Justin Simon has joined elite company.

The St. John’s junior has become the third player in school history to be named the Big East’s Defensive Player of Year, voted on by the conference’s coaches. Mark Jackson (1987) and Sir’Dominic Pointer (2015) are the only other players in St. John’s history to win the award.

The 6-foot-5 guard shined as the league’s premier lockdown defender, routinely silencing the opponent’s top scorer — holding National Player of the Year finalist Markus Howard to 21.8 percent shooting in two key wins over Marquette — and contributing to the Red Storm’s Big East-best 15.5 turnovers forced per game.

After leading the conference in steals last season, Simon has averaged 1.4 steals this season and recorded a team-high 19 blocks.