The Big East is a place where seniors thrive, whether via staying with a team for all four years or coming in as an impact transfer. Yet all 11 programs will be counting on new faces to produce in 2025-26, as the conference’s top 12 scorers from last season are now gone.
Who will emerge as new stars and who is most likely to break out with opportunities and minutes available? Here are the top 10 candidates to watch.
Note: Players must have averaged fewer than 11 points per game last season to qualify.
1. Chase Ross, 6-foot-4 senior guard, Marquette
2024-25: 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 30.3 minutes per game
For the last three years, the Golden Eagles relied on Kameron Jones as the team’s leading scorer. Jones is gone now, setting up Ross as the heir-apparent lead guard. As a starter last season, Ross shot 47 percent from the field and 37 percent from deep, including a 27-point outing against Georgetown. He may be the safest bet among returning players to rise to All-Big East status this year.
2. Oswin Erhunmwunse, 6-foot-10 sophomore forward, Providence
2024-25: 6.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 20.1 minutes per game
The frontcourt was viewed as an area of weakness for the Friars, but that’s only because the development of their young Nigerian big man flew under the radar. Erhunmwunse shot 72 percent from the field and had eight straight games of at least 8+ points to end last season, including 16 points and 11 rebounds against Butler in the conference tournament. Look for him to be a quality sophomore center in the Big East and a double-double threat on a nightly basis.
3. Tyler Perkins, 6-foot-4 junior guard, Villanova
2024-25: 6.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 25.8 minutes per game
Perkins put up nearly 14 points per game as a freshman at Penn but took a while to adjust to high-major play. He still had a trio of games of at least 17 points last season, including 20 versus Xavier. On a new-look roster with a proven new head coach (Kevin Willard), Perkins has a great chance to assume a much larger role in the offense.
4. Finley Bizjack, 6-foot-4 junior guard, Butler
2024-25: 10.3 points, 2.4 assists, 27.6 minutes per game
Bizjack already had a breakout year compared to his freshman campaign (4.4 points per game), but there’s a case he can ascend another level in 2025-26. He emerged as the lead ball-handler and ran Butler’s offense in Big East play last year, closing out the season with a 30-point outing against Boise State, and the team’s two high-scoring guards (Pierre Brooks and Jahhmyl Telfort) have departed, clearing the way for Bizjack to take over as the Bulldogs’ No. 1 option.
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5. Jovan Milicevic, 6-foot-10 sophomore forward, Xavier
2024-25: 3.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, 11.8 minutes per game (New Mexico)
There are 10 incoming transfers for the Musketeers, with former Evansville wing Gabriel Pozzato (14.9 points per game) being one of the few proven performers. But with Pozzato’s 2025-26 campaign in doubt due to an offseason knee injury, that opens up room for someone like Milicevic, who follows coach Richard Pitino from New Mexico. Milicevic was a solid frontcourt piece for the Lobos, including shooting 46 percent from deep on 59 attempts last season, and he’ll have an opportunity to carve out a specific role in the Xavier offense thanks to his ability to stretch the floor.
6. Royce Parham, 6-foot-8 sophomore forward, Marquette
2024-25: 5.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, 14.8 minutes per game
It’s not just Kameron Jones who is gone from Marquette, as the since-departed David Joplin was second on the team with 14.7 points per game last season. Joplin’s likely replacement at the four-spot will be Parham, a former top-100 prospect who had a good first year (four double-digit scoring games, including a 17-point effort on the road against Iowa State). Parham and returning stretch forward Ben Gold should complement each other inside for the Golden Eagles, who need their past role players to take a leap to validate not using the transfer portal for the second straight offseason.
7. Jaylin Stewart, 6-foot-7 junior forward, UConn
2024-25: 5.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 17.8 minutes per game
UConn has two All-Big East players returning, a top-tier transfer guard arriving (Silas Demary Jr.) and a top-10 incoming recruiting class, so it won’t be easy to see a returning player break out from the Huskies. But Stewart has the talent to do it, having logged five games of at least 14 points last year when he got extended minutes, including 16 versus Memphis in the Maui Invitational. If Stewart can carve out a bigger role as a junior, look for higher numbers to follow.
8. Deshawn Harris-Smith, 6-foot-5 junior guard, Georgetown
2024-25: 2.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 15.4 minutes per game (Maryland)
The Hoyas were one of a few programs to take part in a preseason series, earning a silver medal at the GLOBL JAM. One of the standouts was Harris-Smith, who averaged 12.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists across four games. At Maryland, the former top-50 prospect struggled to show that he can score; if he improves in that area, look for the junior to be a key newcomer to the Hoyas.
9. Godswill Erheriene, 6-foot-8 sophomore center, Seton Hall
2024-25: 2.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 14.2 minutes per game
In what was a miserable campaign for the Pirates last year, Erheriene was a bright spot, starting 23 games as a freshman and shooting 56 percent from the field. He put together a string of quality games down the stretch, including 12 points and 10 rebounds in a win over UConn. As one of the lone returning pieces for Seton Hall, Erheriene has a chance to be the focal point of the frontcourt this year.
10. Khaman Maker, 7-foot-1 sophomore center, DePaul
2024-25: Played 1 game at St. John’s
Maker is a former 4-star prospect known for being an elite interior defender. While it’s still unknown how good he can be in the Big East, he joins a DePaul roster that lacks any other size in the frontcourt (returning forward NJ Benson could get minutes at center). This should be a major opportunity for Maker to make an impact.
