Friartown, the wait is almost over. The 2026–27 college basketball season has arrived, and there’s plenty of excitement surrounding Providence basketball as the Friars prepare for another run through the Big East. With a new season comes new expectations, fresh faces, and plenty of opportunities for Providence to make some noise in one of the toughest conferences in the country. It’s also the perfect time to roll out my highly speculative preseason picks for the All-Big East Teams and individual awards.

There’s no shortage of talent across the conference, but I’m especially interested to see which Friars take the next step and establish themselves among the Big East’s best. As always, these predictions come with plenty of optimism, a little bit of bias, and absolutely no guarantees. I’ll own the hits and misses when we revisit everything at the end of the season.

Without further ado, here are my 2026–27 preseason selections, with no nonsense six or seven man All-Big East teams. We’re sticking with the traditional five. Go Friars!

1st Team

Silas Demary Jr. (UConn)

Nigel James Jr. (Marquette) – Player of the Year

Braylon Mullins (UConn)

Miles Byrd (Providence)

Tounde Yessoufou (St. John’s)

2nd Team

Tyler Perkins (Villanova)

Ian Jackson (St. John’s)

Jackson McAndrew (Creighton)

Royce Parham (Marquette)

Na’jai Hines (UConn)

3rd Team

Wes Enis (Creighton)

Keyshawn Hall (St. John’s)

Devin Vanterpool (Providence)

Devin Royal (Villanova)

Jovan Milicevic (Xavier)

Honorable Mentions: Layden Blocker (DePaul), Colben Landew (UConn), Oswin Erhunmwunse (Creighton), Kwame Evans Jr. (Villanova), Ryan Mela (Providence), Sanandra Fru (Marquette), Mike Nwoko (Xavier), Luigi Suigo (Villanova), Quinn Ellis (St. John’s), & Jasen Green (Creighton)

All-Freshman Team

Colben Landrew (UConn) – Freshman of the Year

Junior County (UConn)

Javon Bardwell (Providence)

Theo Edema (St. John’s)

Adam Oumiddoch (Villanova)

All-Transfer Team – I’m officially sunsetting this team as there are now officially more transfers that players returning to the team they played for last year. In fact, the 13 out of 17 players named to the Pre-Season All-Big East Teams this season are not returning the the same program as last season.

Coach of the Year

Bryan Hodgson (Providence)

6th Man of the Year

Colben Landrew (UConn) / Ryan Sabol (Providence)

Defensive Player of the Year (Big)

Magoon Gwath (DePaul)

Defensive Player of the Year (Wing)

Miles Byrd (Providence)