Villanova senior guard Tyler Perkins earned a spot on the Preseason All-Big East First Team, the conference announced Thursday, Oct. 1, at its annual media day in New York.

Transfer forwards Kwame Evans Jr. and Devin Royal joined Perkins on the preseason squad, both landing on the Second Team. Big East coaches voted the Wildcats' men third in the conference behind UConn and St. John's, while the women's program was picked second behind UConn, according to the Big East's official poll.

Perkins, a 6-foot-4 guard from Lorton, Va., averaged 13.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season and won Big East Most Improved Player honors. He earned third-team all-conference recognition in 2025-26 and is one of only two returning players on the roster. The other, Matthew Hodge, is recovering from ACL surgery, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Perkins also had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder during the offseason.

Evans Jr., a 6-foot-10 forward who transferred from Oregon, and Royal, a 6-foot-6 forward from Ohio State, give Villanova a new-look frontcourt. The Inquirer reported the projected starting five as Perkins, point guard Elijah Crawford, Evans Jr., Royal and 7-foot-3 Italian center Luigi Suigo, a projected first-round pick in next year's NBA draft.

In the men's poll, UConn collected 98 points and eight first-place votes. St. John's followed with 90 points and two first-place votes. Villanova tallied 81, and Marquette finished fourth with 73 after receiving the only other first-place vote.

"It's been natural and not forced. We have a lot of size and experience this year," Perkins said in a July feature on Villanova's athletics site, describing early chemistry with the incoming transfers.

The women's program earned 90 points and one first-place vote in the coaches' poll, trailing only UConn's 100. Junior guard Jasmine Bascoe, who averaged 18.9 points and 4.0 rebounds last season, was a unanimous preseason all-conference selection. Sophomore guard Kennedy Henry also made the preseason team.

Villanova's women finished 25-8 overall and 16-4 in Big East play last season before falling to Texas Tech in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, as reported by The Villanovan.

The event also marked the introduction of new Big East commissioner Tim Brosnan, who replaced Val Ackerman. St. John's President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. opened the proceedings.

Both Villanova programs open the regular season Nov. 1 in Rome against Notre Dame in the Eternal City Tip-Off, airing on FOX. The men scrimmage at Rutgers on Oct. 11, then host exhibition games against George Mason on Oct. 17 and Virginia on Oct. 22. The women host FDU on Oct. 18.