The Red Storm were left outside of the AP preseason top 25 once again, but they earned the second-most votes among unranked teams with 91
Even though St. John’s added preseason All-American candidate Kadary Richmond and triple-double threat Deivon Smith to a Rick Pitino-coached squad, Associated Press poll voters aren’t buying in on the Johnnies yet.
St. John’s will enter the 2024-25 season unranked after the Associated Press released its preseason men’s basketball poll on Monday afternoon.
The Red Storm netted 91 votes in the season’s first poll, second-most among unranked teams, almost doubling the 47 votes they received in last season’s preseason poll.
Three Big East teams were ranked in the preseason poll: two-time defending national champions UConn at 3, Creighton at 15, and Marquette at 18. Xavier was the only other Big East team to receive votes, with 73.
The only other confirmed St. John’s regular season opponent to appear in the top 25 was Baylor (#8). The Red Storm could also face 12th-ranked Tennessee in their second game of the Baha Mar Bahamas Championship.
St. John’s has not appeared in the AP poll since the 2018-19 season, when they were ranked 24th in the January 7, 2019 poll. The Red Storm were last ranked in the preseason AP poll in the 1999-00 season, as they were ranked 18th in the nation.
St. John’s will take on 25th-ranked Rutgers on the road in a charity exhibition game on Thursday evening (6:30 p.m., BTN).