Zuby Ejiofor is under consideration for major hardware midway through his productive senior season. The star big man for St. John’s was one of 25 players named to the 2026 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year watch list.
The winner of the award will be unveiled leading up to the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball Final Four in Indianapolis on Saturday, April 4.
Returning as one of the top centers in the country, Ejiofor is performing as advertised and spearheading a top-25 team. The senior from Garland, Texas leads St. John’s across multiple categories, including scoring (15.4 points per game), rebounding (7.4 per game), assists (3.3 per game), and blocks (2.0 per game), ranking third in the Big East for total rejections. Ejiofor also ranks second on the team with 1.2 steals per game. Earlier this season in games against Iona and Ole Miss, Ejiofor became the first Big East player to record eight or more blocks in consecutive games since Chris Obepka in 2012.
Among Division I players to play ten or more games and average at least 20 minutes played in those games, Ejiofor ranks 43rd nationally in defensive box plus-minus, one spot ahead of his frontcourt teammate Dillon Mitchell.
So far in his collegiate career, Ejiofor’s list of accolades is brief, yet noteworthy, considering he has only been a full-time starter for two seasons. He won the Big East Most Improved Player award and earned places on the conference’s first team and all-tournament team last season. Prior to the 2025-26 season, Ejiofor was named the Big East preseason player of the year.
Ejiofor and the Red Storm return to action against the DePaul Blue Demons (12-9, 4-6 Big East) on Tuesday, February 3 in Chicago, Illinois. Tip-off is scheduled at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, and the game can be streamed on Peacock.
