NEW YORK -- St. John’s Zuby Ejiofor has been named the winner of the 2025-26 BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The selection was made by the Conference’s Academic Affairs Committee. He will receive a $2,000 scholarship, which may be used for graduate or professional studies.
Originally from Garland, Texas, Ejiofor has shined in the classroom, in the community, and on the court. He has a 3.70 grade-point average and is on schedule to earn his bachelor of science in Sport Management in May. Last season, he was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-American team and in April 2025, he was inducted into Chi Alpha Sigma, the National College Athlete Honor Society. A two-time member of the Dean's List at St. John's, he is on track to make a third appearance this academic year. Ejiofor is a two-time member of the Academic All-BIG EAST team and was named to the Athletic Director's Honor Roll at St. John's on five occasions.
Ejiofor has made a significant impact in the community at St. John's. Last April, he was part of the athletics department's annual event in partnership with Community Mayors, welcoming more than 300 children to the Queens campus for a day of fun, smiles, and games at Belson Stadium, Jack Kaiser Stadium, and Taffner Field House. Community Mayors, Inc. is an organization that has been providing recreational therapy for children with special needs in the New York metro area for nearly 70 years.
He is also a member of the Council on Community, Culture, and Social Justice (CCCSJ), playing an instrumental role in encouraging his fellow student-athletes at St. John's to become actively involved in council initiatives and its commitment to inclusion and community engagement. His efforts during the university's annual Solidarity/Unity week this past November were especially impactful. Ejiofor's leadership helped to promote the themes of "Global Roots, Red Storm Pride," reflecting the diverse backgrounds of St. John's student-athletes and celebrating global heritage, international diversity, and the unifying power of sport.
On the court, Ejiofor earned several major BIG EAST honors for the 2025-26 season, earning the conference's Defensive Player of the Year award, while earning a unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST First Team. He is averaging 16.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per game for the Red Storm this season. He is the only power conference player to rank top 10 in his respective conference and lead his team in all four of those statistical categories. Ejiofor earned the BIG EAST Most Improved Player award a season ago. He becomes the fourth St. John's men's basketball player to earn the BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete Award.
The BIG EAST Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year award is one of many scholarships presented by the conference in the academic year. Twenty-two student-athletes (one male and one female from each of the BIG EAST’s 11 member institutions) will receive postgraduate scholarships as the winners of their respective institutions’ Scholar-Athlete Award. The winners of the institutional and basketball awards are then eligible for the BIG EAST Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, which provides an additional postgraduate scholarship to one male and one female student-athlete.
BIG EAST Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete Award Winners
| 1985 |
Mike Moses |
St. John's |
| 1986 |
Ron Rowan |
St. John's |
| 1987 |
Harold Jensen |
Villanova |
| 1988 |
Mark Plansky |
Villanova |
| 1989 |
Ramon Ramos |
Seton Hall |
| 1990 |
Stephen Thompson |
Syracuse |
| 1991 |
Greg Woodard |
Villanova |
| 1992 |
Darren Morningstar |
Pittsburgh |
| 1993 |
Arturas Karnisovas |
Seton Hall |
| 1994 |
Arturas Karnisovas |
Seton Hall |
| 1995 |
Marc Molinsky |
Boston College |
| 1996 |
Adrian Griffin |
Seton Hall |
| 1997 |
Ya Ya Dia |
Georgetown |
| 1998 |
Pat Garrity |
Notre Dame |
| 1999 |
Rob Hodgson |
Rutgers |
| 2000 |
Lavor Postell |
St. John's |
| 2001 |
Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje |
Georgetown |
| 2002 |
Carlton Carter |
Virginia Tech |
| 2003 |
Emeka Okafor |
UConn |
| 2004 |
Emeka Okafor |
UConn |
| 2005 |
Craig Forth |
Syracuse |
| 2006 |
Joe Herber |
West Virginia |
| 2007 |
Aaron Gray |
Pittsburgh |
| 2008 |
Ted Talkington |
West Virginia |
| 2009 |
Alex Ruoff |
West Virginia |
| 2010 |
Tim Abromaitis |
Notre Dame |
| 2011 |
Tim Abromaitis |
Notre Dame |
| 2012 |
Tim Abromaitis |
Notre Dame |
| 2013 |
Peyton Siva |
Louisville |
| 2014 |
Alex Barlow |
Butler |
| 2015 |
Alex Barlow |
Butler |
| 2016 |
Kellen Dunham |
Butler |
| 2017 |
Billy Garrett Jr. |
DePaul |
| 2018 |
Jalen Brunson |
Villanova |
| 2019 |
Michael Nzei |
Seton Hall |
| 2020 |
Kamar Baldwin |
Butler |
| 2021 |
Ike Obiagu |
Seton Hall |
| 2022 |
Collin Gillespie |
Villanova |
| 2023 |
Jack Nunge |
Xavier |
| 2024 |
Oso Ighodaro |
Marquette |
| 2025 |
Stevie Mitchell |
Marquette |
| 2026 |
Zuby Ejiofor |
St. John's |