Breaking down the Big East offseason: Who is chasing UConn, St. John’s?

It was a clear two-horse race in the Big East for the entire 2025-26 men’s basketball season as UConn and St. John’s separated into a tier above the rest.

Villanova, in year one under coach Kevin Willard, ascended back into the conversation and gave the conference three NCAA Tournament bids, but the Wildcats never threatened the top of the league and their postseason run was short-lived with a first-round loss to Utah State. Seton Hall did more with less under Shaheen Holloway, but didn’t collect enough strong wins outside of the conference to flip onto the right side of the March Madness bubble and declined any other postseason invitations.

None of the eight other teams finished the year with an overall record better than .500.

The league ended the season ranked last of the five power conferences by KenPom, which had a tight group of three at the top in the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12. There was a bit of a gap before the ACC and the Big East, and a similar-sized drop off from the Big East to the Mountain West.

But if this offseason is any indication, the league should see some positive momentum in 2026-27.

UConn, coming off of its third national championship game appearance in the last four years, has built what figures to be another contender. Dan Hurley was able to retain a core trio of Silas Demary Jr. (a Big East Player of the Year candidate), Braylon Mullins and Jayden Ross, while adding four transfers (and counting) to the rotation and a pair of top-50 freshmen who are likely to impact games right away.

Rick Pitino didn’t make the same splash in the transfer portal as he did last season, but the Hall of Famer went back overseas for a handful of international players after time expired on his dominant frontcourt trio of Zuby Ejiofor, Dillon Mitchell and Bryce Hopkins. The Johnnies added Beacon Falls native Avery Brown from Columbia and Syracuse forward Donnie Freeman, who was a UConn target at some level before the Huskies signed Nik Khamenia from Duke.

There will be at least seven international players on the St. John’s roster, including British point guard Quinn Ellis and Serbian 7-footer Lazar Stojkovic, who joins returner Ruben Prey (Portugal) in the front court after the Red Storm missed out on multiple big-name centers in the portal.

Still, the reigning back-to-back dual champions in the league figure to be ranked somewhere in the top 25 nationally heading into the season.

Villanova lost four of its top five scorers as double-double machine Duke Brennan and veteran sixth-man Devin Askew saw their eligibility expire, and both Bryce Lindsay (Indiana) and Acaden Lewis (Miami) departed through the portal. But the Wildcats are set to return leading scorer Tyler Perkins and wing Matt Hodge, whose ACL injury tempered expectations down the stretch of the season. And they have a highly regarded transfer class coming in, highlighted by former Oregon forward Kwame Evans Jr. and Ohio State wing Devin Royal, who had interest from UConn early in the portal process. Willard complimented that pair with a handful of high-scoring mid-major guards.

The expectations on Seton Hall were so low last season that a fourth-place finish in the league meant a unanimous coach of the year vote for Holloway, who didn’t have much to work with when assembling his roster. The Pirates find themselves in a similar position again after their best players moved on: Najai Hines to UConn, Budd Clark to Ole Miss, Tajuan Simpkins to Mississippi State, and a handful of others. Trey Parker is sticking it out as one of the few returners as former St. John’s guard Simeon Wilcher comes over from Texas and Roddie Anderson III comes from Xavier to highlight the Pirates’ portal haul.

Elsewhere around the league, Providence has made a splash early into the tenure of new head coach Bryan Hodgson, who came from USF to replace Kim English. Richard Pitino has been very active ahead of his second year at Xavier, as has Chris Holtmann in his third year at DePaul. Both Creighton and Marquette have made moves that could help them return to the national conversation.

Hodgson’s portal haul is ranked No. 7 nationally by 247Sports with Miles Byrd coming from San Diego State, Malik Mack from Georgetown, Devin Vanterpool from FAU, and big men Arrinten Page from Northwestern and Samson Aletan from Yale. The Friars also dipped into the pros to add Dink Pate, a former five-star wing prospect in the 2023 class who chose the G League over college and has been there since.

Xavier’s portal class was ranked No. 14 nationally after its 10th-place finish in the league last season. The Musketeers lost almost all of their key pieces aside from forward Jovan Milicevic and added a haul highlighted by former UAB guard Chance Westry and former LSU center Mike Nwoko, along with Ruben Dominguez from Texas A&M and Tru Washington from Miami.

DePaul had one of its best years in recent history and Chris Holtmann doesn’t plan on slowing down. The Blue Demons are set to return Layden Blocker and Kruz McClure, while adding center Magoon Gwath from San Diego State and a handful of mid-major guards after losing leading duo CJ Gunn and NJ Benson.

Creighton, with Alan Huss stepping in as head coach after Greg McDermott’s retirement, has a strong group of returners that includes Jackson McAndrew, Jasen Green and Austin Swartz, among others. The Blue Jays added one of the best rim protectors in the Big East in former Providence center Oswin Erhunmwunse, as well as guards Wes Enis from USF, BJ Davis from San Diego State and Kayden Edwards from TCU. Incoming freshman Katrelle Harmon is the No. 60 prospect in ESPN’s top-100 rankings.

And Shaka Smart had no choice but to fill holes on Marquette’s roster through the transfer portal, adding center Sananda Fru from Louisville and guard Nolan Minessale, a Milwaukee native who spent last season at St. Thomas. Marquette will feature Big East Freshman of the Year Nigel James Jr. as well as returners Royce Parham, Adrien Stevens and Damarius Owens. Incoming wing Alex Egbuonu is the No. 73 player in the 2026 high school class.

Ed Cooley brought in a strong quartet of transfers to Georgetown in Kansas’ Elmarko Jackson, Kentucky’s Jaland Lowe and FAU’s Josiah Parker, as well as center Chol Machot from the College of Charleston. The Hoyas also have a top-50 recruit coming in 6-foot-8 wing Alex Constanza, but they have plenty of spots to fill after the departures of Vince Iwuchukwu, Julius Halaifonua, Malik Mack, KJ Lewis and others.

Butler, hiring alum Ronald Nored after Thad Matta’s retirement, figures to have some tough sledding ahead after losing stars Finley Bizjack to West Virginia and Michael Ajayi to the NBA Draft and could see another year in the basement as the rest of the league rises.