Overview
- The Big East coaches released preseason polls on Thursday that picked UConn as the favorite on both the men’s and women’s sides and honored Silas Demary Jr. as the men’s Preseason Player of the Year and Sarah Strong as the women’s unanimous choice.
- UConn swept major men’s preseason awards by also naming Colben Landrew Freshman of the Year and placing multiple Huskies on all-conference teams, reinforcing expectations that Dan Hurley’s program will start the season atop the league.
- St. John’s was picked second in the coaches’ poll and placed Ian Jackson and Tounde Yessoufou on the preseason first team, but the program’s projected depth could change because eligibility for Quinn Ellis, Keyshawn Hall, Reed Bailey, and Babacar Sane remains unresolved.
- St. John’s coach Rick Pitino publicly did not rank UConn first on his ballot and instead voted for Marquette, a media-day dissent that highlighted competing coaching narratives and the uncertainty transfer-portal movement introduces into the race.
- Conference leaders set a 20-game double round-robin schedule plus an extra nonconference game under new commissioner Tim Brosnan, and the league’s rising roster spending and transfer activity raise expectations for more NCAA bids and a deeper Big East this season.