The page has been turned to the 2025-26 season for the St. John’s basketball team and there are major expectations for the Red Storm.
After a record shattering season which saw the Johnnies win the Big East regular season and tournament as well as emerge victorious in an NCAA Tournament game, Rick Pitino has reshaped his roster into one of the best in the country.
Zuby Ejiofor anchors the returning players while the Hall of Famer jumped into the transfer portal to land six key players, headlined by North Carolina guard Ian Jackson.
Pitino also added Providence forward Bryce Hopkins, Arizona State guard Joson Sanon, Stanford guard Oziyah Sellers, Cincinnati forward Dillon Mitchell, and Idaho State guard Dylan Darling.
All of the moved landed the Red Storm as a No. 1 seed in the way-too-early bracketology from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi and the expectations is that the Johnnies will find themselves as a preseason Top 5 team in the nation.
The longtime bracketologist pegged St. John’s as the No. 1 seed in the South Region, which plays its regional in Houston. Lunadi placed the Red Storm in Philadelphia for its opening weekend, the closest host site to Queens.
Duke landed the No. 1 seed in the East Region, which will play in Washington D.C.
The Johnnies were joined by UConn (No. 2 seed), Creighton (No. 10 seed), and Marquette (No. 10 seed – Last Four In) as the only other Big East teams in his projected bracket.
St. John’s has not made back-to-back NCAA Tournaments since Mike Jarvis was the head coach in the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons. The ’98-99 season was also the last time the program reached the second weekend of the tournament.
The program has not been a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since the 1985-86 season.