Fordham’s Soriano commits to Johnnies
St. John’s may have filled its biggest need of the offseason on Thursday: a true big man.
The Johnnies’ offseason roster turnover continued with the verbal commitment of Fordham transfer Joel Soriano, a 6-foot-11, 250-pound center who averaged nearly a double-double last season.
A Yonkers native who attended Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains, Soriano was courted by a number of other high-major programs and had Zoom meetings with Oklahoma State, Western Kentucky and Pittsburgh, but he ultimately chose St. John’s. He felt wanted, speaking frequently with coach Mike Anderson and assistant Van Macon as soon as he entered the transfer portal. He watched the Johnnies games and could see how he fit.
“I just felt the love the minute I stepped into that transfer portal,” he told The Post in a phone interview. “They told me they needed a big guy like me to bring them to the NCAA Tournament.
“I feel another thing was that they actually didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear. They kept it upfront with me, told me my weaknesses . ... I appreciated that.”
He becomes the latest local product to join the program — a group that already includes Julian Champagnie (if he returns to school after testing the NBA draft waters), Posh Alexander and Dylan Addae-Wusu, along with incoming freshmen Rafael Pinzon and Drissa Traore. Champagnie spoke to Soriano during his recruitment, emphasizing how much a player like him was needed.
The Johnnies have really struggled inside for several years, dating back to the Chris Mullin era. In each of Anderson’s first two seasons, he went the grad-transfer route without much success. Soriano, meanwhile, has three years left and is more of a proven commodity as someone capable of scoring in the post and being a quality rebounder. This past year, he averaged 10.4 points and 9.2 rebounds.
St. John’s is adding a lot of size next year. Freshmen O’Mar Stanley and Traore both are 6-8, Purdue transfer Aaron Wheeler is 6-9, and mid-year addition Esahia Nyiwe is 6-10. Soriano is a different entity, though. The other players are more combo forwards, not necessarily true big men.