projected to be much improved this year. All 11 teams are in the top 90 of the preseason projections, with the Butler Bulldogs being the lowest-ranked at No. 88. The Creighton Bluejays, Villanova Wildcats, Marquette Golden Eagles and Providence Friars are not far behind the Red Storm, all ranked between Nos. 30-39.
Today's best reads
- St. John's Basketball Predicted To Make Preseason Top 25 With Room To Move
- Babacar Sane Eligibility Concerns Will Go Into St. John's Basketball Season
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- St. John's Basketball Still Waiting on Keyshawn Hall Decision
- St. John's Basketball Falling Behind UConn With Jordan Page Commit
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/st-johns as St. John's Basketball Receives Surprising KenPom Ranking.