The St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team has as much talent on the roster as any in the country.
Head coach Rick Pitino has gone to great lengths to restock a roster that lost several key rotation players to the transfer portal, graduation and the professional ranks. Ian Jackson and Ruben Prey are the two most prominent rotation players who are back from last season's Sweet 16 squad.
They are joined by a lot of talented players. While questions still remain about their long-term eligibility, for now, everyone on the St. John's roster is able to play, including guard Peyton Ellis and forwards Babacar Sane, Keyshawn Hall and Reed Bailey.
The first two are international players who are seeking eligibility, while the latter are looking to gain a fifth year of eligibility with the new 5-in-5 rules. Don't forget about five-star transfer Tounde Yessoufou, who spent his freshman year with the Baylor Bears.
St. John's has zero players on AP Preseason All-America list
That is a ton of talent for Pitino to deploy, yet the Red Storm were surprisingly absent from the AP Preseason All-America voting list. The 58-person media panel had 28 different players receiving votes, but none of them were St. John's representatives.
The top five vote-getters were Jeremy Fears of the Michigan State Spartans, Thomas Haugh of the Florida Gators, Tyler Tanner of the Vanderbilt Commodores, David Mirkovic of the Illinois Fighting Illini and Motiejus Krivas of the Arizona Wildcats.
As a conference, the Big East wasn't represented a ton. Only two players made the cut, both from the Red Storm's biggest competition, the UConn Huskies. Braylon Mullins received 11 votes, and Silas Demary received eight.
There are a lot of talented players across the country heading into the 2026-27 season. NIL payments have changed the landscape of collegiate sports, keeping players in school longer than previous generations.
AP Preseason All-America
Jeremy Fears Jr.
Tyler Tanner
Thomas Haugh
David Mirkovic
Motiejus Krivas pic.twitter.com/XToK7Pyb0q– NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) October 21, 2026
There is no monetary incentive to declare early for the NBA draft if a player isn't receiving feedback in line with being a first-round pick. They can make more money via NIL payments than as a second-rounder or landing an Exhibit 10 contract and heading to the G League.
That creates a much deeper talent pool and an AP Preseason All-America ballot that is tough to crack. However, the St. John's has a few players who can certainly make a run at awards and accolades at the end of the season.
Ellis looks like one of the best point guards in the nation, someone who will elevate the game of Jackson, Yessoufou, Sane and Hall as the beneficiaries of his playmaking ability. Good stats and plenty of wins for the Red Storm will get them on the radar of voters down the line.
Today's best reads
- St. John's Basketball Receives Incredible Quinn Ellis News
- Babacar Sane Shows He Could Be a Star for St. John's Basketball
- St. John's Basketball Has Top Incoming International Player This Season
- St. John's Basketball Has a Special Point Guard in Quinn Ellis
- Predicting St. John's Basketball Starting Lineup for Season
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/st-johns as St. John's Basketball Surprisingly Lacks AP Preseason All-America Team Rep.