The St. John’s is coming off a historic season and is looking for even better things in coach Rick Pitino’s third season with the Red Storm. The Red Storm are set to host four highly-touted transfers this weekend.
St. John’s Red Storm Set To Host Several Highly Touted Transfers
According to Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog, St. John’s will host several players over the next few days. Zagoria said that the Red Storm visits will start on Friday when Stanford transfer Oziyah Sellers comes to town. Xavian Lee (Princeton), Ian Jackson (North Carolina), and Dillon Mitchell (Cincinnati) are also slated to be on the Queens (NY) campus.
St. John’s tied a program record with 31 wins this past season, matching the team’s 1984-85 and 1985-86 squads. The Red Storm also set a program record with 18 Big East victories, claiming their first conference title since 1992. They also won the Big East Conference tournament title for the first time in 24 seasons.
After a five-year absence, the Johnies returned to the NCAA tournament. The Red Storm were awarded a No. 2 seed. However, their appearance in “The Dance” was much shorter as they were upset by 10th-seed Arkansas in the second round.
Where The Red Storm’s 2025-26 Roster Stand At This Point
St. John’s won’t have the services of Kadary Richmond, Aaron Scott, or Deivon Smith as they have exhausted their eligibility. The Red Storm also has seen RJ Luis and Brady Dunlap enter the transfer portal.
Luis, Richmond, Scott, and Smith were all a major part of Pitino’s rotation. Those four players accounted for most of the Red Storm’s production, including 61.3% of their scoring (48.3 of 78.5 points).
On the positive side, Pitino told SNY’s Steve Gelbs yesterday at a New York Mets game that he planned to coach for three to five more years.
“I’m enjoying it now more than ever in my lifetime,” Pitino said. “Because it’s New York, where I started, I’m back home. And I understand I’m going to be 73 years of age even though I act like I’m 35. But I realize I have three, five more years. Bang on some wood. So why not enjoy it? Why not have a blast? And why not try to be the best you possibly can be? So I have more passion, more hunger, more drive than ever before.”
Pitino has already received commitments from two high-level transfers, Joson Sanon and Bryce Hopkins. While the Johnies don’t have any other newcomers, Peter Sblendorio of the New York Daily News expects Zuby Ejiofer and Simeon Wilcher to return.
Ejiofer led the Red Storm in rebounding and was second in scoring. Meanwhile, Wilcher is highly talented and showed massive improvement in year two despite being inconsistent.
Oziyah Sellers, Stanford Guard
Sellers is looking for his third program in four years. He entered the transfer portal and the NBA draft on April 1.
Sellers showed massive improvement in his lone season at Stanford, accumulating 13.7 points and 2.7 rebounds. He also drained 1.7 3-pointers, with shooting splits of .451/.401/.897.
According to Joe Tipton of 247Sports, St. John’s has momentum heading into their meeting.
Xaivian Lee. Princeton Guard
Lee has put together back-to-back strong campaigns at Princeton, earning All-Ivy League first-team selection in each of those two seasons. The 6-3 guard averaged 16.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists this past season. He averaged two treys a game while shooting 43.9/36.6/78.9.
Lee entered the Princeton history books when he recorded the program’s first triple-double against St. Joseph in December. He has a $1.1 million NIL evaluation. Tipton said that Duke and Florida join St.John’s as the top teams in the mix for his services.
Kevin Niebuhr of On3 said that Florida is expected to receive a visit from Lee at some point.
Ian Jackson, North Carolina Guard
Jackson was a consensus top 10 recruit in 2024 out of the Bronx. He spent one season at UNC, where he showed off his shooting and prowess, averaging nearly 12 points and 1.7 threes with shooting splits of .456/.395/.723. He had eight 20-point games. However, the 6-4 guard saw his role diminish late in the season, specifically during the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
Jackson is one of the top players to enter the NCAA portal and has a $1.5 million NIL evaluation. According to Zagoria, Jackson will be in NYC for a Monday visit. Meanwhile, Tipton said that while the Johnies are seen as a major contender for Jackson, NC State, Arkansas, and Ole Miss, among others, are also in the mix.
Dillon Mitchell, Cincinnati Forward
Like Sellers, Mitchell is searching for his third school. Mitchell is an athletic forward who excels on the glass and defensively. In his lone season at Cincinnati, he averaged 9.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.4 steals while shooting .614/.294/.395.
The consensus No. 5 recruit in 2022 began his collegiate career at Texas. Tipton said that the Red Storm is gaining significant steam in this recruitment.
What’s Next For St. John’s
St. John’s will obviously look to make a strong impression on Jackson, Lee, Mitchell, and Sellers. Perhaps Pitino will pick up a commitment or two during the visits. Regardless, he still has work to do on the upcoming roster.
Even if Ejiofer and Wilcher return, the Johnies will have six scholarships available. The Red Storm are also reportedly in the mix for Chattanooga transfer Honor Huff and Georgia’s Silas Demary Jr.
Imagn Images © John Jones
