Creighton University Athletics
McAndrew & Erhunmwunse Recognized as Men's Hoops Picked Seventh at BIG EAST Media Day
10/1/2026 7:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Creighton forwards Jackson McAndrew and Oswin Erhunmwunse have both been named Preseason Third Team All-BIG EAST selections in a vote of league coaches announced at the league's annual Basketball Media Day in New York City. The Creighton men's basketball team was picked to finish seventh.
It's not the first time that Creighton has been picked to finish seventh by BIG EAST coaches. It also happened in 2019-20, when the Bluejays won their only BIG EAST title and finished the year ranked seventh nationally. This year's prediction snaps a four-year streak of being tabbed for a top-three finish.
Creighton has matched or exceeded its preseason projection in all but two seasons since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, the best showing in the league in that time. The Bluejays are seeking an 11th straight finish in the top five of the league standings, the third-best stretch in league history and the longest streak since Syracuse did so 15 consecutive campaigns from 1981-82 to 1995-96
Connecticut earned eight first place votes and is atop the poll with 98 points, just ahead of St. John's (90 points, 2 first place votes). Villanova was picked third with 81 points and Marquette garnered the other first place vote and were fourth with 73 points. Providence (59), Xavier (54) and Creighton (47) were voted fifth, sixth and seventh. The rest of the poll was rounded out by DePaul (32), Seton Hall (31), Georgetown (27) and Butler (13). Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
Creighton finished 16-18 overall and fifth in the BIG EAST last season. The Bluejays return starters Jasen Green (10.5 ppg., 6.3 rpg.), Isaac Traudt (6.5 ppg.) Austin Swartz (10.9 ppg.) along with a talented crop of newcomers that includes Erhunmwunse.
The six men honored with Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST acclaim were Connecticut's Silas Demary Jr., and Braylon Mullins, Marquette's Nigel James Jr., Villanova's Tyler Perkins and the St. John's duo of Ian Jackson and Tounde Yessoufou. Demary was voted the league's Preseason Player of the Year. It's the first time since 2021-22 that Creighton did not have a Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST honoree.
McAndrew and Erhunmwunse were both named Preseason Third Team All-BIG EAST for the second straight season.
Erhunmwunse played the previous two seasons at Providence, contributing 445 points, 277 rebounds and 122 blocked shots in 65 games (55 starts) for the Friars.
McAndrew has career totals of 309 points and 178 rebounds while sinking 75 three-pointers in his first 40 games (35 starts) at Creighton. The Wayzata, Minn., was limited to four games last winter before undergoing season-ending surgery but is fully cleared ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
Creighton opens the exhibition season on Oct. 18 at Iowa State, then returns home to host Minnesota on Oct. 23. The regular-season tips off on Nov. 2 against Kansas City.
2026-27 BIG EAST Men's Basketball Preseason Honors
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Silas Demary Jr., UConn, Sr., G, 6-4, 191, Raleigh, N.C.
PRESEASON FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Colben Landrew, UConn, Fr., F, 6-6, 236, McComb, Miss.
PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
Braylon Mullins, UConn, So., G, 6-6, 198, Greenfield, Ind. *
Nigel James Jr., Marquette, So., G, 6-0, 195, Huntington, N.Y. *
Ian Jackson, St. John's, Jr., G, 6-5, 200, Bronx, N.Y.
Tounde Yessoufou, St. John's, So. G, 6-5, 220, Cotondou, Benin *
Tyler Perkins, Villanova, Sr., G, 6-4, 212, Lorton, Va.
* unanimous selection
PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
Na'jai Hines, UConn, F, So., 6-11, 278, Plainfield, N.J.
Royce Parham, Marquette, Jr., F, 6-9, 235, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Miles Byrd, Providence, Gr., G, 6-6, 200, Stockton, Calif.
Kwame Evans Jr., Villanova, Sr., F, 6-10, 220, Baltimore, Md.
Devin Royal, Villanova, Sr., F, 6-6, 230, Columbus, Ohio
PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM
Oswin Erhunmwunse, Creighton, Jr., F, 6-10, 235, Benin City, Nigeria
Jackson McAndrew, Creighton, Jr., F, 6-10, 225, Wayzata, Minn.
Layden Blocker, DePaul, Sr., G, 6-2, 193, Little Rock, Ark.
Sananda Fru, Marquette, Sr., F, 6-11, 250, Berlin, Germany
Jovan Milicevic, Xavier, Jr., F, 6-10, 241, Toronto, Ontario
Mike Nwoko, Xavier, Sr., F, 6-10, 260, Toronto, Ontario
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2026-27 Preseason BIG EAST Coaches Poll
First-place votes in parentheses
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| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1. | Connecticut (8) | 98 |
| 2. | St. John's (2) | 90 |
| 3. | Villanova | 81 |
| 4. | Marquette (1) | 73 |
| 5. | Providence | 59 |
| 6. | Xavier | 54 |
| 7. | Creighton | 47 |
| 8. | DePaul | 32 |
| 9. | Seton Hall | 31 |
| 10. | Georgetown | 27 |
| 11. | Butler | 13 |
| Creighton's BIG EAST Preseason Poll History | |||
| Year | Preseason Pick | Actual Finish | Preseason All-BIG EAST Picks |
| 2013-14 | 3rd | 2nd | Doug McDermott (POY; 1st) |
| 2014-15 | 9th | T-9th | None |
| 2015-16 | 9th | 6th | None |
| 2016-17 | 3rd | T-3rd | Maurice Watson Jr. (1st); Marcus Foster (HM) |
| 2017-18 | 5th | T-3rd | Marcus Foster (1st); Khyri Thomas (HM) |
| 2018-19 | 9th | T-3rd | Martin Krampelj ((HM) |
| 2019-20 | 7th | T-1st | Ty-Shon Alexander (1st) |
| 2020-21 | 2nd | 2nd | Marcus Zegarowski (POY, 1st); Mitch Ballock (2nd) |
| 2021-22 | 8th | 4th | None |
| 2022-23 | 1st | 3rd | Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st), Arthur Kaluma (2nd), Ryan Nembhard (2nd), Baylor Scheierman (HM) |
| 2023-24 | 2nd | T-2nd | Ryan Kalkbrenner (1st), Trey Alexander (1st), Baylor Scheierman (2nd) |
| 2024-25 | 2nd | 2nd | Ryan Kalkbrenner (POY, 1st), Steven Ashworth (3rd) |
| 2025-26 | 3rd | 5th | Owen Freeman (1st), Josh Dix (2nd), Nik Graves (3rd), Jackson McAndrew (3rd) |
| 2026-27 | 7th | TBD | Jackson McAndrew (3rd), Oswin Erhunmwunse (3rd) |
