The St. John's Red Storm are getting set for the start of the season, and with some of the preseason awards coming out, the team should be pleased with where they stand.
Coming off a fantastic 2025-26 campaign, the Red Storm will be hoping to take another step forward this year. For the last two seasons, Rick Pitino has been able to help lead St. John's to Big East Titles and NCAA Tournament appearances.
The narrative surrounding the program has completely changed, and Pitino is a main reason why. Now, as the team gets set for the upcoming season, they will have a couple of key players to watch in Ian Jackson and Tounde Yessoufou. Recently, both of them were named to the Preseason All-Big East team.
Jackson, Yessoufou Named to Preseason All-Big East First Team
Per release, both Ian Jackson and Tounde Yessoufou have been named to the Preseason All-Big East First Team #SJUBB
– Nick Ziegler (@NickZiegler20) October 1, 2026
With the start of the college basketball season right around the corner, the Red Storm have high expectations to go with a lot of uncertainty. However, with the recent release of the All-Big East first team, they know that they will have some talented players to lean on no matter what.
Seeing both Jackson and Yessoufou making the team is great news for St. John's, and while Yessoufou making it is no surprise, Jackson doing so after a down year is.
The junior guard will be entering his second season with the Red Storm and his third season overall. Last year, he didn't perform well when asked to be in a different role.
However, with Jackson likely moving off-ball, he is going to be set up for success and, as a third-year college player, will be heavily leaned on.
Furthermore, the addition of Yessoufou was obviously the biggest one this offseason for the Red Storm. As a freshman for the Baylor Bears last year, he was an excellent scorer, but has a well-rounded game as a good defender as well.
While St. John's awaits the fate of multiple players when it comes to their eligibility, both Jackson and Yessoufou will be players that they are leaning on this year.
Joining them on the first team are Braylon Mullins from UCONN, Nigel James from Marquette, and Tyler Perkins from Villanova. Surprisingly, the preseason Big East Player of the Year, Silas Demary Jr., did not make the first team in a strange turn of events.
Overall, with two players on the preseason All-Big East First Team, the Red Storm have to feel really good about where they are heading into the season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/st-johns as St. John's Basketball Should Be Thrilled With Preseason All-Big East First Team .