Less than 24 hours after Rick Pitino was announced as St. John’s new coach, he already landed a major commitment.

Well, a re-commitment to be exact.

Joel Soriano, the Big East’s Most Improved Player and the team’s MVP, is sticking with the Johnnies rather than enter the transfer portal for his final year of eligibility.

“He showed me his passion, his energy for the game. He told me he’s not going to put me in any position I don’t deserve,” Soriano said, referring to Pitino. “It’s going to be hard, but it’s going to be one of the greatest years of my life.

“I’m here, I’m here to stay, get St. John’s to where it needs to be.”

Shortly after St. John’s season ended in a Big East Tournament quarterfinal heartbreaker to Marquette, Soriano said he would only return to St. John’s if Mike Anderson were the coach. But he changed his mind after the hiring of Pitino and speaking to him on Monday night.

“He put out a game plan with me. We went through everything,” Soriano said. “My strengths, my weaknesses. He watched a lot of film on me. He was very straightforward, very honest with me.”

The high-character Soriano was the only player to attend Pitino’s introductory press conference on Tuesday at the Garden.

Pitino said Soriano would be his captain next year and plans to build around the Yonkers native who was second in the nation in double-doubles with 25.

An All-Big East second-team selection, Soriano averaged team-highs of 15.2 points, 11.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks while shooting a robust 56.3 percent from the field.

“My goal for him is something really, really special,” Pitino said. “Joel is the type of person I want to build around and that’s why I asked him to come today. … I met with him [Monday] night. I said, ‘You’re a very good basketball player, but you’re going to become a great basketball player, because you have great character, you’re going to have a great work ethic and we’re going to bring you to a level that even you don’t think you can get to. But I need your leadership.’ ”

Soriano is returning, but he may not have much company from his teammates.

Pitino is planning to bring in six-to-eight new players.

The roster is expected to be very different.

The big man did think about that before deciding to come back. Playing for Pitino was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

“I trust him. If he says he can make it work, he can make it work,” Soriano said. “At the end of the day, players are going to come here because they want to win and they want to build something around St. John’s.”